Our trip from Port Vila to Brisbane took two and a half days by sea.
One of the many fun activities we had during the long leisurely sea days was a “Scrap Heap Challenge”. Basically the idea was to build a boat out of rubbish found on board the ship, float it across the pool, and have it carry a carton of beer without sinking.
As you can see from the photos below, some of the entries were pretty good. I wonder where they got (or bought) all that junk from!
Our entry was the “S.S. TinnyTanic”. (Below) She looked more like a handbag that a ship, but I can guarantee she was made 100% out of junk.
And you can see from the picture below, she made it safely across the pool, with beer on board, and didn’t sink!
Hey – how did this picture get in here? I wonder how many tinnies this boat can carry? Actually, it’s the “Pacific Sun”, sister ship to “Pacific Star”, which passed as we headed back to Brisbane.
We spent yesterday in Noumea. Officially it’s part of France, about 700 nautical miles north-east of Brisbane.
The local Kanak people are very friendly. We got to sample some of the French food & wine, as well as see some sights around town and some local dancing and singing.
We woke up this morning in Lifou, a small untouched island to the east of New Calediona’s main island. Once again the people we very friendly. They loved Lilly.
The coral reefs here are impressive, so we took in a bit of snorkelling in Jochin bay.
One thing about this ship – you get a lot of exercise. It’s two hundred meters long, and to go to breakfast we walk up 5 floors from deck 5 to deck 10. Do that a dozen times a day and you have a pretty good workout.
More news tomorrow from Port Vila!
Neil
The local welcoming committee in Noumea. We received a very warm welcome from the locals as we disembarked in Noumea.
A view of Noumea from one of the many high spots in town. If you look carefully you can see our ship in town.
Place de Cocotiers (Coconut Square) in the middle of town. We had a bit of a look around Coconut Square in the middle of town.
Baie des Citrons. The kids had a great time playing by the beach at Baie des Citrons (Lemon Bay) which is a short Taxi ride from the middle of town. There are lots of great cafes here.
Liz enjoys a glass of French wine at a cafe in Baie des Citrons. It’s hard work thinking about how to order things in French so we kept it simple 🙂
Lifou – a beautiful unspoilt village by the sea.
They had to bring us ashore in the ship’s tenders (lifeboats) because there’s no wharf large enough in Lifou (or deep enough water) to bring the ship in to shore.
Jochin Bay – a great snorkelling spot on Lifou.
Harrison and Lilly check out a local grass hut
I wonder what it’s like in a cyclone?
Lilly makes some new friends
These ladies braided Lilly’s hair for her. She felt like a princess. I think they wanted to keep her. 🙂
All of Sunday was at sea, with no land at all in sight. It’s amazing to look in any direction and just see the horizon.
About the only exception to that was when the captain pointed out a whale just before breakfast. We’re all eating too much.
Liz and I love the kids club, and so do Harrison and Lilly most of the time.
Sam and Stephen spend most of the day exploring the ship. Steve won a gold tournament but he’s not alowed to play in the “Australian Open” finals because he’s not over 18. They discovered the teen club last night, so that will add more things for them to do.
I’ll upload some photos of Noumea tomorrow.
Neil
Look Ma, no Land!
The view from the Front Standing up at the pointy end of the ship, looking backwards. Gives you a nice view of some of the life boats and the huge wake trailing us.
We’re going on a cruise tomorrow. Watch this space and I’ll try to email some photos each day.
The cruise is on Pacific Star and visits Noumea, Lifou and Port Vila.
We’re all very excited about it. I’m looking forward to being out of mobile phone range for a week.
P&O Publishes a Web Cam if each ship in their fleet. This picture is a view from the bridge of Pacific Star at the moment. If you refresh your browser every minute you’ll see a fresh picture. The best times of day to view are during Australian daylight hours, i.e. GMT 2100 to about GMT 0800.
I never thought you’d be able to see the sun set over the water in South-East Queensland, considering the fact that it’s on the east coast of Australia.
I took this photo of the sunset from Scarborough on the northern tip of the Redcliffe Peninsula across the road from the Marina, looking north-west over Deception Bay.
It’s much more picturesque when you see it with your own eyes – the Glasshouse Mountains off to the north (not visible in this photo) look spectacular.
I can’t think if many other places in the area where you can see sunsets over the water like this from the mainland.
We visited the “Festival of Sails” at Redcliffe on Friday and watched the launch of the annual Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race.
The place was packed with visitors, but one thing that really impressed us was this sand sculture of a Dragon and some Dolphins. The Dragon has some file coming out of his nostrils. It looks amazing.
Dennis Massoud, aka “Sandman”, who does these sculptures is there every year, and he’s available for parties and functions. He’s a world champion at his craft.
Actually, it’s the “Pacific Sun”, sister ship to “Pacific Star”, which passed as we headed back to Brisbane.
