Executive Chef Alastair continued to wow us with special events, creating a brunch unlike anything we’ve seen to date.

But before food (well, after putting some food into my stomach to mitigate seasickness), lectures!

I was up uncharacteristically early because clocks were set back an hour overnight, so I intended to go to the theatre for the day’s first lecture: “History of Australia from Dreamtime to 1851”, by Viking’s Resident Historian Dr. Bryan Babcock. This is one of Viking’s “iconic lectures”, which means it gets re-used on all itineraries going to Australia.

I’ll have to watch it on our stateroom television later though, because I got distracted (again) talking to a fellow passenger about our nomadic lifestyle. Folks always seem to be curious, and then either inspired or appalled.

All that talking “required” a cinnamon-sprinkled cappuccino in the Explorers Lounge.

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At 11:00 a.m. there was a lecture by guest lecturer George Sranko on some of Australia’s most dangerous creatures.

George starts each of his wildlife lectures by asking “Are you ready for a wild time?”. You’d think that would get old after a while, but he’s just so genuinely goofy and enthusiastic that it’s impossible not to react with a grin and a resounding “Yes!”

In addition to dangerous creatures, he also talked about kookaburras, Tasmanian devils, koalas, and other marsupials. He spent a bit of time telling us about the old growth forest Karri trees, which can grow to 90m/290 ft tall and live for more than 600 years. At age 66, he himself climbed a 76m/246 ft tall Karri tree!

George explained that while along the eastern coasts in the cities we will visit it is green with forests, Australia is actually a land of deserts. In fact, Australia has 5.4 MILLION square kilometres (almost 2.1 million square miles) of arid region, representing 70% of the continent’s entire land mass.

More than 80% of the animals that live in Australia live nowhere else. George talked about the continent’s poor soil conditions that required plants to adapt in unique ways, and plant-eating animals also to adapt, creating characteristics and diversity seen nowhere else on the planet.

I had to leave the lecture a bit early (also to be finished on our TV later) to meet the organizers of an onboard book drive for the CEFZ School in Zanzibar. Marie and Nikki spearheaded donations through the 24-25 World Cruise facebook group, and lots of passengers joined in to buy books and school supplies, which they brought on board to be delivered to the school when we reach Tanzania. We all met today to consolidate our donations.

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And then…. the most spectacular brunch event you could ever imagine. We thought nothing could top the incredible event created on the Viking Star for New Year’s Day 2022, but this sea-themed event surpassed it.

Just taking the photos was satiating, even without tasting the incredible food.

The staff that make these events happen are talented beyond belief.

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Executive Pastry Chef Tony Fernandez does ALL the sugar work, whether flowers, animals, coral… or a model of the Viking Sky!

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Chef Fernandez told me that single sous-chef carves ALL the fruits and vegetables.

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The pastry chefs create all the intricate cakes and desserts, and temper all the chocolate for shards and decorations.

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Executive Chef Alastair along with his Sous Chefs and Chefs de Cuisine oversee the stunning main dishes. We are awed, humbled by, and grateful for the skills these folks share with us.

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An onboard bakery creates beautiful and delicious breads, sandwiches, and yeast-based desserts.

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The head sushi chef created the gorgeous peacock that decorated the sushi station, which in itself was a work of art.

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And what would a Viking brunch be without caviar on a sculpted ice shell?

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An event like this takes an incredible amount of work from the servers too, and even calls on the talents of the entertainment staff to add to the atmosphere.

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Seriously, who could imagine anything better?

I took a break to digest (although I’d somehow limited myself to Caprese salad and a slice of cake) and sort through the photos Ted and I both took of the event, and then headed to the theatre for a question and answer session with the Viking Vocalists, chaired by Cruise Director Matt.

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One of the questions the vocalists were asked that was most revealing (to us) was why they like working for Viking. The universal answer seemed to be that Viking has the best “balance” of pay, workload, crew life, and people, of any of the cruise lines for which they’ve worked. They also mentioned that, when they auditioned, Viking “really put them through their paces”, which is evident in their versatility.

We’re always curious about whether these young singers would rather be singing newer songs, but all four insisted that their preference is not based on the age of the music, but the musicality, lyrics, and suitability for their voices.

I’m not sure how anyone could “need” more food, but the culinary team were back at work at dinner time, and we grabbed a light dinner in the World Café before enjoying live music until bedtime.

According to the Viking Daily, delivered to our room each evening with turndown service, tomorrow will be a quieter day. I may even get to finish the e-book that’s due back to my library in three days!