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Started our day in Melbourne with the Healesville Sanctuary, where we saw more kangaroos, ibises, koalas and trout. I fed a kangaroo and almost fainted from delight when it reached up with its incredibly sharp, nimble little claws and held my hand closer to its mouth. Bought some souvenirs then went on to the Rochford Winery. Drank some pinot noir and had a really delicious lunch. I had the pumpkin lasagna with pine nuts and tried some of Uncle Denny’s kangaroo ragout (which I felt extremely guilty about tasting, but when else would I get a chance to eat a kangaroo? It was yummy.).
We had a few minutes to enjoy the sunshine, then drove back into the city by way of Nellie Melba’s property. We boarded our boat and took a sight-seeing cruise down the Yarra River. Saw a lot of public art, bridges, and people out on break from work.
We headed back to port and saw our sister ship, the Dawn Princess, pulled abreast of the Diamond Princess. On board, we went to Uncle Denny and Aunt Pat’s for pre-dinner snacks, then went to dinner (had a dessert called the ménage à trois). Afterwards, so the ‘Words & Music’ music show.
The next day we spent at sea, getting ready for the end of the cruise and the beginning of our side tour to Cairns. We had a Cairns meeting in the morning, then hit the breakfast buffet. Uncle Denny and I did ‘On Deck for the Cure’, the breast cancer walk/run. They had a huge dessert buffet set out for lunch, which I throughly enjoyed.
I spent the afternoon by the pool, and played a few games (our side of the ship won!). Got some ice cream, packed, then had our last dinner together as a big family. We said our goodbyes to Aunt Linnea, then took a last look at the shops and official photos.