Our Travel Adventures - Cruising Fulltime

Welcome to the Adventures of Larry and Connie Farquhar as we cruise fulltime around the world.

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You Gotta Slow Down

Travel World Cruise 2026 Travel Logs

Larry Farquhar

Monday, 23 March 2026

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Sunset On the Tasman Sea

Enjoying Another Sunset

In 2004, when we started travelling fulltime in a motorhome, I wrote an article about "slowing down" and enjoying life. Now that we're cruising fulltime, this philosophy is being applied every day to the maximum. Not only as a philosophy, but also literally! The ship usually cruises at less than 10 knots. This is less than 12mph. I look out over the ocean and can spend minutes watching a single wave slowly float by. Life is more enjoyable when you slow down to really live.

Speaking of time, we're still trying to get use to needing to change the time on our clocks (and phones) frequently. We've been passing through a new time zone about once a week. Tonight, the clock's get set back by 30 minutes. The last time we had a time zone change of 30-minutes was when we went from Newfoundland to Blanc Sablon Quebec in Canada, but we're coming into Adelaide in Australia tomorrow which is at Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +10:30. This is 17½ hours in the future compared to Los Angeles, CA.

Travel Log for March 12th to March 25th, 2026

Judy with the Villa Vie Players

Since the New Zealand government was restricting the Odyssey from entering their precious sounds, our itinerary was changed. The ship had extra days before we were scheduled to arrive at the port in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Instead of just floating around, the ship added an extra port stop in Melbourne, Australia.

On our sailing to Melbourne, the entire ship turned into one huge toga party! A couple residents plan and host a Murder Mystery onboard about every six months. This time, the theme was A Greek Odyssey Murder Mystery. Most of the ship got with the program and enjoyed a night of games and fun. Our team even won!

Residents also organize their own shows and skits. Judy, our longtime RV friend who also lives onboard, is greatly involved with the Villa Vie Players.

The Gods and Goddesses Dinner

Roman God Vulcan with Greek Goddess Nike

A Team of Gods Solving the Murder

Morning Breakfast

The Odyssey in Melbourne Port

We sailed for 5 days from Dunedin and spent one day in Melbourne. Connie and I walked a bit around the beach and port then headed into town and did some more light shopping for snacks, and medication. It took a few days, but I had finally caught Connie's cold. We both were coughing a bunch and could use some relief. It was a nice, sunny and warm day and we enjoyed our stroll to the nearby shopping area. Although it was only one day in port this time, we'll be back next week.

Feed Me!

Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary

After leaving Melbourne, the ship slowly made its way across the channel to Tasmania. After one day at sea, we arrived in Hobart for a 3-day visit. Unlike a regular vacation cruise ship, there's no "excursions" sold or offered by the ship. Instead, residents plan their own activities. However, usually someone onboard plans some activity and opens it up to all residents. This way, a group discount can be obtained and transportation for all may be organized.

We joined about 90 other residents to visit the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary outside of Hobart. The organizer also booked a couple large buses to get us all there. This was a private tour just for our group. We had a wonderful time at the sanctuary. We hand fed and petted several kangaroos, got close-up views of a Tasmanian devil, an Echidna, a Wombat, and several other unique Australian animals. They operate an animal hospital for rescued injured animals. Over 85% of the animals brought in are healed and released back to the wild. This was a full-day event that we won't forget about.

Connie and I were feeling better but still had a cough and were wearing masks. On our final day in Hobart, we headed back to the store for some medication refills.

Tasmanian Devils Are Mean!

Our New Friend

Making Friends

The Elusive Wombat

A Venomous Tiger Snake

Tasmanian Devil Showing His Teeth

Wombats Are Cute

Tasmanian Devil

A Pair of Tawny Frogmouth Birds

An Older Echidna

A Laughing Kookaburra

Tasmanian Devil

An Echidna

Enjoying the Hot Tub

Another Sea Day

After Hobart, it was another day at sea to return to Melbourne. This time, we would be in port for 3-days. Connie and I booked a Wine and Cheese Tasting tour on our own. We learned how to use the Melbourne tram system, which departed right from our port. It was affordable and an excellent way to get to the city. Once in the city business district, transportation around town was free. This is an excellent way to reduce vehicle traffic and parking issues.

Our tour was another all-day event, visiting a couple wineries (with plenty of tastings), visiting a small cheese shop in the countryside (with a delicious tasting), and a chocolatier (with a great tasting). We were a bit disappointed with the wine tastings. They just weren't as good as we expected or have had before. We expected better from Australian wines. The cheese was great, and the chocolate was the best. Of course, we came home with a bag of various chocolate bars. After the tour, we walked around Melbourne for a while. Connie had been wanting pizza. Pizza for dinner it was. I enjoyed seeing the city alive and lit up at night.

If you know Connie, you'll know she's obsessed with the Aldi grocery store chain. I also like the store, but Connie goes out of her way to visit them. When she learned that there were several Aldi stores in Melbourne, it was a requirement that we go visit one. I admit, they are fun to visit in the various countries, seeing how they differ and what they have to offer. The Melbourne tram system came to our rescue again as we made our way to the nearby Aldi. The store was a bit different than most other Aldi store's we've visited. This one didn't have as many groceries but did have a lot more household items (known as the Aisle of Shame).

Chandon Wine Tasting

Chandon Winery

Yering Station Wine Tasting

Yering Station Wines

Chocolatier

Chocolate Tasting

The Chocolates We Tasted

Chocolate Store

Cheese Tasting

The Villa Vie Residences Chief Executive Office, Kathy Villalba, boarded the Odyssey in Melbourne. After leaving Melbourne, we're traveling slowly again to Adelaide, Australia. Yesterday, Kathy held a "Tea Time" for all residents onboard. She gave a wonderful briefing about various operational issues and plans for the future. She had conducted a survey of residents to learn more about our concerns and suggestions. Many of these ideas were discussed. I'm impressed with the Villa Vie management team and respect the issues they face daily. I only see things constantly improving as we continue to move forward.