Thursday

An appropriate day to visit the island of the same name.

We’d approached the island by sailing through the Torres Strait islands for much of the morning, enjoying a commentary from Peter, our reef pilot on board.  Thanks to him, we were able to learn about that little structure just off the coast of Goode Island: it’s a tidal flow meter and transmits a message in morse code about the depth of water – crucial information for shipping in these shallow seas.

The sea this morning was very still and our wide sweep as we navigated through the islands was clear to see.

We stood watching the turquoise blue water, mesmerised by the colour and entertained by the occasional splash and circle of ripples.  What could it be?

We knew these to be crocodile infested waters, so maybe…who knows…perhaps?  Shortly after having that none too comforting thought, we spotted the creature – a sea turtle!  Of course, as soon as we spotted one, we spotted many and our first sight on the island confirmed our experience in the form of some rather attractive public art.

Today was a tendered port so as always, we were entertained by the very efficient and remarkably speedy launch of the boats just beneath us.

It’s always a good chance to chat with the neighbours, too!

We’d opted to take the one hour orientation tour on this incredibly hot and humid afternoon.  Thankfully the clouds sheltered us from the burning sun, but nevertheless, we were glad of the airconditioning on board.  We drove through the streets of the small (3 – 4k population) community making our first stop at the cemetery!

The main reason for doing so was to visit the memorial to the many Japanese pearl divers who died here in pursuit of the valuable commodity.  Well tended and reflecting the respect held for these brave people whose role came to a rather abrupt end with the invention of plastic. Personally, I’m happy with that – the thought of people having to dive for a living doesn’t sit comfortably with me!

The stop also offered a chance to learn a little about the islanders’ funeral traditions, consisting of a series of ceremonies over a period of time all of which involve a great quantity of colourful flowers and the final placing of a very elaborate headstone.

Off uphill then, towards the aptly named Green Hill Fort at the top which featured as part of the Australian defence against the Japanese invasion in WW2.  Looking south, on a clear day, the northern coast of mainland Australia is visible but today, we could see just the neighbouring islands.

Oh, and home, of course.

The small museum at the fort had lovely displays of shells and the mother of pearl buttons for which those Japanese divers risked their lives, as well as interpretations of the military role of the fort.

A short drive back downhill and that was it, really, but as always, we felt that it was unlikely we’d be coming back here any time soon, so rather than return straight to the ship, we wandered around a little.  We began with the Gab Titui Cultural Centre where there was an interesting exhibition of local artworks.  Amongst them were some beautifully woven baskets and a number of prints featuring local fish and flowers.  There was also a well stocked art shop with a surprising selection of screenprinting materials, probably a good indication of the most common form of art practised here.

The buildings were adorned with some interesting local artwork too.

Next, we wandered along to the small Anglican Cathedral of All Souls, named for the many who perished on the wreck of the Quetta here in 1890.  The small stained glass windows were beautiful representations to commemorate events in the island’s history.

Having signed the visitors book, we returned along the seafront, enjoying the various public artworks which were staged along the pathway.

There were, however, reminders of why this might not be quite as idyllic a beach as one might think

Hmm.

Returning to the ship on this hot and humid afternoon wasn’t quite the most comfortable journey, described by some as “like being in a plastic bag”.  Sitting at the back of the ship’s tender did give me chance for some interesting reading however.

Comforting to know that there’s fishing tackle on the lifeboats.

Sailing towards Darwin today, through waters which are around 45m deep, apparently.  Thank goodness for pilots!

Now, where were we?

Picture the scene, Port Moresby, February 29th 2012.  A bunch of foreigners (“white friends”, as Reuben referred to us) tips up at the National Museum.  What better opportunity to put on the glad rags and create a little local colour?

It looked like we arrived a little early, because the last minute titivations were taking place.  A couple of the gentlemen were adding a last minute touch of colour, readjusting the arrangement of bones, beads, shells.  I don’t think the id card is truly authentic but let’s overlook that small feature, shall we?

Their headresses and neckwear were pretty spectacular, and the brightly coloured facepaints were applied with vigour!

But for now, we left them to finish their preparations whilst we looked around the museum.  They promised not to go anywhere.

When we came out, we found them waiting for us, ready for their portraits.  Standing casually with umbrellas to hand, their smiles made it difficult to feign ferocity!

So these are the men of the Huli people, the “Wig men” for obvious reasons.  Their elaborate headresses were beautifully shaped and, we’re told, are made from their own hair.

Faced with such a great opportunity, it’s hard to tear oneself away, but move on we must, so with one last photograph, we climbed back in the bus and were off.  As we did, they did a little dance – maybe they were pleased to see us go?  Or perhaps they were inviting us back?  Who knows?

