Sailing to Sydney

Saturday, October 17

Another lovely, relaxing day at sea, with no set schedule except meal times! Not quite true as there are always talks to attend, card games to play, books to read and friends to chat to. Tonight was the last formal night, so we made an extra effort to squeeze into our glad rags, which must have shrunk while we've been away!! It was another beautiful meal, followed by the show, and then we went to the Officers Masquerade party in the Crows Nest. The highlight of this was seeing Tam the Cruise Director belt out 2 songs with the HAL Cats - she is a very talented lady and the best Cruise Director we've encountered.

 

Sunday, October 18

Today is the last day at sea before we arrive in Sydney tomorrow morning, so it was a bit sad going to breakfast for the second last time before we have to start fending for ourselves! We attended the Inter Denominational church service at 9am, then did some packing before meeting with the Future Cruise Consultant. We always like to book a cruise while on a cruise so we have another one to look forward to.

After lunch there were the "sail offs" of the Boat building contest, where teams had obviously put in a lot of time and effort building "boats" out of whatever materials they could gather. The range of sizes/styles/ concepts and the imagination behind them was incredible. They had to pass a float test in the hot tub, and then carry a load of 6 full cans of soft drink to test their sea worthiness. Most passed with flying colours, although a few sank under the weight of the 6 full cans! The winner was the Signature Cruise ship, which really was amazing with all the little details that were on it - I can't imagine how much time would have gone into it!

Some of the contestants

The Good Ship Lollipop passes the float test

The Signature Cruise ship being loaded with 6 soft drink cans

It was then time to finish packing, go to dinner, and say goodbye to new and old friends on the ship. We needed an early night as we wanted to get up early for the sail into Sydney.

 

Monday, October 19

The alarm went off at 5:15am, we dressed quickly and headed to one of the outer decks to watch us sail into Sydney Harbour. It was still dark, but as it got closer to 6am it was getting lighter very fast. We turned the corner and there in front of us was the Harbour Bridge, the lights of downtown Sydney and the Opera House to the left. There were a lot of people up to view the spectacle, and it was a great sight. As we got closer we were both happy and sad, knowing that this holiday was nearly at an end. However it was worth the effort and we got some great photos.

 

After a quick breakfast while looking out over the Opera House we disembarked about 8:30am and headed for the airport. It has been a great holiday in 3 distinct legs, Canada, Alaska and the Pacific cruise home. All are well worth doing!!

 

 

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Kuto, Ile des Pins, New Caledonia

Thursday, October 15

Today was a real stop/start affair. We woke up to another glorious island view with bright sunshine and aqua waters. By the time we had dressed and gone for breakfast the sky was completely overcast and threatening to rain. Our tender tickets had us leaving the ship around 10.00 am but by then the heavens had opened and spending a day on an island beach was not that enticing. We decided to take a "rain check" and evaluate the situation around 11.00 am. Between 10 & 11 am it rained then cleared then rained again and the skies remained gloomy and overcast. The four of us all felt that it would be a shame not to at least go over to the island and have a bit of a look around, even if it meant wearing rain jackets, so just after 11.00 am we boarded a tender looking more like we did in Alaska than as if we were heading to a tropical island.

Not exactly beach gear or beach weather

As we got off the tender it began to drizzle again but the temperature was pleasant so we didn't mind too much. At the end of our tender dock someone spotted a water snake and that caused quite a bit of excitement (and probably consternation for those planning to snorkel) and before too long there were several large black and white striped snakes swimming around. Angie & I were very glad we hadn't taken our bathers across.

One of the black & white striped sea snakes near our tender dock

We ambled along the waterfront for a short distance and the rain shower cleared and the sky began to look brighter. Locals had set up market stalls selling beaded and wooden handicrafts along with the usual sarongs and sundresses, postcards and photos. We browsed through the stalls for a little while and by then the sun was shining. The water was changing from a grey blue to a bright aqua blue and everything looked so much better. Bougainvillea was intertwined with other tropical flowers and plants and large Banyan trees with their multiple trunks provided the backdrop - absolutely gorgeous!

