South Pacific: Part One

Darwin Australia

You may know that I’ve always had strong reservations about visiting Australia.  It seems unnecessary to visit a place where everything that isn’t you wants to kill you.  However, we survived two full days in Darwin, and we did not encounter anything poisonous or deadly.  At least, not in the wild. The cruise terminal is next to a lovely waterfront area with swimming, shops, and restaurants. We took an elevator up to the town area above. 

We did visit Crocosaurus Cove to see the saltwater crocodiles and they also had a reptile exhibit that housed several poisonous snakes.  The saltwater crocs were absolutely massive.  I no longer have any doubts that dinosaurs are very much alive.  These crocodiles can grow to 20 feet long and weigh in over 3000 pounds.  They generally live in brackish wetlands and rivers, but the enclosures at Crocosaurus Cove have clear water and you can see up from the bottom as well.  The photos do not do the size of these animals justice at all.  You can even get into a small tank and be dropped into the enclosure for a closer look…that was not happening for us.

After visiting the dinosaurs, we walked along Bicentennial Park that runs along the coast with some great views.  We saw some interesting birds along the way. A storm rolled in off the coast, so we decided to head back to the ship.  The rain never did arrive, so we popped out for supper in the Darwin Waterfront area right outside the terminal.

On our second day we started off at a bakery for some epic meat pies then took the bus (which is free) to Casuarina Square, a large mall.  We needed to find a new water bladder and a few other items.  The mall is under construction, but still nice enough.  Unfortunately, we didn’t find what we were looking for so we walked back to another shopping area that had a full-on hiking/camping store.  We got what we needed, but when we headed out to find the nearest bus stop the skies opened up and we got completely soaked on the way to the bus.  Luckily, it wasn’t raining when we got back to Darwin and we were able to slip into the grocery store for some snacks.

Provisions on the ship are getting low, and we still have a four-day sail to Cairns where we are supposed to be picking up groceries, so we decided to go out for supper again.  We had excellent tacos at a restaurant on the Waterfront.

Cairns, Australia

The Cairns Cruise Terminal is located next to a waterfront area full of restaurants, shops, and a boardwalk, so on our first day we just explored the area.  We walked along the boardwalk and then followed the waterfront around past the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon, a manmade public swimming pool.  Saltwater crocodiles inhabit all waterways in the area, so it’s not safe to swim off the beach area.  There was signage along the water.  After the lagoon there was a long park/beach area that dead ended in a mangrove forest.  We saw black cockatoos with red and orange tail feathers in the park.  From here we went in through town and stumbled on a great place for fish and chips.  On the way back to the ship we stopped at the Cairns Central Shopping Centre.

We were supposed to take the Kuranda Scenic Railway to Kuranda on our second day, but the train was cancelled due to unplanned maintenance.  They switched our tickets, so we could catch a bus out to the Skyrail terminal and take the cableway up instead.  We had already booked the cableway for the journey back down anyway, so it all worked out in the end.  On the way up there are a couple of stops, so we got off to explore Red Peak and Barron Falls. 

Once in Kuranda we visited the Koala Gardens.  The enclosures were mostly open; although, smaller than I’d like to see.  It was neat to see the critters fairly close up.  It was pretty hot out already, so most of the animals were napping. I was a little disappointed that the Quokkas weren't more energetic, but I wasn't feeling very energetic in that heat either so I can't blame them.

Next up we visited Birdworld, an open aviary where we were encouraged to remove jewelry before entering as some of the birds are cleptos. One landed on our friend's head, but otherwise we escaped unscathed.

Kuranda itself was a cute little mountain village that apparently used to be a hippy commune. There are tons of shops and restaurants and a few small museums. We wandered around a little bit, but after a quick snack break at IGA it was time to catch the cableway back down.

For our last day in Cairns, we booked a half day snorkel tour with Pure Snorkeling.  We went a bit early because they have a brief talk with a marine biologist about what we can expect to see.  It took an hour and a half on the boat to get out to the outer reef, but Pure Snorkeling has proprietary sites where they are the only one permitted to anchor.  We spent almost an hour and a half snorkelling at the Fishbowl on Briggs Reef and it was amazing.  Unfortunately for Mike (not me) we did not see any sharks or fish that were bigger than me.  Overall, our first open water snorkel was a great experience, and we were really happy we chose the tour we did. 

Alotau, Papua New Guinea

We only had a one day stop in Alotau and the weather wasn’t very cooperative.  Papua New Guinea isn’t the safest place to visit right now, so we were encouraged to take precautions when we went out and about.  Alotau is said to be one of the safest cities in Papua New Guinea but still requires care to be taken.  We took our little backpack and Mike’s GoPro and walked down the main road to the Alotau Town Main Market.  There were lots of people out and about and everyone was friendly or ambivalent to our presence.  We’d been told to stick to the main road only, so we headed back towards the ship.  About halfway back it started to rain heavily, and we were pretty wet by the time we got back.  There wasn’t a whole lot to see, but it was nice to get off the ship and wander around a bit.  It probably would have been better to do an excursion here, but the ones the ship organized in advance were costly and not really of interest to us.