Now a little further along, we arrived at the Botanic Gardens, where once more, we heard the sound of drums.  The slightly conical, double ended kundu drum is a traditional symbol of PNG and we’d spotted it there as part of the bank logo as well as hanging around those Huli men’s necks.  Now hearing it coming from a clearing in the trees, we wanted to take a closer look to see who was playing it.

Hello…the ladies of a tribe from Mount Hagen were there to greet us.  Wearing these lavishly painted faces, vast quantities of shells, elaborate headwear, a skirt fashioned from leaves and grass and not much else, they made for a stunning sight.

Singing and dancing, beating the drums, these women knew how to touch a foreigner’s heart.

Bless them!

We stood for a while, again finding it hard to tear ourselves away from such a colourful scene, but they were still there as we returned to our vehicle, singing and drumming with great enthusiasm.

We really appreciated the performance and felt that we’d been really lucky to have had such a colourful encounter.

Just one last photo…of course.

As is often the case, Port Moresby seems to have divided opinion amongst our friends.  Those of us who were lucky to have encountered these colourful people, to have had a great guide such as Reuben, who shared his knowledge and love of his country, not to mention his hope for the future left PNG feeling overwhelmingly fortunate to have visited the country, however brief the stop.  Others who were left to their own devices to find their way in a place not easily interpreted by outsiders, who felt alarmed by the dire warnings and put off by initial impressions around the dockyard felt altogether differently about it all.  One thing is certain, after the highly developed tourism industry of Queensland, PNG came as quite a contrast and getting the most out of such a place certainly demands a little more effort.  I believe PNG doesn’t feature in next year’s itinerary, which is a pity, because we’d have been very sorry to have missed a chance to learn a little more about this corner of the world first hand.

Today, we’re back to Australia, to Thursday Island which is the very top of the pointy bit of Queensland (sorry for the technical talk)  The round island tour takes one hour – I guess it’s pretty small.  It’s also an anchored port, which means we’re going to have the fun of the tender!

In the company of friends

First view this morning was coming into the capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby.  Now this place has somewhat of a reputation.  Our Aussie friends raised eyebrows when we said we were calling here and the ship’s newspaper has issued warnings about security and personal safety.  Several people have told us that there’s not much to be seen and we know from experience that just because a place is exotic and located at the other end of the earth doesn’t mean that it’s going to be interesting.

So, if I say we were relaxed about the prospects of the day, I’d be honest.  We booked a general “highlights” excursion because having made it here we didn’t want to leave without getting a glimpse of PNG and anyway, in order to count the full “kerching” we had to set foot on PNG soil, didn’t we, Edward?

Well, how wrong could we be?  We have had a truly fascinating time here and though some aspects of what we anticipated were true, others were a little wide of the mark.  Setting out this morning in a 16 seat minibus, decorated with Christmas tinsel and palm fronds, and with Reuben as our guide, we warmed to the place immediately.  Not only did everyone stop to look and wave, as soon as they made eye contact, a broad smile would greet us.  We soon realised, too, that we were referred to as “friends”.  “One of our friends has just gone to take a photograph”, Reuben would say, or “A few friends are going to wait here in the shade until we are ready”.

So driving through the (very small!) business district this morning, we sat back and relaxed, looking forward to learning a little more about this country of which we knew nothing.

Generally speaking, the roads in the central area of the city weren’t too bad, but as soon as we began to climb up a steep hillside to a viewpoint, things changed a little.

Heavy rains last night can’t have done much for this previously damaged road, but it left me wondering how adventurous this trip was going to be!  As it turned out, though there were other potholes here and there, the roads weren’t in too bad a condition, thank goodness.

But the same couldn’t necessarily be said of the homes, some of which seemed not much more than a basic shelter and Reuben’s description of life here was one of catch as catch can; buy a little and sell it at the market for a small profit seems to be the norm, with just the lucky few having a regular job.

As we drove out of the city, we saw another type of home – that on stilts over the water.  Sadly we didn’t get a close enough look at these to see much of life there, but these structures did at least look more solid than some of those tarpaulin shelters along the roadside.

Over 800 languages are spoken here but there are three main, official ones – English, Pidgin and Motu.  We found ourselves smiling at the Pidgin phrases.  How about this sign outside the Children''s Library:

buk bilong pikinini

Anyway, here we were, arriving at the Koki Market with the fish.  More smiles, calls of “hello!” and a gentle curiosity on both sides of the fence as we chatted to the ladies wafting the flies from the fish display

It wasn’t like India – we didn’t gather little friends as we went, no-one paid us a great deal of attention until we stopped and chatted to a stallholder.  People generally left us to wander around as we wanted, but whenever we made eye contact, that smile was instantly there.