Angie amongst the Bougainvillea, impatiens and other tropical plants

Tony & Al found an old native canoe

We continued walking along the foreshore, stopping to take photos of this very lovely part of the world and paddling in the clear waters. We came to a resort where we bought a beer each (at $8.50 a glass!) and sat and looked out over the glorious setting before us. This really is paradise - even the pine trees looked like they were standing guard over this island!

Paradise

A beer and time to take in our magnificent surrounds

The magnificent view as we enjoyed a beer

We continued walking around and ooh-ing and aah-ing for another hour or so then caught a tender back to the ship - a very pleasant journey on much calmer aqua and turquoise water. We had a light lunch because we were off to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner (magnificent steaks) and didn't want to spoil our dinner. There was time for a game of cards and a read before getting ready for our sunset sail away and South Pacific soirée before heading off for dinner.

Al enjoying the music at the South Pacific soirée

Sunset over the Pacific

We are just loving this holiday life! What a blessing to be able to see such magnificent sights like the Ile des Pins and many others along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Easo, Lifou, New Caledonia

Wednesday, October 14

Today was another tender day, so after breakfast we got a tender and headed for the dock on Easo. From the talks we'd attended about these islands we knew it was bigger than Mystery Island and we could see that from deck 8 while enjoying breakfast. It was sunny again but with a bit of cloud about, and the water was a magnificent turquoise colour.

Riding in the tender

There was a small market set up selling the usual clothes and souvenirs, along with some local tourist operators offering some tours. These were mainly snorkelling tours at different locations or with the chance to snorkel with rays or turtles. We opted to walk to see the Chapelle Notre Dame des Lourdes, which sat high on a cliff top and offered a great view over the bay and part of the island. This chapel dates back to 1858 when Catholic missionaries first came to Lifou Island.

Chapelle Notre Dame des Lourdes

View from the chapel

 

Our next destination was a short walk to a bay on the other side of the island called Jinek Bay, a great snorkelling spot with lots of coral and a variety of fish to see. It is actually a marine reserve so you had to pay to swim there, but we didn't have any snorkelling gear today so we couldn't enjoy it to the max. Also we spent too much time in the sun yesterday so we wanted to minimise our exposure today. After a good walk around here and observing fish and squid in the clear waters it started to rain, so we took shelter for a while. Noelle befriended a local who couldn't speak much English but she did let us take her picture. The indigenous people here have a kanak heritage so they are quite different to the Samoans and Fijians.

Young local girl at Jinek Bay Marine Reserve

 

We were about to walk to another church and explore more of the island when it started raining again, and with the wind cooling things down we decided to head back to the ship and read in more pleasant surrounds. The fact it was lunchtime added further appeal to return to the ship! Back on the ship we could really appreciate the different shades of blue and green of the water along the sandy beaches, as well as the greens of the trees on the island. Along with many of the usual tropical plants here there were also some pine trees, which added some variety to the landscape on this island.

View of the ship from Easo village

View of the island from the ship

 

We enjoyed a quiet afternoon, and over dinner remarked at how much better we all felt so we must have needed a rest after running around at our last few ports of call! Cruising is so demanding, but we love it!!

 

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Mystery Island, Vanuata

Tuesday, October 13

Today was one of our really fortunate ones in that we were actually able to get to Mystery Island - many cruise ship passengers don't get the chance because the area where the ships have to drop anchor is fairly unprotected and the seas can make it too dangerous for tenders to get to the Island, but hallelujah, we made it. .... and what a magnificent spot it was.

The sun was shining brightly so the water around Mystery Island looked the most magnificent shades of aqua and turquoise as we looked down from Deck 8 where we had breakfast. Mystery Island is only a kilometre long and roughly 4 kilometres to walk around its shoreline so we could see it in its entirety from our vantage point. We finished breakfast and headed down to catch a tender the short distance across to a floating dock at the Island's edge.

Our first view of Mystery Island as seen from Deck 8 (and one of the tenders on its way)

The Island was the picture perfect stuff as seen on postcards with fine sand, rocky outcrops with little rock pools, palm trees and magic coloured water that was so clear we could easily see reef fish, coral and the sea bed below. It was also a gloriously warm day. We ambled along the shoreline and then found a lovely spot to sit, read and take in the beauty around us. A lot of passengers had brought snorkelling gear with them but we had only invested in reef shoes in Honolulu and these made fossicking among the rock pools easier but snorkelling did look a fantastic option for the day. We had been warned about the snorkelling equipment available for hire from locals - both from the quality point of view as well as the health aspect so didn't bother with them. A friend we had met on board offered Al the use of her gear for a short while so he jumped at the opportunity while Tony, Angie & I had to settle for watching "Al Costeau". He said it was amazing how brightly coloured the fish were and the coral was also lovely.

