Day 44 Rabaul, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

In 1994 the smoking volcano that you see, erupted and devastated the provincial capital of Rabaul. Fortunately no-one died, they all escaped to the neighbouring town of Kokopo, which is now the capital. Rabaul is continually threatened by volcanic activity, but the friendly locals say that so long as it smokes they’re fine. Pressure is escaping all the time but if it were to cease, then the pressure would build up underground and …. BOOM! Rabaul is also famous for being an Australian garrison during WW2 but was overwhelmed by the Japanese in 1942. Realising the strategic value and location, the Japanese established Rabaul as their most powerful base in the southwest Pacific. At its peak strength, the fortress of Rabaul included five airfields, a seaplane and submarine base, plus a huge naval anchorage with support facilities. At its peak the Japanese garrison numbered almost 200,000 personnel. The Japanese moved underground, using mainly Indian and Australian POWs to build the tunnels. We visited Bita Paka war cemetery which contains the graves of over 1000 allied soliders. The people of Rabaul are known as Melanesian people, they’re dark skinned with fuzzy hair, often a yellow colour. They like to eat a certain nut followed by lime which in turn makes their mouths bright red and causes their teeth to rot! The children here were just given a bag of chocolates from the ship!

Day 41 Cairns Australia

Cairns (pronounced Cans) is one of Australia’s fastest growing tourist destinations. Graced with sub-tropical sunshine and balmy breezes off Trinity Bay, visitors and locals alike flock to its shore, especially the 16 mile stretch of beaches to the north known as Marlin Coast. Almost a century of architecture is reflected in the city streets, a comfortable blend of traditional Queenslander style buildings with intricate wrought iron balconies and timber verandas stand alongside modern designs that reflect the outdoor lifestyle of tropical Queensland. The city is a great base for exploration of the Great Barrier Reef; however we chose not to go as we’d been before from Hamilton Island.

We took the skyrail which covered approximately 7.5 kilometres of amazing rainforests to Kuranda village, passing the Baron Gorge with its spectacular waterfall. We had terrific views of the treetops, the town and the Coral Sea. Kuranda village has hotels and self-contained units you can stay in whilst you enjoy the area, which is full of wildlife attractions, waterfalls and shops. After lunch it was all aboard the Kuranda Scenic Railway for the journey back to Cairns, which took just under 2 hours. The railway was started in 1886 because the miners were close to starvation, unable to get supplies due to flooding. Dense jungle and cliffs with sheer drops of hundreds of metres and a slope as steep as 45 degrees were extreme hazards for workers. However, without modern equipment and armed only with fortitude, dynamite and bare hands the team forged ahead. After removing 2.3 million metres of earth, creating 15 tunnels, 93 curves, dozens of bridges and 75 kilometres of track, the railway line opened in 1891 for all to enjoy, even to this very day.

Day 38 Brisbane Australia

We’ve arrived in the sunshine state of Queensland which is my favourite area of Australia. Brisbane or Brizzie as it’s popularly named has a subtropical climate which is ideal for an outdoor lifestyle. In and around Brisbane city you’ll find a wide variety of activities to keep you entertained. From restaurants and cafes to shopping arcades, fun parks, white sand beaches and lush rainforests. The Gold coast to the south has the famous Surfers Paradise beach resort, whilst to the north is the Sunshine coast, which is my personal favourite area. One of the greatest natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef, lies to the east of the coast. More about that when we arrive in Cairns.

We had our ‘almost annual’ gathering of the clan! My uncle and aunt emigrated in the 60s and we try to catch up as often as possible. We had lunch in Café 21 in the Casino and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye.

Back on board, we were entertained in the evening by an American comedian who used to write for the Cosby Show and at midnight (yes we stayed up that late) we celebrated one of our table buddy’s birthday.

Happy birthday Paul!