Not all stalls were full and the merchandise was interesting but not especially fascinating or colourful.  But we were glad to make a stop at an everyday part of town and to see the people of Moresby going about their business.

This young man was washing potatoes in a plastic sack of water, giving them a final spray of water with a perforated water  bottle before arranging them on the table like precious stones.  At this point, I hadn’t worked out the exchange rate to say whether these were expensive luxuries or staples of the diet.

Above all, I like the way the women carried their bags on their heads.  I’m not sure it can be very comfortable at first, but seeing some elderly women carrying rather large bags full like this, it must be quite efficient and surely better for the posture than a shoulder bag?

Anyway, our next stop was not really a stop at all, but a drive past of the Parliament buildings.  Fortunately next door was the National Museum and we looked forward to a bit of culture.  In particular I was hoping for some arts and crafts to see.

Sadly, no photos allowed in the museum at all, but we really enjoyed looking around the wonderful wood carvings and particularly liked the wooden boat with an unusual outrigger construction, bedecked with over 1000 cowie shells. There were totem style objects and masks as well as a particularly fascinating (and really badly lit) display of bilum.

Though we didn’t find the museum shop, later we called at an arts and crafts store and I found one to bring home with me. 

It’s an interesting technique – more knotting than crochet, but done with a needle and using wooden slats as spacers, as far as I could see in that dim museum light.  Something to research when we return, I think!

From the museum, we drove through lush greenery to a new visitor attraction – a wildlife sanctuary and botanic garden, containing the National Orchid Collection.

The National Water Slide was here too!

The orchids here were truly magnificent and growing on tree stumps, each one wired to the stump with a small container of fertiliser.  The gardener accompanied us and was keen to show his expertise, though sadly, I was much in awe of the beautiful flowers and could contribute nothing to the conversation!

I particularly admired the peculiarly shaped blooms, such s these with a kind of corkscrew petal.

And I thought the colours were absolutely gorgeous.

There were other small distractions too – lovely wood carvings – and all the time, we “friends” were thoughtfully looked after, made very welcome and given such wonderful attention.

This was especially the case in the bird sanctuary, where I stopped at the entrance and explained that I was afraid of birds.  I was reassured that the birds were in cages or very high above me, and persuaded that I really must see the Bird of Paradise, the Papua New Guinea national bird.  I took a deep breath and went inside and sure enough, there really was nothing to fear.  Though the birds of paradise were not really as spectacular as I imagined and the most attractive exhibit seemed to be the pigeon in the photograph!

From there we drove back into the city, past supermarkets such as this one

Amusing signs in Pidgin – yes, even in the basic communities there are good digital communication networks and there we are, 3D barcodes and all.

Then, on one of the roundabouts, the most incongruous sight of all – a Courts Furniture store!  Maybe they’re in liquidation or bankrupt at home, but here in PNG they’re still going strong!

Soon, we were back at the quayside, where this woman was waiting at the gate holding baby and carrying her bag.  We found our short visit to PNG fascinating and are so pleased we called here.  After the slick tourism industry of Australia, it was good to experience something a little simpler but equally well done.  Thank you, friends.

I actually took more than 250 photographs today, of which these are just a few.  Along the way, we made one or two encounters with some rather more colourful people, who really deserve a post of their own.  So tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to this young man and his friends, but for now, he’s just finishing his make up routine.

Another day at sea

We’ve been at sea today and have been sweltering hot, thoroughly soaked and ever so slightly chilly.  Well, we are British.

I began my day by attending a lecture on taking better photographs.  I listened intently and hope that I learned something.  Only time will tell.  It seemed a little odd to take a photograph of the man who was teaching us how to take better photographs so you’ll simply have to picture the scene yourself!

The day continued with a demonstration from the pastrychef.

Clever young man, deft as anything once he had a piping bag in hand! 

He warned us that it’s like handwriting – each person has his/her own signature to decorate a plate and though working with melted chocolate was not quite for the beginner, he equipped us with bottles of fruit sauce, toothpicks and the basic components for a chocolate mousse.

Not quite up to scratch but a try out of a few of his suggestions and a fun way to spend the morning. It was lovely working in the cool air-conditioned environment, but of course, as soon as I took my plate outside, it melted into oblivion.

We enjoyed a German lunch on the pool deck today, sitting in the sunshine until, suddenly, a grey cloud deposited a bucket or two of heavy rain on us.  As fast as it appeared, it cleared up again – tropical weather is certainly eventful!  All the time we were sitting there, we were aware of a flock of birds hovering overhead and casually posed the question what they might be?  The captain supplied the answer – shearwaters of some description.  Today’s lesson learned.

