Taking a trip 'down under' was a trip of a lifetime for Voorhees Joell, his wife Deborah Smith-Joell and her grandson 14-year-old James Abshire.

For two weeks they got to see the sights and sounds in New South Wales and Queensland. While away, Mrs. Smith-Joell wrote a daily diary of their experiences. This is the first part of that diary.

Day 1:

Wondering where the Monday had disappeared to, we arrived in Sydney after a long journey from Los Angeles.

We stayed at the beautiful Shangri-La Hotel (www.shangri-la.com) and set out on foot during a rainy day to discover Sydney's Darling Harbour.

On the way to collect our Sydney Touring Passes, we decided to get some cash and realised that it was plastic, not paper. Later we went to the Sydney Wildlife Centre and Aquarium, where we saw kangaroos and koalas.

A visit to the huge Butterfly Sanctuary set Voorhees alight with his camera, as the butterflies landed on his hand for a personal photo op. While watching the snakes, James wanted to hold one, but the trainer explained that the snakes would become stressed.

Returning to the hotel, we went to our rooms and enjoyed beautiful views of the city and Darling Harbour.

Deborah wrote: "We could have just sat in the window seats and stared out the window all day, or fall into the bed and crashed, which is what I did."

Day 2:

The second day in Sydney saw us searching for one of the seven wonders in the world the Sydney Opera House. The tour was very informative, and we learned a lot about the design and construction of the house.

Then we walked around the edge of the Botanical Gardens and purchased tickets for a comedy show, 'Jason Byrne, The Bryne Conspiracy'.

Next was a ferry ride to Manly, an area of Sydney noted for its beaches, but the most notable thing was the ferry ride itself, especially when the pilot announced that we would be experiencing some great swells when we passed through the Sydney Heads.

"It's a good thing we hadn't had lunch yet, because for about five minutes we felt like we were in that fishing movie with George Clooney (can't remember the name, the Perfect Storm I think)," Deborah wrote.

Unlike most ferries, this one had two bows and the boat never turns around, the pilot just makes his way to the other end.

We discovered a place called The Rocks, an area famous for it's shops and pubs. And at an establishment called The Rock 'n' Burger, James bit into a Kanga Burger, yeah made with kangaroo.

There we found Aussie hats and took on the persona of proper tourists. That evening, the Irishman Jason Byrne kept them laughing with his wit from start to finish.

Day 3:

The third day saw us have breakfast at McCafé a.k.a. McDonalds and then going walkabout to find our cruise ship the Princess Sun. The day was sunny, but not clear enough, as when we got to Wharf 8, on Hixon Street, we were there, but our ship wasn't. Worried, we hopped a cab back to the hotel only to discover we should have been at Darling Harbour's Wharf Eight instead.

Donning our Aussie hats we headed for the Princess Passenger Terminal and after the mandatory Muster Drill (safety drill) we went in search of some food. Deborah wrote: "Of course, that wasn't very hard, as everywhere you look there's food and drink.

"We grabbed some lunch at the Horizon Court and watched as we pushed back from the dock."

As we headed out of Sydney Harbour, we travelled under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and James didn't think they were going to make it, but of course we did.

They we took the same path as the ferry along Sydney Heads, but this time although we could feel a little movement, it was not as bad as on the ferry. Then we headed out onto the Tasman Sea and up the east coast of New South Wales.

After getting acquainted with the ship we had dinner in the Regency Room and sleep soon followed. As we slept, the captain steered the ship up the east coast of Australia.

Day 4:

The morning of the forth day saw us pass Nambucca and Coffs Harbour and as the afternoon went by so did Ballina, Byron Bay and Tweed Heads/Coslangatta. During the evening we passed Fraser Island and entered the Capricorn Channel, which separates the Queensland Coast from the Great Barrier Reef.

Both Voorhees and Deborah are avid Latin and line dancers, so what better to do than enjoy a class or two.

After the line dancing was over, we headed for a ballroom class and then Merengue, which is the easiest of all the Latin dances. There the two pretended to be novices and then wowed the class at the end of the session.

Later we went for James' first High Tea in the formal dining room. There we met some folks from Melbourne and Sydney. Afterwards we got dressed 'to the nines' and had formal photos taken, before heading off to the Captain's Cocktail Party.

Day 5:

Day 5 was another great day for sailing and more dance classes followed in the Vista Lounge. But after all that dancing a massage was needed to soothe and a wine tasting class that started with Champagnes and ending with a cabernet Shiraz left us feeling no pain.

During this time, James was in the Remix, thought to be playing video games, but was actually caught up in an arm wrestling match.

During a well-deserved nap, the room steward woke us up at 7.45 p.m. for dinner. Deborah wrote: "Good thing too, or we would have slept through dinner (which probably wouldn't have been a bad thing)."

After dinner, they took in a show in the Princess Theatre entitled the Piano Man, where there was music, dance and songs from Elton John, Billy Joel, Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow and Liberace.

"It was well done and we saw DJ (dancing instructor) in action."

Off to bed, as our first port of call and shore excursion is tomorrow at Whitsunday.

Day 6:

At Whitsunday Island, we found it difficult to say what Captain James Cook and his crew most recalled after they carefully navigated HMS Endeavour around the islands, islets and often shallow passages of the Great Barrier Reef in 1770.

Was it the extraordinary beauty of the region or the hidden dangers of jagged coral? Whatever it was, we're awfully glad they did.

The view of the islands was spectacular. There are 74 islands that make up the Whitsunday Island but we were only able to visit one.

We boarded a pontoon that took us to Abel Point Marina where we transferred to a catamaran. We were then off to Lankford Island, which was about an hour and a half away.

"Living in Bermuda, we too are surrounded by islands, but nothing on this scale," wrote Deborah.

As we reached Landford Island, the Captain pointed out a larger island that was a private resort and told us to look quick before we were charged for looking. Very expensive to stay there, he said.

Once anchored, most the passengers donned their snorkel gear and wetsuits and boarded a launch to take them to the island.

We had thought about going just to walk on the lovely beach, but because it was "stinger" (jelly fish) season they suggested that we put a wetsuit on just to get out of the boat.

We all three looked at each other and said, 'Naa'. We found a shady spot on top of the boat near the massive sail and enjoyed the breeze and the views of the older passenger trying to get their wetsuits on (some of those views were terrifying).

The last tender for the ship was at 4 p.m. and there was a sail away party from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Well it being a sailing catamaran they were largely dependent on the wind for power. Having said that, we arrived at the pier at 4 p.m. as the pontoon we were supposed to be on pulled away.

After about 30 minutes of waiting, we boarded another pontoon and headed for the ship. "Nothing like being the cause of a delayed departure," she wrote.

Read about their next port of call at Yorkey's Knob in Cairns in tomorrow's Royal Gazette.