Wellwe finally made it to Hong Kong. Disembarked from Arcadia yesterday.
Had a fascinating visit to Borneo but gave up using ship's internet as it was costing a fortune - hence fewer blogs!!
Am now sitting in an internet cafe in Hong Kong. This city is something else.
Went out with Tim last night and all the shops were open until midnight - all
the streets lit up by bright white lights, building size TV screens and thousands
of people all shopping! We have been savouring the delights of the street cafes,
food markets etc. Having lunch with Cindy's parents tomorrow - dim sum.
Off to China on Monday by train and then Macau. Too much too take in and describe
at this stage.
Sam - hope all is well with expected baby. Will try to think of some suitable names.
Friday, 12 March 2010
Friday, 5 March 2010
CROSSING THE EQUATOR
Friday, 5th MArch 2010.
Latitude 2 degrees 7.4S
Longitude 127 degrees 5.3E
Temperature: 84 degrees
We are soon to leave the seas of the southern hemisphere and at midnight tonight
(GMT +9) we shall cross the Equator into the Maluccas Sea and on into the Celebes Sea en route to Borneo to the port of Kota Kinabolu. Every time I look at the atlas of this part of the world I come across names I have never heard of before. A true delight!
Latitude 2 degrees 7.4S
Longitude 127 degrees 5.3E
Temperature: 84 degrees
We are soon to leave the seas of the southern hemisphere and at midnight tonight
(GMT +9) we shall cross the Equator into the Maluccas Sea and on into the Celebes Sea en route to Borneo to the port of Kota Kinabolu. Every time I look at the atlas of this part of the world I come across names I have never heard of before. A true delight!
DID YOU SEE? YES I DID!
Koalas, kookaburras, kangaroos
Crocodiles, wallabies and cockatoos
Boomerangs, bush hats and didgeridoos
We saw them all at the wildlife zoo!
Crocodiles, wallabies and cockatoos
Boomerangs, bush hats and didgeridoos
We saw them all at the wildlife zoo!
WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS & GREAT BARRIER REEF
This is more like it! What a beautiful part of the world this is. The temperatures are certainly getting tropical up here off the coast of Queensland. Every morning we get up and walk out to 84 degrees on deck. There are islands dotted all over the place. It looks like a sailing paradise although somewhat treacherous for larger vessels such as ours having to manoeuvre amongst the reefs. We have a specialist Reef Pilot on board, Captain John Foley, who is guiding the bridge officers through the Great Barrier Reef which stretches from the Whitsunday Islands right up through the Torres Strait at the northernmost tip of Australia - a truly treacherous area as
everywhere you look you can literally see patches of reef within a few hundred metres of where we're sailing. All of a sudden the tales of Captain Cook and Captain Bligh spring to life as we retrace the paths of their journeys through these fascinating waters and learn how each island got its name. A true south Pacific adventure!
everywhere you look you can literally see patches of reef within a few hundred metres of where we're sailing. All of a sudden the tales of Captain Cook and Captain Bligh spring to life as we retrace the paths of their journeys through these fascinating waters and learn how each island got its name. A true south Pacific adventure!
Monday, 1 March 2010
PASSING SHIPS
Apparently we Brits are all "over here" in our thousands cruising the southern hemisphere. There's our ship, the Arcadia, its sister ship the Aurora which we passed last SAturday on our way up to the Whitsunday Islands. They were on their way to Brisbane (poor sods)! Then there's the Cunard fleet - the Queen Victoria and the Queen Mary 2 which we passed on Sunday as we sailed away from the beautiful Whitsunday Islands.
WELCOME TO BRISBANE
Oil refineries, heaps of cement and industrial waste, a skyline of cranes, cargo
ships and containers, muddy waters. Black skies rained down on us as we sailed
into port and MJ turned around to me and said "Welcome to Brisbane !" Brisbane
incidentally was miles away - a mere silhouette in the far distance. And the reason for this? Would you believe when the city planners built the new motorway bridge they didn't allow for the fact that it would block off access to the main port of Brisbane for the larger taller cruise ships. Hey ho so there we were stuck in the middle of nowhere - an hour's bus ride from "the sights". Thanks a bundle P & O!
After a badly chosen excursion to the Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise) with its tacky promenade and a marginally pleasant river trip around multi-million dollar properties built along a system of waterways running parallel to the coast, we then had another interminable bus journey back to the port with the most irritatin guide -
an American sporting an Australian bush hat, who bored us with his personal anecdotes ad nauseam. And we never did get to see downtown Brisbane as there was no time. Needless to say MJ was at the front of the complaints queue when we got back on board ship!
ships and containers, muddy waters. Black skies rained down on us as we sailed
into port and MJ turned around to me and said "Welcome to Brisbane !" Brisbane
incidentally was miles away - a mere silhouette in the far distance. And the reason for this? Would you believe when the city planners built the new motorway bridge they didn't allow for the fact that it would block off access to the main port of Brisbane for the larger taller cruise ships. Hey ho so there we were stuck in the middle of nowhere - an hour's bus ride from "the sights". Thanks a bundle P & O!
After a badly chosen excursion to the Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise) with its tacky promenade and a marginally pleasant river trip around multi-million dollar properties built along a system of waterways running parallel to the coast, we then had another interminable bus journey back to the port with the most irritatin guide -
an American sporting an Australian bush hat, who bored us with his personal anecdotes ad nauseam. And we never did get to see downtown Brisbane as there was no time. Needless to say MJ was at the front of the complaints queue when we got back on board ship!
MJ HAS A NEW HOBBY
MJ has decided to take up water colour painting. He's bought all the kit and between Sydney and Hong Kong intends to become a celebrity artist with the help of George Grumshaw the new tutor on board. There appears to be fierce competition.
He has already ascertained that the guy who sits next to him is colour blind!
He has already ascertained that the guy who sits next to him is colour blind!
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