Tonight the skies were superlative.  Who threw that bucket of blue paint up there?  I stood for a while simply enjoying the spectacle, taking photographs and just being outdoors in the quiet space of the Coral Sea before going downstairs for drinks, dinner and tonight’s show.

Tomorrow we arrive in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.  We need to be ready to roll at 7.55am, which means that it’s most certainly time for bed!

In Cairns today

The morning was looking pretty damp, too.  Never mind – the weather is one thing we can’t change.

The last time we were in Cairns was around 20 years ago, on one of our very first long haul holidays with Edward, who would have been around 7 or 8.  We really enjoyed our time in this neck of the woods and the rainforest and reef left deep impressions on us.  Given the choice today, we decided not to overwrite the snorkelling experience on the Great Barrier Reef, but instead chose to try something new.

Even all that time ago, we remember Cairns as being quite well developed in the tourism stakes and so it came as no surprise to find that one of the options we had was to visit a corner of rainforest and see an Aboriginal show and that this particular “experience” was in – or near – Kuranda.  Twenty years ago we’d taken the steam train to Kuranda and visited the butterfly house there, though due to my fear of things flying, I’d sat outside drinking coffee for a while instead.

Anyway, here we were on a Monday morning in 2012, driving up the mountain to Rainforestation, where we were going to take a ride in an Army Duck vehicle into the forest.  Yes, the full on tourist attraction, safe, controlled and no surprises guaranteed.

 

But you know, such things are not always to be sniffed at.  In this case, the driver AJ was great and the whole shebang was so professionally run that really, it was hard to be at all critical.  With only a short time to see something new, what better way than to put yourself in the hands of people who know what they are doing and who do it so well?

Because we didn’t so much go into the rainforest as have the rainforest delivered to the end of our noses, with the full commentary as well.

What better way to see water dragons and small kingfishers just a couple of feet away?

We loved being in the midst of such lush greenery, especially at such close quarters and the ride in the duck simply added to the fun.

There followed a performance by a group of Aboriginal Pamagirri people, which was fun to watch.  Even so, we were waiting for them to strike up the HokeyCokey or something similar – you know the kind of thing that happens at this sort of show?  Eventually, they cajoled three stooges to come up from the audience to perform the Shake a Leg Dance, which was more or less the same level of embarrassment.  Thankfully it was all done in good humour and with a bit of a twinkle in the eye too!

After the dancing, we were taken to a wide open space to watch a demonstration of spear throwing.

This wouldn’t normally have been my kind of thing but I must say, I found it impressive to watch the accuracy and range that could be achieved by using the “spear thrower”; a shortish piece of wood with a hook at one end  and a club at the other. 

After a quick demonstration of boomerang throwing and one final didgeridoo lesson, our introduction to Aboriginal skills was complete.  We’d really enjoyed our time here and appreciated the thought and organisation which had gone into providing visitors with such a wealth of cultural activity in the limited time available.

It was now time to move on to Kuranda.

My memory of the place 20 years ago is of a tourist trap of a village with tie dyed T shirts and butterfly wall hangings.  Sadly, not much seems to have changed in the intervening years and though Shelagh, our guide, made much of the agreement of Kuranda traders to sell only Australian made products, we saw quite a bit which appeared to stretch the boundaries rather.

On this rainy Monday afternoon, much of the market was closed, which didn’t help, but nevertheless, we enjoyed a wander around and a little people watching opportunity as it gradually became clear that much of this wasn’t really aimed at people like us at all, but more likely the large groups of Asian youngsters who were there too and who are probably the main tourist market these days.

Back in Cairns itself later in the afternoon, it became more apparent that much of the town is geared towards the Asian market with restaurants and shops advertising in Japanese and Mandarin.

A few old buildings remain amongst the newer, flashier structures – this one is the headquarters of the local newspaper.

After a couple of hours downtown we felt that we had seen what we could of Cairns, given the dreadful weather.  We made it back to the cruise terminal and admired this warning notice, even if it does seem rather out of date!

As we were about to board the ship, we stopped by a table and enjoyed a taste of Queensland’s harvest – the wonderful tropical fruits which taste so much better here where they are grown.  After a few mouthfuls of custard apples, soursops, mangoes and sugar bananas we pulled ourselves away and back up the gangplank. 

It’s a pity the sun didn’t shine for us today, but nevertheless, we’ve had a great time here and the atmosphere back on this ship is one of lively chatter as we all share stories of our time in Cairns. Tonight,  we’ve set sail for somewhere new to almost all of us – Papua New Guinea.  Now that’s going to be interesting, isn’t it?