Photos now added from Hong Kong Onwards

Sydney

15^th April 2012 – Home at Last

We went through the heads into Sydney Harbour just before 6 am, capturing a beautiful sunrise as we crawled down the harbour.

Sunrise on the Harbour

Once again we are berthing at Barangaroo, as there are too many cruise ships for Circular Quay to cope.

We disembarked at 9.30am.

At Sea

14^th April 2012 

When we looked out from the balcony at just after 7am, we were about 12 nm off Cape Byron, once more back in relatively light conditions. There was a yacht very close to the coast who also appeared to be heading South, into the wind.

Cape Byron

The coast was in view for a good part of the day, and by late afternoon, we were off Camden Haven, with the usual impressive sunset.

Sunset South of Camden Haven

They had collected 2 new movies in Brisbane, “The Iron Lady” and “Warhorse”, and decided to show them both today. I went to both, whilst Carole decided to give warhorse a miss, and see if she could crack the jackpot at Bingo. (No luck unfortunately)

Tonight is our last night at sea and the highlight of the dinner is apparently the Bomb Alaska for desert.

Eugene Delivers the Bomb Alaska

Our Dining Table with our regular partners , Arthur & Marilyn (Adrian & Chris departed in Brisbane)

Brisbane

13^th April 16, 2012 

We entered Morton Bay early in the morning, at around 6 am, and it is a long way through the channels to finally get to our berth in the river at Hamilton. The first thing we noticed was the amount of apartments being built around the cruise terminal precinct in Hamilton.

Sea Princess at the Cruise Terminal at Hamilton

Getting clearance, and off the ship, was pretty straight forward for transit passengers, and the weather was looking like we may get rain.

After disembarking we headed off to the ferry wharf at “Bretts Wharf”, a short stroll from the ship, to catch a City Cat into the city centre. We did get some rain, but it was only light.

The ferry ride to North quay, which is the nearest wharf to give access to the Queen Street Mall, took about 20 minutes with a number of stops on either side of the river, a very pleasant way to travel for $2.60.

Treasury Casino

Queen Street Mall

Once at North Quay , we had a short walk up to Queen Street Mall, where we spent an hour or so having a look around, and a real cup of coffee, finally !!  It was getting close to lunch time, so we decided we would head across the bridge to Southbank and find somewhere there to buy lunch. We ended up at a pub, The Plough Inn, but there was heaps of choice. It is incredible how they have developed this area from the bare site I recall at the time of the Brisbane Expo. There is something for everyone, including a large swimming pool (with a beach) for the kids, lots of open area, gardens, a rainforest, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Whilst at Southbank, we decided to have a look in the maritime museum there. We could see a number of boats on display, including Jessica Watson's , Pink Lady. We ended up spending a very interesting hour or so, including exploring and old frigate HMAS Diamantina which was in the old disused dry dock and most decks were open for inspection.

Ella's Pink lady

                                                               HMAS Diamantina

"Happy II" ( Can you believe someone sailed half way around the World in this !)

Having had a sizeable lunch and a good look around, it was time to catch the ferry back to the ship. We were back at around 5 pm, a bit early, as all aboard time is 6.30pm, but we had done enough walking and were ready to put our feet up.

The ship sailed at 6.45 pm, a little ahead of time. We decided to just have a pizza for dinner, as we didn’t feel like getting changed and had a big lunch.

At Sea

12^th April 2012 

Last night the ship bumped around quite a lot and the forecast of 35-40 knots,  of breeze from the south east and 4-5m seas looks about right. We went down for our morning walk only to see the normal doors we go through to get on the promenade deck, sealed off and a danger warning about strong winds posted on the doors. We managed to find one set of doors opened and joined a few others struggling against the wind on the windward side of the boat. There was plenty of sea spray and the temperature has dropped to around 24 C. The swimming pools have been emptied and cordoned off for safety reasons.

This morning went to a cooking demonstration by the head chef and his pastry chef, followed by a tour of the galley. Not surprisingly, the scale of everything in the galley is on an industrial scale, and they are large !

At noon we were 75nm off Swain Reef to starboard, and 135nm NNE of Sandy Cape. The ship has had to slow down to handle the conditions and the Captain now anticipates arriving in Brisbane 1 hour late. Rain started to set in around noon, but fined up later in the day. The wind is now gusting to 50 knots, and we are going noticeably slower.

This afternoon we went to the movies to see “The Artist”, very different, but a great movie.

At Sea

11^th April 2012 

As expected, the sea and wind built overnight with wind in the morning blowing at 25-30 knots, with seas 3-4 m, making for a bumpier ride than we have become accustomed to.

As we were sailing into the wind, the apparent wind was pretty strong and managed to tear the aluminium cladding off a section of one of the stacks. The crew cordoned off the aft deck as the sheet of metal thrashed around in the wind for a couple of hours before finally disappearing into the ocean. We lost a similar section of cladding going north in the rough conditions we had before we reached Japan.

By noon we were just south of Cairns and well outside the reef.

In the morning we went to presentation by the 3^rd Officer, on the operation of the bridge, which covered most aspects of the operation of the ship and was very interesting and well presented. In the end he had to stop the questions as the theatre was need for another presentation. The theatre was almost packed.

