2015 Cruise to Papua New Guinea

Saturday 21^st February, 2015

In the words of Jan Brady from “The Brady Bunch” TV series “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”.  Tropical Cyclone Marcia threatened to put an end to our PNG cruise before it even started.  Torrential rains, flooding and high winds had ravaged Queensland for the past 24 or so hours and we were not sure whether the cruise would be cancelled or not.  But, at 9.30am the Redair bus arrived to transport us and several other passengers to the Portside Cruise Terminal.  Although it was bucketing down with rain, we were grateful that we had actually arrived and that we would indeed be going on our cruise.  All the passengers from the previous cruise looked so bedraggled and forlorn as they had disembarked from a lovely cozy and totally pampered experience to the crowded wharf with luggage in tow.  We tried not to snicker too loudly as we sauntered passed them (after all we will be disembarking ourselves in eleven days). 

Oh the relief of walking into our balcony cabin up on deck 10 and looking down upon the wharf below.  And even though it was still pouring with rain when we finally set sail around 4.15pm, it was still pretty cool to travel down the Brisbane River, underneath the Gateway Bridge and make our way out to sea. 

 

Fortunately the seas weren’t rough at all, as I had been dreading (and I may have been a little stressed about it, as John will definitely attest to). 

As soon as our bags arrived we unpacked and set up our home away from home for the next 11 days. 

We were assigned to 5.30pm dining in the Traviata Restaurant, and Table 129 would be our designated table for the duration of the cruise.  Well, it had to be the best table in the house!  Right by the window and with three other absolutely delightful couples – three of the four men were called John, so less names for us to remember.  Our first dinner turned out to be just terrific.  Not just wonderful food but great company as well. 

Sunday 22^nd February, 2015

What an incredible night’s sleep we both had.  I guess after the stress of the previous couple of weeks, it all caught up with us and we just crashed last night and slept for nearly ten hours.  After the dreadful weather we had yesterday, this morning was absolutely gorgeous and the seas couldn’t be calmer if they tried. 

Breakfast in the restaurant is always such a lovely experience.  White tablecloths, silver cutlery and delightful waiters to tend to your every need.  John lined up for his customary bagel lox (very predictable) and happily declared that his cruise had indeed begun. 

After breakfast we decided to go for a bit of a wander of the shopping precinct…and to buy ‘the cap man’ yet another cap – a ‘Sea Princess’ one this time.  That now makes 115 in all, but none so special as his very first – his ‘Top Dad’ cap from David many years ago.

At 11am we had a ‘Meet and Greet’ with about 40 other cruisers that we ‘met’ through the Cruise Critic website.  Most were Aussies but there were a few Americans as well so we happily chatted for over an hour – a captive audience!

This afternoon was a bludge afternoon where we sat around and read our respective books, had a snooze and then got all dolled up for our first formal night on the ship.  We had booked ourselves into the Sterling Steakhouse for dinner tonight and what a taste extravaganza it was.  Some stupid woman ahead of us as we walked in was most miffed because there was no chicken on the menu – I guess it takes all sorts.  For us it was just the decision of which cut of steak to have, but we both went for the rib eye, a carnivore’s delight. 

The evening entertainment on board is always enjoyable, and tonight was terrific.  John and I both love the banjo and this fellow was just brilliant. He had us all clapping and stomping our feet for over an hour.  At the end of the day we both declared that we had made the most of our first full day at sea.

Monday 23^rd February

Our second full day at sea and the day began pretty much the same as yesterday…beautiful calm sapphire blue seas and clear blue skies outside and two very relaxed passengers inside Cabin B539.

We wandered down to the Traviata Restaurant around 8.30am for breakfast and were joined at our table by a lovely couple from Tasmania.  It’s always great when you meet new people who come from somewhere you have been yourselves – a wonderful icebreaker. 

After breakfast we rocked up for Morning Trivia, as did several hundred other people.  In the past there have always been opportunities to join up with other people to make a team of six, but everyone around us seemed to already have their teams, so it was ‘Team John and Sue’ verses the masses.  I will not embarrass ourselves by revealing our final score. Let’s just say that we didn’t get 18 out of 20 like the winning team did.  Just for future reference, the female who was born on this day in 10,000BC was none other than… Pebbles Flintstone. If I had been asked to write down the words of the theme song to “The Flintstones” I would have been able to do it but Pebbles never entered into our minds. I guess that’s one of the frustrating things about playing Trivia.

After recovering from our epic defeat, we decided to walk for several laps around the deck.  We got around a couple of times when all of a sudden we looked out over the water and saw flying fish….hundreds of them!  So for the next half hour or so we were joined by quite a number of other passengers as we watched an epic battle between flying fish and hungry sea birds.  This was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in all my life. John, always on the lookout for ways of funding his future travels, tried to take bets but alas no-one was interested. 

