Saturday 13 April 2013
Embark Sydney
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| Circular Quay, Sydney |
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We flew out of Coolangatta airport in the rain but landed in sunny Sydney where our transfer bus was waiting to take us to the ship. We arrived at noon just as passengers were allowed to go aboard. Everything went smoothly. We had upgraded our cabin to a Deluxe Veranda Suite – we were not disappointed as it was very spacious and comfortable with a large balcony.
There were about 2,000 passengers on the Oosterdam. To our surprise, Peter’s cousin Bryan Langworthy and his wife Anne were also on board – an amazing coincidence – so a great opportunity for Peter and Bryan to catch up after many years.
Tuesday 16 April 2013
Noumea – In the morning we visited the Aquarium for the purpose of seeing a live Nautilus shellfish – however we saw much more. The fluorescent corals and colourful fish from around the Barrier Reef off the coast were amazing. Although smaller than our Barrier Reef, the flora and fish are similar. In the afternoon we took a ship excursion that included wine and cheese tasting. As Noumea is a French colony, the wines and cheeses were from the Bordeaux region in France – a very enjoyable hour followed by a tour of the hilly and tropical island – a nice place for a holiday with the French influence.
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| French wine tasting in Noumea, New Caledonia |
Thursday 18 April 2013
Suva, Fiji – Unfortunately the day was ruined as I lost my camera in a shop in Suva – wasted hours searching for it. We did however go on a tour along the southern coast of the island to see Fire-walkers.
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| Fire walker Ceremony, Fiji |
Friday 19 April 2013
Dravuni Island, Fiji – a tender port. We had a quiet morning on board and then went ashore to see the tiny tropical island – sandy beaches and palm trees – very beautiful – however our fair skin did not allow us to stay there very long – good for snorkeling and watersports – lots of Canadians and Americans sunbaking!! We jumped in a little fishing boat and one of the locals took us for a ride round the island. It was quite a rough ride as we zipped across the waves – then discovered no life jackets on board – but luckily we didn’t flip over!!! Bought some souvenirs from the locals – cannibal forks and coasters and caught the tender back to the ship.
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| Small boat ride around Dravuni Island, Fiji |
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| Dravuni Island, Fiji |
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| Tender to Dravuni Island |
Saturday 20 April 2013
A busy day at sea – we went to a lecture on Robert Louis Stevenson this morning in the Vista Lounge – Doctor Beth Foggin gave a very interesting talk about Stevenson’s 6 years in the South Seas that ended in Samoa where he died. We had lunch in the Lido buffet restaurant at the top of the ship. Team trivia was on at 1.30pm – our team of 6 comprises a couple from Canada and a couple of Aussies from South Australia. We enjoyed a piano concert by an Australian, Bernard Waltz – a fabulous performer of classical, jazz and ragtime music – we have seen him before on the Volendam when we went to NZ – he always gets a standing ovation. There are about 4 Formal nights on the 23 day cruise. We joined our friends Rita and Barry from Pottsville in the Vista dining room for the first formal dinner.
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| Rita and Sue |
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| Peter and Barry |
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| Towel creations and chocolates every night! |
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