Day 36 Sydney Australia

I woke up at about 5am just as we were sailing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it was still dark, but quite breath taking. Queen Victoria had taken prime position in Circular Quay, but we didn’t mind because it meant we went under the bridge and docked in Darling Harbour. Neville met us at 9am, we had coffee, and headed to Circular Quay to get the ferry to Manly Beach. We wandered around there; it’s a beautiful seaside resort area; not quite so well known as Bondi but just as spectacular in my opinion. From there we took the Ferry back to Circular Quay and went to the Ice Bar. Last year we took a Baltic Cruise, where every city we docked in had an ice bar but we didn’t go in any of them. So to experience one of these bars, which was -15 degrees centigrade, was quite bizarre when it was 28/82 outside! After half an hour, my legs were beginning to feel the cold, so we took another ferry to Watson’s Bay where we had lunch in Doyles Fish Restaurant. All in all, we had a perfect day messing about on the river! Back to Darling Harbour for more drinks and a snack before we said our goodbyes to Nev who flew back to Melbourne. We were back on board for 9.30pm for sail away, approximately 100 new passengers got on board today.

Day 34 Burnie Tasmania

Tasmania is known as Australia’s ‘Holiday State’ and Burnie lies almost in the centre of Tasmania’s north coast and serves as one of the major passenger ports. This is the business and retail centre for the North West and offers plenty of activity for visitors with its galleries and museums, heritage homes and specialty arts and craft shops. Burnie is a tiny city with approximately 20000 residents; the town centre consists of just 4 streets. We took a tour and visited the Pioneer Village Museum with over 30000 items on display from the Victorian era. They had a great replica of a pub which reminded us of one of our local pubs (see the photo!). We also had tea and scones at an award winning garden, Annsleigh Gardens. We went to Burnie Park and walked to the waterfall and made paper in the paper factory and then we walked along the boardwalk at the beach to the Penguin Observation and Habitat area. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any live penguins only a dead one by the fence. Weather-wise it was the best yet, sunny and about 23 centigrade and not at all humid, in fact, a perfect ‘English’ summer’s day. Sydney tomorrow.

Day 31 Happy Valentine’s day

We won the ‘Valentine’s Day’ scavenger hunt. It was great fun racing around the ship to get various items on the list. There were six of us in the team and we all ticked off the items we could bring back to the table. The hardest item was a live flower because there are no florists on board, so Willie grabbed the orchid display from the reception desk! We’re currently in the Cook Strait and the Tasman Sea; the sea has been really rough overnight and still is today, it makes line dancing interesting. The temperature has dropped to 19 degrees so no sunbathing for a while. We have new cabaret acts on board, the comedian last night was Bobby Dennis from the UK he’s 77 and we’d heard it all before. Tonight’s act is another UK act from the West End musicals and we’ve already had one of those! We’re not particularly impressed with the entertainment but we go along and make the most of it. We’ll be in Burnie, Tasmania on day 34 (Feb 17).

Day 29 Auckland New Zealand

With more boats per capita than any other city in the world, Auckland is appropriately known as the City of Sails. It is also known as one of the cleanest and most peaceful. Stately old buildings, restored to their Victorian elegance, proudly display their wrought iron balconies. Auckland was once the capital of New Zealand before it was considered Wellington to be a more suitable site. Even though it is no longer the capital, Auckland flourishes with more than 1 million residents, and it is the largest Polynesian city in the world. We took an excursion to a family farm, which stood on 200 acres. We were free to wander around the house and gardens which had dozens of Fallow Deer. We were treated to a barbecue, sheep shearing and watched as a Border Collie rounded up the sheep.

We were then driven to the west coast to a Gannet colony and beautiful views of crashing waves and surfers. I had an emergency appointment at 6.00pm with the local dentist, because I’d chipped one of my back teeth. He put a temporary filling in it and as it didn’t need numbing, I was ready for dinner. We had dinner in the harbour at The Waterfront; it was so nice to eat something other than ship food. Now we have yet another 4 days until Burnie Tasmania.

Day 28 The Day That Never Was!

