Day 41 - Monday, 22nd Oct. – Sydney

Our disembarkation was smooth as, after a delightful brekky in Horizons - one last omelette with the works.  Our bags arrived and we spotted our friendly Customs Officer – an old friend – so it was easy peasy through the big hall and straight into a taxi and we were home by 11am., but it was so cold!!

 

HOME SWEET HOME – Just as we left it inside, but lots of leaves outside….. Colin's got some work to do!!   Our grandsons and our daughter came over after school and pre school and the little guys were wrapt in their Ninjargo Leggo – we are heros!!  Our other daughter came over too for a long chat and it really is great to be home – well for a while anyway!!

 

What a brilliant holiday around Asia, visiting so many lovely new ports – must admit though it would have been more colourful during the cherry blossom season – maybe one day!!

 

I don't think we would have a single gripe about the ship or anything, weather was great, seas reasonably calm most of the time, super entertainment, great service and fantastic food – and to top it off lots of friendly and happy passengers to share our voyage.

 

Thank you to all those who left comments on our blog –  I did find it difficult to reply etc., but next time I will be a real pro!!!  Hope you enjoyed the journey with us…..  At a very quick count, it is 260 days until we embark on the lovely "Dawn Princess" with heaps of friends and it will be

 

VENICE HERE WE COME!!

  

Day 40 - Sunday, 21st Oct. - Sea Day

Woke up during the night thinking we were about to arrive home but then realized we had one last day – and a beautifully calm and sunny day it was.  An extra social one, which started having morning coffee with some friends of friends – two fun couples, whom we have chatted with during the cruise.  Next we had to stretch our legs for half an hour before meeting our CC's chums for our final lunch and get together in the dining room.  We in fact were in the minority as they are all black carders, but it won't be too long now…….  Lots of lovely friendships we have made over the last few weeks, which makes cruising such a wonderful way to holiday and see the world.

 

The most obvious change on board today is that the average age must have come down at least 20 years – and there are children!!!!  Shooting Stars actually had some action last night, for the first time in 39 days – except for church and various meetings held there.  AND sadly some of the new younger passengers were looking rather "untidy" - even before dinner……  we must be getting old!!!

 

Then it was time to do the final pack and OMG how did we fit it all in, in the first place – even with a vacuum bag, it was a challenge, but it's done and I think it's time to order afternoon tea - Cookies and Tea from Room Service. 

 

Between packing I went to try my hand at the BIG BINGO – had to go off today – a whopping  jackpot of $8,000 - but didn't realize that I had to be there to buy the cards half an hour before play – just so blonde and so psst off!!!!  Oh well, we didn't recognize the winners, 3 in all, who were probably newbies who got on yesterday!! 

 

Our last supper was superb and our new dinner mates are really enjoying themselves.  We were treated to the fabulous Baked Alaska, which was as good as ever, as was the parade of waiters holding their desserts sky high.  Lots of hugs and kisses to those around us as we said our farewells, all hoping we'll meet again one day – and of course many thanks to our waiters, Lawrence and Shrinath. 

 

Off to the Vista Lounge to watch the Crew Talent Show and it was very good, ending of course with the "What I Would Like To Be" – that's when you really know it's the last night!!  Mark was a ballerina, Dave was a Sydney cab driver and the lovely Natalie (great English accent, good fun girl and Employee of the Month) was a nurse – should have taken more  photos.   

 

Feeling cheated after missing Bingo, and $20 still in my pocket, we went to the Casino at 11.45pm for the 2^nd time in 6 weeks and I won a huge $40, putting us in front!........  Well that's it, Casino's closed, as is everything else except Shooting Stars is really raging!! 

 

Time to put out the light and dream about all those beautiful ports we have been so fortunate to visit. 

 

PHOTOS:   Waiters & Chefs parading the Bombe Alaska;  Lawrence & Shrinath with 'ours';  Colin got the last slice – so greedy;  Silly Mark and the great orchestra;  Colin was in need of a nurse – what a good sort, look at the smile on his face; 

Day 39 - Saturday, 20th Oct. - Brisbane, Australia!!

Colin had an early morning walk and watched us cruising up the Brisbane River to our dock at the Brisbane Cruise Terminal – a lovely newish complex of apartment blocks, shops and cafes.  So good to be  on Oz soil again after an amazing adventure over the last 6 weeks. 

