Sunday 24th February
As we left Sydney Harbour at midnight on Friday the captain had already warned us that we were going straight into gale force winds. He was absolutely right and there was a large swell all through the night and all day yesterday. At times yesterday the gusts reached hurricane force! So lots of movement on the ship and a very grey sea for most of the day. It's hard to believe we are just of the coast of Australia! It was warm though but the open side decks were closed. Today we have arrived in Brisbane an hour or two later than expected because of the weather. It's very warm here with hazy sunshine. We are in the botanical gardens at the moment which are lovely and there is free wifi all over the gardens which seems quite amazing as its a large open area. The lizard in the picture is one of three that we saw lazing in the sun by the ponds. There are also loads of black and white Ibis all over the gardens. We saw some in the city too tucking into pizza they had found! We have also been to Old Government House that is on the edge of the gardens. It was built in 1862 and is a lovely sandstone building. It has been restored recently and you can wander round inside although there is no furniture in it at the moment. It is a really lovely house, beautifully designed - I wouldn't mind living in it!