Happy end to Harri’s high seas holiday

Harri the galah brings his sea legs home after a nautical stowaway adventure.

Sea Princess stow-away Harri with captain Giuseppe Romano and Georgia Cozzi, 4. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

After an epic 14-day adventure at sea, Harri the stowaway galah came off the cruise ship Sea Princess carrying some extra baggage yesterday.

“Like all passengers, she gained some weight,” observed Commodore Giuseppe Romano, the ship’s captain, referring to the tendency of guests to overindulge on holiday.

Harri made international headlines last week after she was discovered mid-cruise freeloading on the ship.

She’d flown the coop from her home in Nundah, Brisbane, to the Portside cruise ship terminal — 2km away as the galah flies — and skipped town on the luxury liner.

Some of the ship’s 2000 passengers sighted her over several days as they used the pool, hot tubs and other facilities, putting the crew on bird watch.

When she was captured, strict biosecurity protocols kicked in and Harri was “bonded” to the vessel — kept under lock and key in her own private cabin.

Meanwhile, Harri’s microchip was used to track down her owners, Brett and Michelle Cozzi and their daughter Georgia, 4.

Parrot goes home story graphic

In a twist, the family was on a four-day cruise to the Whitsundays on sister line P&O’s Pacific Aria when notified by crew last Monday. By then almost a week had passed since Harri flew the coop and the Cozzis were losing hope of finding their missing pet of nine years.

The Cozzis were on hand yesterday morning to welcome Harri home from the New Zealand cruise after she passed a final government quarantine check.

Holiday over, Harri’s wings will be clipped for a while: “Figuratively, not literally,” Mr Cozzi reassured.

Mr Cozzi said the family’s own Whitsundays trip was their first cruise. They’d planned it as a test of the popular style of holiday, and the 14-day New Zealand voyage is next on their agenda.

“You could forgive some people for not believing it,” he said.

“It’s good to be part of a good news story. My humble thanks to all the people involved.”

After Harri’s discovery, the crew bought a cage and bird seed at the next port. New Zealand quarantine officials checked her over at each new port.

At Home and Away’s Summer Bay, Alf Stewart has been known to declare: “Ya flamin’ galah.” Harri’s “home and away” holiday turned out to be a flamin’ good news story for Carnival Australia, which owns both ships.

“We have been pleased to contribute to such a positive outcome in a story that has captured the imagination of so many people here and around the world,” said Stuart Allison, senior vice-president Princess Cruises Asia-Pacific.

“The Sea Princess team set the scene for today’s reunion with the professional way they responded to Harri’s discovery. It has also been a great pleasure to work co-operatively with the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries and the Australian Department of Agriculture to resolve Harri’s nautical adventure.”