After a relaxing few hours this afternoon we joined our fellow ‘table mates’ for another delicious meal this evening, accompanied by lots of laughs and funny stories. And just to prove that no matter where you are in the world you can’t escape, the lady at the table next to us was someone that I knew back in my QSuper days – Irene Bolton – a lovely person who was travelling with her husband.

The show tonight was a country and western theme and as neither of us is too fussed on this sort of music, we went back to our cabin and watched the “Paddington Bear” movie on our laptop.

Tuesday 24^th February - Alotau

Our alarm was set for 6.30am so that we could be up ready to watch the ship sail into our first port of call – Alotau. 

What an incredibly rugged country is PNG – just as I imagined it would be.  High mountain ranges blanketed in clouds and dense tropical forests right up to the shoreline.  There were lots of locals in their various boats sailing around the ship.  But obviously the 21^st century has caught up with even the natives - one man paddled fairly close to the ship in his outrigger canoe but stopped suddenly when his mobile phone rang!

 After breakfast, which we had delivered to our cabin, we decided to go for a wander around on deck.  We had booked a shore excursion for 11.30am to take us to Milne Bay so we had a couple of hours to wait until then.  We stopped to view a welcome by some local people dressed in traditional costumes which was taking place down on the wharf

and then we started chatting with another couple who, as it turned out, were going on the same tour as we were.  We talked for about half an hour but in the end we had to retreat back into the air conditioning.  Oh so hot and humid.

 

The shore excursion that we booked was excellent.  We visited Milne Bay, which was the first time in the 2^nd World War that the Japanese had been defeated in a land battle. 

There was one very old local man there who had actually been there when the Japanese were occupying his village.  He survived by climbing up a tree and taking refuge there. 

From Milne Bay we were driven to the Turnbull War Memorial, the original No. 3 airstrip during WW2 and memorial to Australia's Squadron Leader, Peter St George Turnbull, who was killed during the Battle of Milne Bay.

 

Then it was on to the waterfront and the Milne Bay Memorial

By the time we got back to the ship we were desperate for a cool shower and a refreshing drink.  Despite the terrible heat and humidity our time in Alotau was fascinating.

Wednesday 25^th February, 2015 – Kitava

We weren’t in too much of a rush to get to Kitava Island (one of the Trobiand Island group) because of the line up for tender boats to take passengers ashore.  So we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the dining room and a cool wait in the air-conditioned lounge while we waited for our tender number to be called.  Once on the island though we had the most wonderful few hours.  Our first mission was to find someone who would benefit from the bag of school supplies that we had brought with us (also thanks to our dear friends David and Lynn).  After wandering around for a while we discovered Pati, a most beautiful man who was a tour guide, a volunteer at the local school and a Sunday School teacher.  He was thrilled to receive our gift and also took us to meet his wife and beautiful little baby, Rodney.  We ended up getting his address as well as his mobile number so that we could send him another parcel of goodies after we get home. 

But by that stage we were pretty hot so it was down to the water for us.  The sand was soft and the water cool and crystal clear – perfect for just plonking in for an hour or so.  John was dead keen to try out his new snorkelling equipment, so after a bit of a ‘challenge’ getting him all kitted out he happily floated away in search of coral and tropical fish. 

When we heard the rumble of thunder and dark clouds appear on the horizon we decided that it was time to head back to the ship. 

When we got back it was cool shower time then a light (late) lunch and down to afternoon Trivia.  This time we were joined by one of our dinner table companions and the three of us scored a reasonable 14 out of 20.

For the remainder of the afternoon until it was time to get ready to go to dinner, we enjoyed the peace and quiet of our balcony.  The highlight for us was when a large pod of dolphins swam by.  Never a dull moment at sea.

Thursday 26^th February – Rabaul

The sail-in to Rabaul was absolutely fascinating as we passed slowly by the Tavurnur Volcano which devastated Rabaul in 1994.

Because we had booked a local tour in Rabaul rather than one of the ship’s shore excursions we were able to disembark soon after arrival.  The representative from Paivu Tours was there to load us and six of our fellow passengers to a mini bus for a “Pacific Memories” 4½ tour.  The roads are very rough and mostly unpaved, which ensured that we had quite a rocky ride, especially as our bus was pretty much devoid of shock absorbers.  First stop were the Japanese Barge Tunnels at Karavia Bay - a network of tunnels and tracks connecting barges and buildings dating back to the war.