Sorry for the lack of photos today. We crossed the International Date Line sometime on Tuesday 10 February but this day never happened for us! We went to bed Monday night and when we awoke it was Wednesday. It’s very confusing if you think about it, so I choose not to, it’s the blonde in me. Not a huge amount has happened since Raratonga, as you gather, we’ve been at sea for four days. Part of a back tooth and the filling came out the other evening. The ship have arranged for me to see a dentist in Auckland, I didn’t fancy the nurse on the ship drilling in my mouth. It might be a bit like the scene from Marathon Man! Yesterday, we walked 5K (3 miles) which is 38 times around the jogging track, it’s very small. We were given an hour to do it, I finished in 45 minutes and felt raring to go until the afternoon when I collapsed on the bed watching movies on the TV. So today is now Day 29 11 February and I can’t believe our little Charlie is 10 months old today, see you in just one month xx Tomorrow; Auckland where rain is forecast!

Day 24 Raratonga Cook Islands

OK – this is paradise! Finally, we’ve found an island that is worthy of the title. It is small but it’s the capital of all the 15 Cook Islands and has a population of about 16000, well that’s what Mr Hopeless our tour guide told us. Raratonga is in the centre of the Polynesian triangle, with Tonga and the Samoas to the west and French Polynesia to the east. Raratonga is mountainous and covered in jungle, with luxurious ferns, creepers and trees. Surrounded by a protective coral reef, its turquoise lagoons are as luring as the coconut-palm fringed white-sand beaches. We went on another 4WD, but this one was great fun and we were told a lot about the Islands. We walked to the town from the tender, which wasn’t very far, but oh so hot and humid! We had lunch in Trader Jacks and walked back via the souvenir shops. I think I have more mosquito bites today. This evening on board the Tahitian Princess, we had Island party night and I’m cooling down now before retiring for the night.

We now have another four days at sea (including crossing the International Date Line). Next stop Auckland and sheep shearing! Don't ask. :)

Day 22 Papeete Tahiti

Firstly I have to thank Ian Campbell from Launceston, Tasmania, Australia who must be following my travels because he took the time to write and correct an important fact. I obviously put the decimal point in the wrong place and enlarged Pitcairn Island! It is actually only 1.8 sq miles. Thank you Ian. Tahiti is actually made up of two islands: Tahiti Nui (Big Tahiti) and Tahiti Iti (Little Tahiti). These islands are 404 sq miles (honestly Ian!) with a population of approximately 170,000, most of whom were out and about in the afternoon. Apparently the school kids have Wednesday and Friday afternoon off, so if you find yourself on a cruise to Tahiti on either of those days, stay on the ship ;). Everything was very expensive on the island and it seems you can only buy traditional costumes, Billabong or Roxy. So I still haven’t had retail therapy, might try Auckland for that! We went on a 4WD safari into the lush mountain interior and were promised a cool refreshing dip in the natural river pool, we all decided against that when we saw the water; very rocky and quite muddy. Tahiti doesn’t have the gorgeous sandy beach with the solitary palm tree that was in my mind, you have to go to neighbouring islands to see those visions. Last night, we watched an amazing electrical storm on the horizon.

Our next stop is Raratonga, maybe I’ll see them there.

Pick me, pick me!

Day 19 Pitcairn Island - Mutiny on the Bounty!

This is one of the remotest islands in the south Pacific, probably in the world. The island is approximately 1.8 square miles, population of only 48 and many of the inhabitants are called Christian, after Fletcher Christian who led the mutineer on HMS Bounty in 1790. The spoken language is a cross between 18th century English and Tahitian, the currency is the NZ dollar but the island is an overseas territory of the UK the local time is GMT -8.5.

Unfortunately the islanders didn’t come onboard but they sent a boat out with the mayor and a dozen or so others to collect provisions. Last night on board we had a fun party night, the first one in 18 days! We have a very good entertainment crew on board, mainly Aussies and most are also the dancers, so they led the line dancing etc. We have another two days at sea. Next stop: Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia where Captain Bligh and the crew of HMS Bounty first anchored and stayed for about 5 months.