A beautiful spot to stop for a read and sun bake

After Al dried off, we headed off on the rest of our circumnavigation of the Island. The other side was even more beautiful and we can honestly say that we have never seen such deep turquoise water before. It was really breathtaking. Before we knew it, we were back to the start of our walk and the area where the tenders docked. We smiled as we saw the queue of passengers wanting to return to the ship - it was lunchtime after all!

The other side of Mystery Island

We decided to walk along an interior path before heading back but had not gone far when it began to rain. We had seen dark clouds over the nearby Vanuatu Island but the rain really took us by surprise on Mystery Island. We decided to head back to the tenders ourselves and actually got quite wet with the rain coming in through our tender doorway. Like many tropical showers, it was short-lived and soon the sun was out again but we were already committed to returning to the ship. We had a late lunch then noticed it was raining again - the pattern for the rest of the afternoon. We spent a leisurely hour reading then showered and dressed for the 4.30 pm "sail away party". It was beautiful as we began sailing away but the rain soon spoilt the party. Oh well, we had had a wonderful day in the sun on a piece of God's paradise!

 

At the Drinks Stand provided by Volendam

Hard to believe it's the same day! Taken from Deck 8 as we sailed away

 

 

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Sailing to New Caledonia

Monday, October 12

Another good nights sleep and no need for an alarm, so after we awoke naturally it was off to breakfast, followed by a relaxing morning. After lunch we attended a Q&A session with the Captain which was very informative, and made us feel very comfortable that we are in safe hands.

Next up was a talk on the next 4 ports, 3 of which require tenders to get to shore, so we also collected our tender tickets in advance. This is a change of procedure for Holland America so we hope it works better than their previous system!

Tonight's dinner was also a formal night, but unfortunately Al and Tony can't fit into their business pants any more so they went in what they could fit into, along with their shirts, ties and jackets which made them look presentable. After dinner some of us read while others went to a movie and then the show - we have to turn the clocks back another hour tonight so it didn't end up a late night at all!

 

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Lautoka, Fiji

Sunday, October 11

After docking around 7.00 am, we were able to leave the ship from 8.00 am but we decided not to rush off as it was Sunday and not a lot begins before midday after church - a bit different to home!

We booked a 3 hour bus tour to take us into Nandi, along the beach road past the resorts and then back past the port to the town of Lautoka. The bus ride was hysterical as there were 18 other passengers - Canadian, American and Australians - all older than us and the biggest bunch of whingers you could imagine. The roads were not good but every pothole we went over brought gasps of pain and discomfort and cries re this being the worst, most uncomfortable ride of their lives. Our Fijian guide was a delight - late 30's and a lovely personality but a very strong accent that meant half the passengers couldn't understand him. One lady spoke so loudly and thought he looked like Harry Belafonte - a description all of us, including him, heard. Thankfully he was a lot more gracious than she was. We stopped for photos along the way including to see the Sleeping Giant Mountains.

Sleeping Giant Mountains

After a bit of time to shop in one of the few shops open in Nandi, we were driven out to a beach area where we enjoyed a local beer in the warm sun. We had an hour or so there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - plus we had a good wifi connection.

We were then driven to Lautoka and again didn't see many people around as by then it was their siesta time. Lautoka was not very inspiring and there seemed to have a large population of Indians as many houses were flying a red & yellow flag indicating a Hindu shrine in the garden. We didn't stop to have a good look around the city area but what we could see from the bus certainly wasn't that exciting.

A large Hindu Temple near Nandi

It was then off to the ship and we chuckled that our 3 hour bus trip had succumbed to island time and taken 4.5 hours.

We had a bite to eat poolside then headed for the Crows Nest for Happy Hour before heading off to the nondenominational church service at 6.00 pm. We all agreed that we had been shaken about so much on the bus that that must have been why we felt so tired - well that's our excuse anyway. Our ship cast off and sailed from Lautoka while we were up in the Crows Nest on Deck 9 so we had a lovely view out over many of the islands that make up Fiji but it was too early for sunset.

