At last! It's RADIANCE cruise day!

[bazzaw]

I know... They proved that here (Aus) on Sept 7 :D

 

No -- those weren't stupid -- they were all just tired and worn out!! It had been a LOOOONG 6 years, and would do anything to put an end to it! .

 

Barry

[gaechann]

We loved our day in Bali! Yes, it was hot but we had expected that. Probably no hotter than Darwin though we thought.

 

I'd been to Bali before for a family wedding 3 years ago but I saw almost as much in this one day than I'd seen during 1 week previously.

 

This time we had a local guide who knew where to take us. He was fantastic and I have these message boards to thank for the name and contact details for him.

 

If anyone wants more details please don't hesitate to contact me via email at:

 

gae(dot)chann@gmail(dot)com

[yatchet]

No -- those weren't stupid -- they were all just tired and worn out!! It had been a LOOOONG 6 years, and would do anything to put an end to it! .

 

Barry

Let's wait and see!

Btw, Nice pics Gae.:)

[boeckli]

Very nice review and photos, Gae. Looking forward to the rest :)

 

Ursula

[The_Big_M]

No -- those weren't stupid -- they were all just tired and worn out!! It had been a LOOOONG 6 years, and would do anything to put an end to it! .

 

Barry

 

And, man, it's feeling like a LOOOONG 2 months now!

[gaechann]

To the dismay of some passengers (afore-mentioned ladies from New York) our ship pulled into Port Hedland for re-fuelling giving us the opportunity to experience an iron-ore loading port.

 

Yes, the whole town was covered in red dust but to me it was fascinating to see how the long, long ore trains pull into the port from the mines hundreds of miles inland to empty their loads which are then sent via conveyor belts to the area where the ore ships are loaded.

 

Approaching Port Hedland this morning we passed about 30 ore ships out from the Harbour awaiting their turns to be loaded.

 

Apparently we had just a half hour window because of the ore ships being loaded and unloaded to enter this port so we were there about half an hour before our previous mentioned arrival time.

 

I'll attach a photo showing our approach to the port, you'll notice the narrow channel that has been dredged to allow large ships to enter the port which was originally just mud-flats at low tide.

 

[gaechann]

From the other side of the ship I was able to photograph the channel that had been dredged through the original mudflats as we approach the port.

 

It was still quite early in the morning so the photo is a bit hazy.

 

Edited November 29, 2013 by gaechann

[gaechann]

As the ore ships required about 6 tug boats to assist them through the narrow channel into the port, there was a great number of tug boats at this harbour. Here is a photo of where they moored awaiting their next job.

 

[gaechann]

We inched towards our dock. Apparantly there are very few cruise ships which dock here so the locals were driving down to watch us dock. There were even more there in the afternoon to watch us leave!

 

Edited November 29, 2013 by gaechann

[gaechann]

Here's a photo of an ore train passing through the special area where the ore carriage is tipped over to empty it's load. The train then moves forward until the next carriage is in position, then it is tipped and emptied. It may take up to an hour to empty these long ore trains.

 

[gaechann]

There was only one ships tour offered here - a bus tour of the BHP mine. We were not permitted to get off the bus so these photos were all taken through the window so please excuse the lower quality.

 

There were shuttle buses running all day from the dock to the town centre. I didn't go there as I've seen mining towns before and know that they offer little in facilities though some took the opportunity to stock up on "necessities" such as 24-packs of coca cola!

 

Here's a photo of some conveyors belts carrying the iron ore to the loading areas.

 

[MommaBear55]

Thank for this review! DH and I will be on the Radiance next fall from Vancouver to Hawaii. Someday I would love to continue on to your amazing and beautiful part of the world. I promise to send the ship back in pristine condition.

[gaechann]

This photo shows a tanker being loaded with iron ore. They load between 8-10 ships per day if I remember correctly.

 

[gaechann]

If you haven't seen any road trains before - large articulated trucks pulling several trailers behind them - then here is one in the middle of this photo.

 

The truck is parked in front of the helicopter port. The helicopter flies the pilot out to the next ship which needs to be brought into the port. Of course a pilot is also needed to guide the ships out of the port as well. I don't think I managed a photo of the helicopter or if I did it's not clear enough to post.

 

[gaechann]

Here's a photo showing the helicopter port to transport the pilots to & fro from the ships.

 

[gaechann]

My Mum couldn't manage the gangways today. As you can see, they were very steep as the tide rose.

 

Finally, they decided to change them down to Level 2 which made it much easier!

 

I spoke to the Tours Director on shore explaining that Mum wouldn't be coming on the tour. I then asked if we could have a refund because of the circumstances. She was kind enough to mention this to her team and next day a refund was placed on my account.

 

[gaechann]

Here are 2 ore tankers waiting to be loaded. The empty ships show lots of red paint below the black whereas once they are loaded the bottom of the black area is on the water.

 

[gaechann]

Many townspeople came out to see us leave the port. These young fishermen were trying their luck on the mud-flats.

 

So, it's goodbye to Port Hedland. Yes, it was hot & dusty but I found it very, very interesting.

 

I guess having 2 mining engineer sons living and working in Western Australia meant that I had some understanding of the enormous wealth that Australia is experiencing because of our mining boom.

 

Sometimes though I'm concerned that we're now so dependant on China's economy as they are our largest minerals buyer.

 

[joejoe 59]

Thanks i found your photos & review of port Headland really interesting, as like you, my son is over in the West working at the mines. :D

[joejoe 59]

My Mum couldn't manage the gangways today. As you can see, they were very steep as the tide rose.

 

Finally, they decided to change them down to Level 2 which made it much easier!

 

I spoke to the Tours Director on shore explaining that Mum wouldn't be coming on the tour. I then asked if we could have a refund because of the circumstances. She was kind enough to mention this to her team and next day a refund was placed on my account.

 

Holy cow, i can understand why your mum would have trouble. I think a lot of people would its so steep.

[Aus Traveller]

The difference between high tide and low tide is phenomenal (often 20 feet) in the north west. Steep gang planks and innovative solutions to this problem are common in Darwin, Broome and Port Hedland.

[aussielozzie18]

Such an informative review, Gae. Really enjoying it.

[The_Big_M]

Holy cow, i can understand why your mum would have trouble. I think a lot of people would its so steep.

 

Very used to that sort of rise. It's common for navy, and other ships.

[gaechann]

DAYS 13, 14 & 15

 

Day 13 - we were at sea.

The Theatre show tonight was Jonathan Clark & his wife Colleen Austen. Once again we thoroughly enjoyed them both.

 

My Cruise Compass shows that the Make a Cake Challenge was on in the Centrum. We didn't attend so we don't know how it went.

 

The Love & Marriage Gameshow was also held tonight where 4 married couples are asked questions about each other. It's always hilarious so we watched in on the cabin TV next day. The older couple were especially hilarious but the couple who had been married the least number of years won it if I remember correctly.

 

Day 14 - Port Hedland

Tonight the Theatre Show was Tango Beunos Aires. I must admit that we enjoyed this night the most of all. The 2 Spanish dancers and the show that the Royal Caribbean Dancers and the Band put together was just amazing!

 

Day 15 - we were at sea

Today the Towel Folding Demonstration was held in the Centrum. As mentioned before, some of the staff were very talented and made it look so easy!

 

My Cruise Compass shows that the Final Cash Prize Royal Bingo was held today along with the Karaoke Superstar Final & the Quest Game Show tonight. This is always great fun but we didn't go. We thought we'd see it on the TV the next day but forgot to look.

[MicCanberra]

Love the photos and review. Keep it up Gae.:D