Joe Benning Photography

Travel & Photo Blog

  •   Reston, VA

Two Days in Sydney, Australia

Two busy days in Sydney. Among other things, we toured the iconic Sydney Opera House. We visited an Australian wildlife reserve. And we walked along the Sydney Harbor on a walking tour of “The Rocks” a section of the city. Joe

Read More »

Sydney – Day 2

Day 2 in Sydney                                                                    Feb 17 2016 4pm Another lovely day in Sydney – weather was breezy, sunny, dry and warm.   We left the ship early, and took a short tour of Sydney’s Rocks District. This is the area near Sydney Harbour where the “First Fleet” landed in 1788; 11 ships carrying 776 prisoners (male […]

Read More »

Birds of New Caledonia…and Cyclones too

The waters got a bit rough last night. But the saloons stayed open. Maybe it had something to do with the Captain’s announcement that by leaving Fiji when we did we beat a Cyclone, complete with 60-foot waves, by 2-days. Anyway, here are some pictures of Birds we saw on Noumea, New Caledonia. (Sorry it’s […]

Read More »

Headed for Australia

We are at sea headed for Sydney Australia, having left Noumea, New Caledonia where it is now Valentine’s day. So here are some pictures from Noumea, including some “Love Birds” for Valentine’s Day. Joe

Read More »

2 days in New Caledonia

New Caledonia                                                          Sat. Feb 13, 2016 4pm local time Yesterday and today we visited 2 islands that are part of New Caledonia (NC has 4 large islands and many smaller ones). NC was discovered by the Brits but later became a French territory. (Caledonia was the old name for Scotland, hence the New Caledonia name.) […]

Read More »

Party Time

Talk about service. We made a quick side trip to Mystery Island, a very small island that is part of a chain of islands known as Vanuata. The cruise ship set up a bar on the beach for cruise guests and the staff waded into the Pacific to serve drinks. See the picture. Joe

Read More »

Some Pictures from Lautoka, Fiji

Some shots from Lautoka, Fiji, including: orchids from the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, created by Raymond Burr of Perry Mason fame; local traders showing their wares, and the house of a village Chief.

Read More »