 

 

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Suva, Fiji

Saturday, October 10

We definitely needed a Pilot to guide the ship into Suva Harbour, with the channel we had to follow being quite narrow as we passed between two coral reefs on the way to our dock. The weather was a bit overcast and not as hot as expected, which suited us fine as we planned to do a walking tour of the town.

Safely through the reefs on our way to the dock

First up was the local market, and once through this area we were into the main downtown area. We soon found out that it was Fiji Day as they were celebrating their 45th Anniversary, and this meant a lot of shops were closed. We found the locals very friendly, with lots of "Bulas" (or hello) coming our way as we made our way past some colonial buildings to the Thurston Gardens. It was in these gardens that the Fiji Museum was located, and we spent a couple of hours there learning about Fiji's history, culture, customs and politics.

We really were docked close to town!

The approach to the Fiji Museum

 

Further along the main road we came across Government House, which was guarded by a soldier in a skirt, which is the common dress (pardon the pun) for men, including the police! On our way back into town we stopped at a cafe where we enjoyed a coffee just like we get at home, and at last a wifi signal that was faster than the dial-up speed that's common in the islands!!

Soldier guarding the entrance to Government House (below)

 

After looking in the bigger shopping centres, as these were the only stores still open, we headed back to the ship. On the dock we were entertained by a Police rock band, but after a few songs we were happy to board the ship and go and freshen up before dinner. We set sail while enjoying dinner, but as there was no show to attend after dinner we played Uno for a while before retiring for the night.

Police band, rocking the dock

 

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Sailing to Suva

Friday, October 9

As we crossed the International Date Line during the night we skipped Thursday the 8th October, so we awoke to a bright sunny Friday that was a bit cooler and less humid than the last week has been. It was another lovely relaxing day at sea, with Al attending a presentation on Fiji and then both of us listened to a guest speaker (an astronomer) talk about Saturn and Beyond!

We followed this high brow stuff with our daily walk around the Promenade deck, and then had a go at the Champagne Ring Toss but didn't do any good this time. After lunch we went and booked another cruise for next year, and then went to listen to Henry Kaleialoha Allen for the last time as the Hawaiian troupe are getting off the ship in Suva. Then it was time for a swim and a sun bake before getting ready for dinner.

Following dinner there was a choice of a repeat show or a movie, so we opted for the movie. Another great day at sea!

 

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Pago Pago, American Samoa

Wednesday, October 7

After 5 days at sea we finally reached Pago Pago, disembarking at 9:15am to board an island bus which was going to give us a whistle stop tour to the east side of the island - all in 3 hours! The first stop was the local market, followed by a drive along the coast, stopping every so often for photo opportunities, which were numerous. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as hot and sunny as predicted, so the water wasn't the brilliant colours we have seen in pictures, but at least there was a nice cool breeze blowing and the scenery was still fantastic.

Our guide with our bus

One of the local characters we met at the market

The main bus depot!

 

As we turned around to head back, we stopped at a beach to take photos as we walked on the lovely sand, looking at shells and coral that had washed up on the beach. We couldn't resist paddling our feet in the warm tropical waters and just enjoying the sound of the waves rolling in on the beach.

The beach babes taking a rest

Our next stop was called Two Dollar Beach, which we believe got its name from the admission charge to get onto the beach, but today it was free and the locals were going to put on a traditional dance show for us. We decided to have a beer while we watched the show, and the local lager helped us enjoy the performance in the beautiful surrounds. You will notice some graves in the picture below - the Samoans are quite religious and respect their elders a lot. We passed many houses with graves in the front yard, as they want to keep their elders near them, and this way they don't have far to go to visit their graves!

Dance performance at Two Dollar Beach

Camel Rock formation along the coast

Very creative carving done in a tree trunk

 

Back in town we spent an hour at an Internet cafe trying to update Facebook, the Blog and emails but we were unsuccessful. There wasn't a lot more to see in town so we headed back to the ship where we enjoyed Karen and the HAL Cats playing at the sail away party as we left Pago Pago for Fiji.

 

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