Tuesday – 21 Feb - was a sad day to say goodbye to the kids for
who knows how long.
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| Voyager of the Sea |
Ryan and Hugh took us to Adelaide airport
for our two-hour flight to Sydney.
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| Sydney Opera House |
A twenty-minute train ride took us right to
Circular Quay where this huge “Voyager of the Seas” was docked. Gigantic ship
and awesome to see.
We went through customs – no problem. We
checked in – no problem. Then through security – oh-oh problem. The official
kept on scanning the kitbag – again and again. Eventually we were told to stand
one side and then the drama began. To cut a long two-hour story short. I had
not unpacked the kitbag, which is actually my shooting kitbag, properly and the
was a live round in one of the pockets. Funny thing is that we had been scanned
by so many authorities at the different airports and not one had found it. All
ended well though and we set sail.
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| Sydney Bridge |
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| Fine Dining |
We have the next three days at sea. We eat
and read our books - go to the live shows - eat – eat – and then also we sleep
late.
Food is fabulous – Breakfast will be Eggs
Benedict – Lunch is either Salmon or pastas the most delectable Sauces – Dinner
is a 3 Course fine dining affair each night. Guess what we will be doing when
we get back.
Saturday – 25 Feb – we docked in Lautoka,
Fiji. Lautoka is the sugar hub of Fiji. On the western side of the island is a
sugar mill that has been in use since 1903 and is one of the largest mills in
the southern hemisphere. Sugar is the main export
here.
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| A Busy Voyager of The Sea |
We needed a walk so saved our $8 each for a
shuttle and took in the local town.
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| Port of Lautoko |
The veggie market was packed with locals
and the streets are just a hive of activity.
It was hot, sticky and busy and felt like
one of our Natal coastal towns – but we were going to have a beer or two so we
searched until we found the “3Hungry Bears” Here they call them wine and dines
and not a restaurant.
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| Setting Sail from Lautoko |
It was down a little street, had air con
and the local Fiji Gold Beer. The owner even let us connect to his Wi-Fi so
that we could check our emails.
Sunday – 26th Feb – arrived in
Suva the Capital of Fiji early this morning. Suva is on the island of Viti
Levu.
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| Fire Walkers in Suva |
We are booked on an excursion and on the
dock boarded one of the local buses. We sometimes thought the bus was going to
stop on us but this is the way the locals do it. We followed the highway (Tar
road) along the west coast and an hour trip brought us to Pacific Harbour. At
the Cultural Village, we were entertained by the fire walkers and the tribal
dancers.
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| Fire Walkers In Suva |
It was a good trip and really different.
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| Mystery Island - Vanuatu |
Monday – 27th Feb – Today we are
at sea again. This is really a resting and relaxing time. The food is still
fabulous and we are eating way too much and each night we have a live show.
Shows so far were:
The Fab Four singing Beatles music –
terrible we left half way through. Adam Mada – Magician – Stayed but will not go back. Danny
McMaster – the Impressionist – Good. Broadway Rhythm and Rhyme – Okay, just so
load you couldn’t enjoy the music. Caitlynn Carr singing Celtic – Good.
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| Isle Of Pines - New Caledonia |
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| Mystery Island - Vanuatu |
Tuesday – 28 Feb – Vanuatu awaits us today.
We anchored just off Mystery Island and were shuttled to shore. It is the
southern most point of the Vanuatu archipelago and completely uninhabited.
We lay on the white sands of the beach and
swam in the Pacific. Beautiful.
After a beautiful meal our live show was Comedian
Ricki Jay – Very good.
Wednesday – 1 March – We anchored at 0800
again today and this is the Isle of Pines and we are now at the French Islands
that fall under New Caledonia.
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| Isle of Pines - New Caledonia |
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| Bistro Impala - Noumea |
We have to be shuttled out to the island
again today but this is far bigger than Mystery Island. It has shops and
restaurants and even a
hotel. We swam in a bay among schools of fish and strolled through the island.
There is a major difference here in
comparison to the previous islands and you can feel the French influence.
Thursday – 2 March – Our last island to
visit on this trip is Noumea, Capital of New Caladedonia.
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| The Marina in Noumea |
We docked on the industrial side of the
harbor and were amazed at the number of containers that were stored in the
port. We cannot believe that this small island has such a thriving economy.
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| Sydney Harbour Last Morning |
On shore, we made our way to the Marina of
course but here the boats are mainly catamans and nothing like we are looking
for.
It was extreeeemly hot and just to get a Wi-Fi
connection we paid $11 for a beer at a quay side restaurant – Bistro Impala.
They will only speak French to you and communication is a hit or miss.
We didn’t spend much time on the island and
rather boarded the ship again to get some lunch.
Our show tonight was Hypnotist Anthony
Laffan – Okay.