Honiara, Solomon Islands

Honiara is the capital city of the Solomon Islands and is located on the island of Guadalcanal.  It is a bustling city with a strong WWII history.  We arrived on a Sunday which meant there wasn’t a whole lot open, but everyone was out and about in their Sunday best.  We walked from the port down the main road for about an hour past the Central Market which was closed for the day.  The infrastructure was better than I was expecting, and the sidewalks were mostly intact.  The locals were friendly and often smiled or said hello as we passed.

On the second day we walked the opposite direction down the main road.  It was under construction as they are repaving and making improvements, so we stopped when we ran out of sidewalk and turned around.  On the way back we popped into the Solomon Islands National Museum.  It is a free museum that talks about the history of the Solomon Islands and its people and the role of the Solomon Islands in WWII. 

We were supposed to only have two days in Honiara, but our next port is an anchorage port, and the tendering dock is questionable. The captain decided to stay in Honiara for one more day and only have one day at our next port.  Over the course of the first two days more and more reports came in of people having their phones stolen and attempts at pickpocketing.  We didn’t feel unsafe when we were out the first two days, but we also aren’t as easy of a target as some of our older residents.  However, the increase in theft was concerning, and there wasn’t anything specific we wanted to see on the third day, so we opted for a pool day instead.

Tulagi, Solomon Islands

Our next stop was Tulagi Island which is a small island just across the way from Honiara.  The most popular activity is snorkeling, but another resident had gone out snorkeling near Tulagi from Honiara and was stung badly by tiny jellyfish.  She ended up in the hospital overnight due to her reaction to the stings.  This resulted in a lot of people cancelling their snorkel tours for the day. 

A friend of ours went to the island early in the morning and spent two and half hours walking all the way around.  She said it was nice, but pretty muddy in a lot of spots.  By the time we got up it had started raining again, so we decided to wait until after lunch to head to shore.  Shortly after lunch, it really started raining and we decided to just stay onboard.  The island looked really pretty, but there are only dirt roads, and I really had no desire to end up soaked and muddy.  It did clear up later in the afternoon, but then it was crazy hot and humid.  We sat on the pool deck and had a rum, and we were both sweating buckets just sitting there.

Luganville, Vanuatu

We spent three days in Luganville.  On the first day we toured town, wandered down to the river and then back to the ship.  It was a pretty small town but bustling with activity. 

On the second day we booked an excursion to Dany Island.  We were picked up at 8am and drove about half an hour in the back of a truck to a boat launch.  The boat took us over to Dany Island which is a privately owned island that has a few bungalows, a bar, hammocks, and a beach.  It’s still a work in progress, but we got to spend the day there and lunch was provided.  We spent the day snorkeling and exploring the tiny island.  There were only seven other people on the excursion with us; five of them were fellow residents for our ship.  Most importantly there was a kitten called Daniela on the island, and I got to spend a lot of time with her.

During our snorkel adventures Mike’s GoPro gave out, so on day three we returned to town on the off chance we could find a new one.  About three quarters of the way to the Duty-Free store, Mike’s sandal gave up on life.  He was heartbroken since they’ve been with him for years.  We popped into the nearest store to purchase a $500 Vanuatu Vatu ($5.72 CAD) pair to get him back to the ship.  This cut our day short as the new ones weren’t very comfortable.  We checked a few shops for a GoPro (which we never did find) and headed back to the ship.

Port Vila, Vanuatu

Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu which has a population of about 50 000.  We tendered to a pier right on the waterfront in the heart of downtown.  We spent several hours just wandering around.  The waterfront was lovely, and you could swim/snorkel right off the beach.  In Luganville we had pulled out some local currency, and we wanted to use it up, so we stopped in small shop that had fresh baked goods.  We loaded up on banana bread, sweet bread, and a local fried bread.  It was carb overload for the next few days, but totally worth it.  Mike was able to find a GoPro, but the cost was significantly more than in North America.  Our friends on the ship happen to be going home for a short visit, so we are going to wait and have them pick one up in the US.

I also saw the tiniest little kitten in a shop and couldn't resist giving it a pet. There were actually two of them, but the other one wandered off while I was petting the first one.

Mystery Island, Vanuatu

Our final stop in Vanuatu was Mystery Island, which is an uninhabited island that has a beach, market stalls, old WWII runway and walking trail.  The sole purpose of the island is for cruise ships to visit for the day.  The captain was a little concerned about the sea state affecting our ability to tender safely, but we lucked out and the anchorage was protected enough.  The wind was also blowing the right direction to help with docking. Friends of ours on the ship said this was their third time visiting Mystery Island on a cruise ship and the first time they were able to go to shore due to the weather/sea conditions.

The island is tiny, but absolutely stunning.  We spent three hours drift snorkelling thanks to a pretty decent current and the wind conditions.  Once we had our fill we returned to the ship for some lunch and Mike decided to head back out to walk around the island.  It only took him twenty-seven minutes to walk around the entire island, but at least he got his steps in.

From here we head to Fiji, Wallis and Fortuna, and then French Polynesia.  We’ll probably check in again in the New Year after French Polynesia.  Starlink isn’t supposed to work there, so internet will be spotty and it will be difficult to update the blog.