 

We met some good friends for brunch at one of the cafes on the port complex for a long catch up chatter, and an hour later moved a few metres over to Max Brenners for a little 'chocolate' delight!!   It was such a lovely day, even if it was very, very warm – 33deg.

 

As we have been to Brissy many times, there was no sightseeing planned for today.  We had one agenda for the afternoon and that was to buy Ninjargo Leggo, which our grandsons had requested before we left home, with the promise that they would be very good boys….  Ha! Ha!   We had hoped to buy it in Asia, but had no luck – they either didn't have the one we wanted, and then in Japan, it was very expensive.  Our friend took us to K-Mart and lo and behold there it was, and on special!!!  It was then back to the port for a wonder around the very nice shops, but resisted temptation.

 

It was our last, but lovely sailaway out of Brisbane – just a beautiful balmy night and next port will be Sydney.  We arrived at our dinner table to find two new couples joining us – one couple just doing the 2 days to Sydney, the other couple doing 4 days - to Sydney and then back to Brisbane.   We bombarded (and probably bored) them with our trip stories and adventures and it sounds like they are keen to take longer voyages in the near future, hopefully we helped with their thinking. 

 

A quiet evening tonight – just a night cap at the Wheelhouse and darn, we lose an hour – ouch…..  We arrived back to our cabin to find chocolates and rose petals!!!

 

PHOTOS:   The very classy Brisbane Cruise Terminal;  2 pics of pretty sailaway from Brissy;  Chocolates & Rose Petals – to soften the blow for losing an hour!!

Days 36, 37 & 38 - Wed.-Fri. 17th/19th Oct - Sea Days

Wednesday - A real lay back day today and lots of catching up with this blog after breakfast.  Before we knew it, it was time for canasta again and yours truly won the individual score – Colin's comment was that I must have had good partners – not very sporting!!!

 

Meat pies and chips were on at Horizons for lunch, and although they looked gigantic, they were half full of air – the other half with very tasty steak and kidney - darn, should have taken a photo!!!  Did a bit of reading outside, but the weather started to turn for the worst so it was back to the cabin and more blogging!!

 

The Ultimate Deck Party and "loud-shirt night boys" outside on Deck 12 was scheduled for tonight but due to inclement weather, it was moved to the Vista Lounge – not quite the same atmosphere at all!!!!  We stayed for a while and had a bit of a bop to the familiar sounds of Derringer, then off we trotted!!

 

Thursday - About 300 passengers will be leaving the ship on Saturday, so there are lots of farewells taking place and it's all a bit sad…..   but of course first things first as we prepare to set foot on Aussie soil again – Customs!!!   Fortunately they came on board in Rabaul so there's plenty of time to process everyone and how nice it was to stroll through Australian Customs this morning in Vista Lounge - they did it well.  We had plenty of time for canasta…..  then lunch!  Weather was a bit ordinary today, started out nice but cloudy and rainy this afternoon and we've got a good swell happening!!! Later on went to watch our table mates, Mike & Annie, and their 'team' win today's Trivia, as well as the Progressive Trivia – how lucky for them that we opted to remove ourselves from the team!!!!!

 

Formal night again and I was just in the right spot to have a photo with Captain Mario, just lucky I guess!!!  In his farewell speech he gave all the statistics of the food consumed – including hundreds of tons of meat, fish, eggs, flour etc. etc. – then when he told us that the passengers had consumed 37,000 cans of beer!!!.......  that brought the house down - lots of laughs!!!   Speaking of bringing things down – the balloon drop was at 10.45pm, bit late for us!!!

 

Friday –  Started packing a case today but as we haven't bought a great deal, it hopefully isn't going to be too much of a hassle.  But a reward was needed and also to cheer us up, we lunched at the Terrace Grill for – HAMBURGERS & CHIPS!!!! – salad and even beetroot….  it was scrumptious!!!   The swell has subsided and it was a lovely sunny day sitting outside knowing all full well that after Brisbane, we probably won't venture out too much more on this cruise.

 

Our last farewells at dinner with Carol and Bruce who leave the ship tomorrow and it won't be the same without them.  Bruce is a photo fanatic and gave us some beautiful pics. taken along the way – thank you so much Bruce – he's almost convinced me to buy a really good camera…..   All the waiters gave us all a wonderful rendition of a collection of Aussie songs and it was so good to listen to, with all the wonderful accents.  Showtime tonight was just brilliant with the cast of singers and dancers putting on their "British Invasion" – think it's one of the best shows ever!!! 