After lunch, I went off to see a movie “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”, whilst Carole had her usual mahjong session.

The wind continued building during the day and it looks like we are in for stronger winds and bigger seas tomorrow.


Dinner tonight was a formal night with lobster on the menu.

Pre dinner drinks with our usual crew (Adrian & Chris at the rear are on our dinner table)

Our Waiters , Eugene and Jovenil (Marilyn in the foreground)

                                               Adrian Gets Special Attention (for the camera)

At Sea

10^th April 2012 

This morning we got up early for our walk, as we had to attend a face to face immigration clearance with Australian Officials who must have got on board in Rabaul, at 8.30am. The whole ship had completed clearance by noon, so I guess the 4 government officials spend the next 2 days at sea relaxing before we arrive in Brisbane on Friday.

After completing clearance we had breakfast and relaxed for the rest of the morning wandering around and watching a few islands go by. At 12 noon we were located in the Solomon Sea (part of the Pacific Ocean), 20nm off Woodlark Island on our port side, in 594m of water. The wind had picked up to 18 knots from SSE and is expected to build further overnight.

After lunch we went to a session in the Princess Theatre called “ Meet the Hotel Senior Managers” where a panel including the Hotel Manager, the Customer Services Manager, and the person who is in charge of procurement of all of the food and beverage, answered questions and provided insights into how everything works on the ship, in the Hotel operations (which is really everything to do with providing passengers services and keeping them happy). It was quite enlightening, and some of the statistics on food and beverage consumption were mind blowing (like 6,000 eggs per day are consumed).

It was interesting that only the fresh food ingredients loaded on board when we left were Australian sourced, all dry goods and long life products (eg milk) are sourced from the USA. The containers we saw being loaded in Guam, were ordered 3 myths ahead and all came from USA. It seems that just about everything is dictated from the USA, the movies on board, the food menus, merchandise in the shops etc. It now makes sense why they have run out of Vegemite !!!

We haven’t been to many shows so decided to go to one at 4.30pm, who was a vocalist, singing John Denver songs. I am not encouraged to bother to go to any other shows. It looks like they have done the rounds of the RSL clubs and looked for who was available. In contrast, the bands and vocalists they have in the bars have been excellent.

Late afternoon we took a drink down to the aft deck of our floor hoping to get a glimpse of the Louisiade Archipelago, which we were due to pass at around 6.30pm. Unfortunately we entered the Jomard Entrance to the Coral Sea ( a narrow pass between the Louisiades  and the rest of PNG) at 6.45pm, and it was pitch black, but we could see the lighthouse on the island that is in the middle of the passage. The Louisiades are a favourite cruising ground for many Australian yachties.

We expect the seas to get a bit rougher overnight, as we get further into the Coral Sea.

Rabaul

9^th April 10, 2012 

The alarm was set for 6am this morning to make sure we were awake to see the approach to Rabaul, which is very scenic with volcanoes on either side of the entrance to Simpson Harbour, one of which still has steam venting out of it.

The water was glassy as we came into the harbor, with virtually no breeze and it was starting to get warm, but was still pleasant. The pilot joined us at 7.15am and we berthed a little after 8am. Sea Princess overhung the wharf at both ends and mooring lines has to extend into the shore, which proved a bit of a challenge resulting a couple of locals having to get in the water to retrieve the stern line, which didn’t quite make the distance when thrown.

Glassy conditions as we entered the harbour

Sea Princess alongside

Clearance was quick, and people were going ashore pretty much immediately. We were booked on a morning tour, so got to watch the US Masters for a while before having to gather to join our tour before it had finished !! It took about 45 minutes before it was our turn to go ashore to meet up with the tour operator.

It is clear that not a lot of tourists come to Rabaul, and the arrival of something the size of Sea Princess with a few thousand people on board stretched the resources a bit. The tour was in mini buses which held about 12 people, well packed in, without air conditioning. It must have been quite an exercise to round up all 0f the mini buses, and guides, who were not professional guides, but did a fair job. Our guide , Lillian was a student, aged 23, she was in year 11, having had a break for a year to study tourism ? She was able to work today because it is a public holiday, Easter Monday. There weren’t to many others working in Rabaul however.

Our Convoy of Tour Buses 

Our Tour Guide , Lillian

I'm Glad we took the expensive option

Rabaul was virtually wiped out in 1994, by the eruption of  Mt Tuvurvur which covered much of the city under 2m of ash, burying the airport, the golf course and many buildings in its’ vicinity. Whilst the city has recovered somewhat, and remains the port for New Britain, the capital was moved to Kokopo, further around the coast and out of the way of further volcanic eruptions. Rabaul now has 3 “hotels” operating, a market and a few stores including a supermarket and bakery etc.

Our first stop on our tour was the Rabaul Hotel, apparently a local icon, which still provides accommodation, a restaurant and bar. It was located just down the road from the Rabaul Yacht Club, which is on the harbourside adjacent to the Travelodge Hotel. 