Then it was off to the Kokopo Museum which was just a whole mess of war vehicles etc lain about on the grass, gradually deteriorating. I don't think this museum will be here in another ten years time. 

Our next stop was the Bitapaka War Cemetary which was established in 1945 and managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  The cemetery contains the Australian and Commonwealth graves of those killed during operations in New Britain and New Ireland during World War II, or who died while prisoners of war.The cemetery also contains World War I Australian and German graves of those killed during operations in the Occupation of German New Guinea, which were relocated to the cemetery. It was so beautifully done and very moving  

To lighten the mood a little we had a short stop at a local market.  It was very interesting to see all of the produce available, but some of it smelt quite erk, particularly the fish which was left just drying in the sun.  We looked but definitely didn't feel the need to buy anything.

And finally our lovely young tour guide invited us to come to her village, where we were welcomed with bunches of flowers and treated to some local dancing 

and coconuts

We were so pleased that we had decided to book a local tour rather than go with one of the ship's shore excursions.  We saw so much more and for a third of the price.

 

Friday 27^th February – should have been Kiriwina Island but wasn’t 

We were just finishing breakfast ahead of making our way to the tender boat for a day on Kiriwina Island when there was an announcement from the Captain telling us that, due to a strong swell, it wasn’t safe to ferry passengers to the Island.  So what was to be another day swimming and snorkelling on a remote island turned out to be a day at sea.  But, although a little disappointed, we vowed to make the most of our day.  We walked a couple of laps of the deck before rocking up for trivia – today being “How much do you know about Australia”. Sharon, John and Heather (our dinner companions) joined us and, although we didn’t win, we did pretty well. 

After trivia it was back to the cabin for a couple of hours to sit out on the balcony and read.  At lunchtime we decided to go to Café Corniche, the pizza restaurant on deck 8.  We got a table for two and a couple of yummy pizzas and enjoyed a ‘date’. 

 

Then back to the cabin again after lunch to watch a movie, have a bit more of a read and a nanny nap.

Dinner tonight was another great night with our terrific dinner companions, followed by a show (a very funny English comedienne).

Just before retiring for the night we went out on to the balcony to breathe in the balmy night air, when a tropical storm hit.  It was quite a sight to watch the sheets of wind-blown rain sweep passed us and the seas change from flat to very choppy.  Then just as quickly as it hit, it stopped.  The winds died down, the waters returned to calm and the moon popped back out from amongst the clouds. 

Saturday 28^th February – Doini Island

Today was brilliant! We actually arrived at Doini Island around 10pm last night and anchored here all night.  When we awoke this morning we were surrounded by lots and lots of little islands, with Doini being the biggest of them all. 

Again we needed tender boats to get us to the island, which has a resort that is run by Australians.  The water is pristine aqua blue with loads of coral quite close in to the shore.  We were able to swim and float quite happily, although I did get a little freaked out when a fish bit me on the knee.  John once again donned his snorkelling gear but this time I also had a go – for the first time in my whole life.  And it was just wonderful.  A whole new world with lots of beautiful little fish and colourful coral.  Which just goes to show that you are never too old to try new things.

We arrived back to the ship just after 3pm and it was hard to believe that the next time we stepped onto land we would be back home in Brisbane.  But, we still have three days at sea ahead of us to look forward to.

Another great dinner with our ‘table mates’ and then it was off to the Princess Theatre for the show.  Sadly there was standing room only so we decided to retire to our room where we comfortably laid back and watched the movie “The Book Thief”.

Sunday 1^st March – at sea

Calm waters and a sleep in heralded the beginning of a new month of 2015.  Breakfast was delivered to our room, after which we walked down to the Vista Lounge for the morning trivia, joined by John and Sharon, two of our dinner companions. 

The relaxing rest of the day followed by a fun dinner with our lovely table mates.

Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd March – at sea

Unfortunately I was felled by a virus for these two days and spent all my time in the cabin sleeping.  I guess it was better that it happened at the end of our cruise and not at the beginning but I was none too impressed.  John kept himself quite happy by sitting out on the balcony, reading or napping.

By Tuesday night, our last night, I felt a lot better so we decided to go dinner.  I really wanted to say a farewell to our dinner companions and to get their email addresses so that we could arrange to meet up again later in the year.  We also got a chance to say thank you to our lovely waiters Maggie and Jayson - and give them a well deserved tip from all of us.

Wednesday 4th March – back in Brisbane
I was feeling much better today (naturally) so we went up to the buffet nice and early for breakfast so that we could watch us sail down the Brisbane River back to Portside.  We disembarked by 8am and the Redair coach was waiting to take us and several of the other passengers back home. 

Cruise over - another memorable journey.