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?

A few hours in Townsville

Enough food!  Time to get on with what we came for – discovering new places and the joy of opening the curtains first thing and seeing somewhere new, just waiting there ready to be explored.

Actually, it wasn’t quite Townsville this morning, since we weren’t scheduled to arrive till 11am.  But the Queensland coastline was looking lovely in the morning sunshine and after a day at sea we were ready to get going.

But at the same time, the warmth of the sun drew us outside, to sit for an hour on the balcony and do a little drawing, read a magazine and simply watch the world go by.

As we approached Townsville we were buzzed on several occasions by this noisy little boat, a chap appearing to film the ship as he went by.  We got our own back by taking several photographs of him!

We were a little early into port, arriving just as the inhabitants of the city were getting up and about their Sunday morning business.  The catamarans were toing and froing to Magnetic Island, small jetskis zoomed out to sea and small groups of people stood on the breakwater, watching the ship come into the harbour.  Once again we did one of those turns on our axis – a remarkable manoeuvre really, and with a small tug alongside our berth was secured.

(I think I could post a blog focused completely on photos of tugs of the world, but for now, I’ll spare you that!)

We were booked to visit the two museums in town and to drive around the city, so turned up on time and joined a crowd to be led by a rather vague and slightly dotty guide.  First call was a little orientation tour of some of the suburbs, which looked, errmmm, rather like suburbs of many small towns – that is, slightly scruffy in places, a bit sleepy on this Sunday afternoon and for an outsider, not especially interesting.

After a while, we turned up at the Palmetum, one of Townsville’s main attractions, particularly so because of the old building which had been imported from another location to be used as a tea room here.

Sadly, there wasn’t time for us to get out and take a look, so we simply sat in the car park and listened, in much the same way as losers on a game show are told all about the prizes they might have won…if only!

From there we drove along the Strand, which seemed to us to be a most attractive promenade, created after the cyclone a few years ago.  Here, in the sunshine, families were out and about, enjoying the fresh air and the thoughtful amenities which had been planned into this new construction.

The children were having a great time at a water playground and I could imagine that the children of Townsville have to be dragged away from here when it’s time for home.

Our next stop was Reef HQ, a large aquarium and research establishment for the Great Barrier Reef.  Thankfully, a most capable, enthusiastic and energetic guide took over here and the ten of us heaved a sigh of relief as we were taken on a whistle stop tour of all things aquatic.  Not only could Lyn name every fish, every coral and other sea creature, she was able to communicate her knowledge in a way that captivated us all – what a contrast!

I know this is a lousy photo but I particularly liked these patterns formed by a kind of sea anemone (sorry, Lyn, I forgot already!)  As we stood watching, they were pulsating gently.

I took loads of photos and though some of the most colourful fish came out ok, others remain best recorded in my head.  This little magenta and yellow fellow stands out nicely, though, doesn’t he?

Above all, there was a feeling of calm.   We stood and watched these amazing creatures hardly move a muscle as they slipped silently through the water.  Such bright colours, beautiful patterns, elegant forms.  Altogether magical.

Mind you, there were menacing faces too.

We loved the place and could have spent longer there, perhaps taking out paper and crayons to draw and paint?

Because in every little tank, there was something lovely, interesting, beautiful and gracious to see.  But of course, we had to move on, regroup and make our way to another place.

At least it was just next door.

The Museum of Northern Queensland is another newish building right next door to the Reef HQ.  After a short introduction by another enthusiastic volunteer, we were able to explore the place independently, although like everyone else, we began with The Pandora.

This ship is the focus of the museum and indeed, in Townsville’s history.  Unsurprisingly, I’d never heard of Pandora, but soon learned that this ship was sent to trace the mutineers of the Bounty and bring them home to undergo trial.  It was shipwrecked just off this coast and discovered by divers relatively recently.  The treasures and the story of the ship and the people aboard are all here to see.