 

PHOTOS:  Colin's 'big shirt' – glass empty, he was very happy;

Captain Mario & 'Me' – I was happy;   Before the balloon drop;  The waiters singing to our wonderful Aussie tunes.

Day 35 - Tuesday, 16th Oct. - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

Upon arrival in the Simpson Harbour, we are made very aware that there is a lot of World War II history in this part of New Guinea, and it's hard to imagine what it would have been like back then, as the view of this tropical island today is so calm and peaceful, even with an active volcano puffing away in the distance.

 

The Japanese overwhelmed the small Australian garrison in January, 1942, and quickly established Rabaul as their most powerful base in the south-west Pacific.  At its peak strength, this included 5 airfields, seaplane and submarine base, huge naval anchorage and support facilities, and numbered almost 200,000 personnel.  Fortunately our allies had other ideas and to escape air assault, the Japanese began moving underground – honeycombing the hills around Rabaul with hundreds of kms. of tunnels, including hospitals, repair facilities and barracks……

 

We did a ship's tour this morning but not in the big, beautifully air-conditioned buses that we have become very used to, BUT in very small vans, with little wheels, and windows for air!!  It was stinking hot, very very bumpy and we were eating grey volcanic dust!!!  Our first stop though was at a Japanese Barge Tunnel which was built to hide their barges from allied attacks and which still has 3 rusting hulks inside – we couldn't get very far in though, probably about 50mts… the stories they could tell!  Just outside were the most beautiful local Melanesian people selling their wares, with babies in arms and children of all ages – the most conspicuous feeling we got from them was that they were so very happy, polite and were not pushy at all.  There is a photo below of some of the lovely ladies of Rabaul – I asked whether I could take a photo and all gathered around, I took a couple and a little bit of video, said thanks and started walking away – WELL they almost pounced on me and demanded $5, and yes, they got it!!!!

 

Back in the mini bus and it was off to the Kokopo War and Cultural Museum which displays an impressive collection of Japanese war relics and vehicles and then it was back in the bus again, for more bouncing and gagging for fresh air, to the Bita Paka War Cemetery.  This memorial is dedicated to over 1,000 graves and honours the allied soldiers who lost their lives during World War II.  It is beautifully laid out and the grounds are immaculate, thanks to the Australian Government.

 

It was a wonderful tour this morning, too short as always, but we were very glad to return and shower.  After lunch, we meandered around the few streets close to the port - some light industrial, supermarkets and markets, and watched the locals do their thing.  As mentioned above, these people are just so nice and just about everyone said 'hello' and just walked on.  The children are starting to get a bit cheeky, asking for a dollar, but they are not persistant.  I bought a lovely MuMu and some nice material and Colin bought beer!!  There was a tour to the Volcanological Observatory but we'll have to do that next time…..  

 

A very long time ago, Mother Nature also had a hand in Rabaul's violent history, as a cataclysmic explosion some 1,400 years ago formed a huge caldera into which the Pacific Ocean poured forming this Simpson Harbour…..  and not that long ago, in 1994 there was an eruption which buried Rabaul under 2 metres of ash.  One of the 5 volcanoes, Tavurvur, continues to huff and puff, not too far off in the distance. 

 

Sailaway was at 6pm and getting dark, but a lovely evening to cruise out of the harbour, heading for Brisbane on Saturday.  After another delightful dinner, we went to the Marriage Match Gameshow, which was just as silly as ever – but a bit of fun, none the less.

 

PHOTOS:  Inside the Japanese Barge Tunnel;   Outside the locals selling their wares; 3 photos  at the Kopoko War Museum;  Grave for "An Unnamed Australian Soldier", and there were many, at the Rabaul War Cemetery;   More names of brave soldiers commemorated here;  Ashwyn (our guide for the morning) and I outside the War Memorial;  This is dedicated to the First Soldiers from World War I to die here;  3 photos of the the marketplace in Rabaul;  Would you like to stay at this guest house?;  Two very cute little men;  You wouldn't want to mess with these 'girls';  "Tavurvur" puffing in the distance.