Rabaul Hotel

The Yacht Club

The visit took about 10 minutes to see the highlights, and it was then on to the hot springs, at the base of Mt Vuvuvur. To get there, we had to drive across the ash field deposited during the 1994 eruption. There is no road, just a field of ash (that used to be part of the city), and a few sticks have been hammered into the ground to mark out a “road” system to cross this extensive area to get to the springs. Fortunately, it provided a much better driving surface, than the paved roads, which are riddled with potholes.

The "road" across the ash fields

The view of the volcano and the springs were worth the trip. Enterprising locals had set up very basic stalls there to sell local handicrafts, and a thatched building had been erected , which we were told was a toilet.

The on site toilet

Buildings covered by ash

From here we headed off across the ash field, crossing what used to be the golf course and old airport on Matupit Island, where were saw ruins os some Japanese aircraft which had been based there during WW2. The ruins are now sitting in holes in the ash, as they had been covered in the volcanic eruption.

Japanese Aircraft remains

It was then on to a Catholic Community Centre on Matupit Island ( which is also our guides home town), where we were greeted by a group of children who put on a concert for us, and the usual handicraft stalls were everywhere. I think it was worth their while, as whilst they didn’t sell a lot of handicrafts, just about everyone left a donation for the community in a cardboard box provided near the stage where the kids were singing. On the way to our next stop, The Rabaul Vulcanological Observatory, our guide gave  us some insights into life on Matupit island. They have no running water, and fresh water comes by truck or bus from Kokopo. Their staple diet is based on bananas, coconut, a green vegetable that I didn’t quite get the name of, fish and eggs the collect near the volcano, laid by wild fowl. There was no livestock in the village. Other things are available from the market in Rabaul, but it is a pretty basic life. Any electricity comes from the odd generator, and houses are built from “bush” materials or other basic building materials from Rabaul.

The observatory is based on a hill high up above the port, affording fantastic views of the harbor and volcanoes. It acts as there early warning system for future eruptions and they relocate residents perceived to be in danger to other safe areas if some activity is expected.  There were more kids singing and more handicrafts, but the people are not pushy, in fact quite shy, and very friendly. The views were spectacular, and looked right down on Sea Princess at her berth, so cameras were snapping feverishly.

Sea Princess from the Observatory

Welcoming Party

As this was our last visit, we headed back down the hill, past tunnels dug into the hillside by Germans during their occupation, eventually arriving back at the wharf at 12.30pm. By now it was very hot and humid, and most people headed straight for the air conditioned comfort of the ship. Having got back on board and cooled down, there was little attraction in heading back ashore after lunch (there was nowhere onshore you could have lunch in the vicinity of the port), so we relaxed on board for the rest of the afternoon. There was plenty going on in the harbour of interest, including the odd visit by curious locals in outrigger canoes to see the Sea Princess close up.

Not surprisingly, everyone was on board ahead of the official deadline, and for the first time on our cruise, we cast off 15 minutes ahead of time at 5.45pm.

Ships at Anchor behind Beehive Islands

We were on the aft deck for the next hour taking in the view as we departed from Simpson Harbour , taking heaps of photos, including a beautiful sunset.

So summing up Rabaul, the scenery is spectacular, but you can see why it is not a major destination for cruise ships or tourists, as there is little infrastructure, a latent threat of being buried under volcanic ash, and limited things to do, but the people are extremely welcoming and friendly, without the commercialization seen in other major tourist centres. It is one of the best natural harbours you would see anywhere. You get the impression that Rabaul has been left to fend for itself, after the relocation of much of the city to Kokopo.

At Sea

8^th April 8, 2012 – At Sea

This morning we crossed the equator at around 6 am (no ceremony this time). It is another warm day with light breezes and flat seas.

By midday the wind was up to 20 knots from the SW but the seas relatively unaffected, however the temperature has dropped a few degrees, making it very pleasant sitting on the balcony.

At noon we were 32nm off Massau Island on our port side, still heading on a mostly southerly course. The water depth has decreased to 2088 m.

This afternoon we went to the afternoon matinee movie, “London Boulevard”, which was a bit gruesome, but entertaining.

The Usual Sunset Shots

At Sea

7^th April 2012 

The weather is getting warmer, but still quite pleasant. It is 30 C outside today with a 10 knot westerly breeze, and is not too humid. We saw a bit if the US Masters Golf on TV before our morning walk, and caught the last few holes when we returned.

There was a destination briefing for Rabaul this morning, which we decided to watch on the big screen on the pool deck, rather than pack in to the Princess Theatre.

The ship chefs have been busy decorating the ship with Easter decorations, from easter eggs of all sizes, to the odd easter bunny (all chocolate of course) , and bunches off flowers carved from vegetables, all hand made and some quite amazing. There were more than a few of the older passengers enquiring what was going to happen to the display, but nearly cried when they were told it would be destroyed (not given to passengers for consumption).

At noon we were 140nm off Namoluk Atoll, at the southern end of the Yap Group of Micronesian Islands, in 3,740 m of water.

This afternoon Carole went to a movie, after mahjong, whilst I went an advanced digital photography lecture, which was quite good.

It has been a very balmy day with very calm seas. As usual, we had another spectacular sunset.