As is this very cleverly constructed replica/interpretation of the vessel.  I loved the way it had been envisioned and as an exhibit in its own right, it was fascinating.

Looking down from an elevated walkway, the shape of the ship was worked into the carpet and it was easy to picture the size – actually rather smaller than one might think.

Also in the museum were replicas of the curious prehistoric sea creatures, the remnants of which have been found in the North Queensland desert and a huge number of corals – the largest collection in the Southern Hemisphere – which made me want to get out my drawing things again.

Great place, super afternoon which turned out so much better than we feared when we started.  As always, we could have spent longer here but indeed, we felt lucky to have visited it at all and took away good memories of two fascinating places.

We jumped on our bus again and just made it back to the ship in time for Trivia, but found ourselves on our own since the rest of our team were still cuddling koalas or something.  Never mind – with the assistance of Ron from Toronto and Judy the Pilot’s wife, we missed out on a surprise win by one measly point.  Never mind – we didn’t know that Jerusalem means “city of peace” and the winning team did.  Better luck next time, eh?

A fine dinner tonight, Cordon Bleu style in “Signatures” but you’ll just have to imagine the deliciousness that we enjoyed this time!

The Block Party

One of the most memorable events of a cruise such as this is the Block Party.  We first came across it last year, when just a few days into our cruise, everyone was invited to step outside their suite door with a glass and meet the neighbours.  I’ll admit that this was a scary prospect to begin with, but it really did turn out to be quite the key to a whole lot of fun.

Tonight was our “block party” night.

At 6pm, the captain sounded the cocktail bell and, regardless of dress (or state of undress) everyone opened their door with glass in hand to find someone there with a bottle and a plate of canapes to share – oh, and all the neighbours too!  It’s funny how we can “live” next door to someone for a couple of weeks or more and never see them – the block party is a great way of making introductions and in some cases, finding that the neighbours here turn out to be neighbours at home too!

At some point during these shenanigans, the captain and a couple of senior officers made their way through the ship and shook hands with every single person on board.  No time to stop of course, but again, good fun and a good way to ensure that everyone gets to know a few more people around the place.

It also meant the bar was especially noisy this evening and as we sat enjoying our drinks before dinner, we noticed how spirited everyone was!  We had fun company for the evening – even if they did forget where we were meeting and needed to be tracked down…

We hadn’t made special plans for dinner tonight, hadn’t booked a table at one of the premium restaurants or anything but had simply arranged to meet our friends.  Even so, the menu needs careful consideration and there are difficult choices to be made.

Will it be salmon or dumplings?  Salad, soup or risotto?

One of our favourite salty breadsticks helps the decision making process! 

We’ll have a sorbet, for sure, and then will it be fish, pork or beef?  Difficult decisions!!

Of course, talking twenty to the dozen means that before we’ve even realised, the first course has been delivered – dumplings Shanghai-style were the most popular on our table

washed down with a great Orvieto wine tonight.  We were off to an excellent start, for sure.

Sorbet time – a different flavour each evening.  Tonight’s pear variety was particularly good, I thought.

Next, I chose the Malaysian Beef which was served with a mild spicy sauce and rice - very good, I thought (though someone not so far from here would have liked it to have been spicier)

Finally dessert, on which most decided to pass.  I chose a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream and an espresso to make an affogato.  Sorry, it disappeared too quickly to make it into the photograph!

Meanwhile the petits fours were disappearing fast – and sadly, one of our friends had to attend to her responsibilities elsewhere and we couldn’t detain her any longer.

Comfortable though we were, easy as it was to continue talking and nibbling petits fours, it really was time for bed.  We wished everyone goodnight, thanked our super waiters and made it upstairs in rather calmer seas than last night, thank goodness.

Tomorrow we’ll be in Townsville, but not until 11am, which means we’ll have a relaxed breakfast.  How can I even think of the next meal right now?  Heaven knows!!