Dave’s Trip To, Around and Into Australia, Sept. 26 – Nov. 23, 2016

[erewhon]

Actually, no. We went a bit early in case, but the doors did not open until a couple of minutes before 5:30, as usual. We suspect that, in their haste to get a revised On Location out, they copied and pasted something from an earlier cruise, like the Alaska runs they did just before this sailing. In short, something probably got upgesrewt.

 

Dave

 

Thanks for your reply.

[bcummin]

Oct. 16, at sea (Cont.)

We both agreed that we may be in the minority, but we find the crème brulee to be pretty bland/tasteless. It is basically a flan, of which we are not fans. Maybe if they floated it in a plate of Grand Marnier instead of just adding a dash, we might find it tastier.

More later,

Dave

 

Thanks for trying the creme brulee. Not everyone loves it like I do. Jack won't even touch it. I always enjoy flan too, because back in Jack's Navy days our neighbor in Greece presented us with a big bowl of yummy homemade flan. Good memories.

Barbara

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 17, Noumea (Cont.)

 

 

We spent the morning watching U.S. football on ESPN International, although it was a bit strange to have NFL RedZone start at 5 a.m. We had a bit of lunch before joining our 1:15 p.m. tour of Noumea highlights and the aquarium. I took several dozens of photos, but will post later, probably tomorrow my time, after I have organized the photos and my thoughts. Short take – Noumea is beautiful, drier than expected, and today turned sunny and warm, but very windy.

 

 

We arrived back to the ship at about 3:50 p.m., just before happy hour in the Ocean Bar, which we joined, already in progress. We went directly from there to dinner. Here are tonight’s MDR dinner and dessert menus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, DW and I had the same things for starter and main – tomato and romaine salad, followed by the chicken scaloppini (which was tremendous). For dessert, DW had the cheesecake, while I opted for the chocolate cake.

 

More later,

Dave

Edited October 17, 2016 by RetiredMustang

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 17, Noumea (Cont.)

 

 

We pulled into Noumea harbor in overcast skies and showers, with a gusty wind of up to 30 knots. There was a group of greeters on the pier to welcome us:

 

 

 

 

We had the berth right at the cruise terminal in the heart of downtown old Noumea:

 

 

 

 

A larger Carnival ship was berthed north of the container port and that ship ran shuttle buses to the cruise terminal. As we had an afternoon shore excursion, we stayed aboard while fellow passengers flocked ashore for excursions, shopping and sightseeing. There were some disappointed people, though, when the cruise director announced that, due to the high winds and safety concerns, the excursions of Kodiaks to Duck Island and the trip to snorkel the UNESCO reef had been cancelled.

 

 

The weather cleared as the day went on, but the winds did not diminish. We boarded our bus and took a drive to the top of a hill overlooking downtown. Here are a couple of photos from there:

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 17, Noumea (Cont.)

 

 

We then drove around the hills and residential areas of Noumea, which is located on the southern tip of the island of New Caledonia. The harbor and old town are on the eastern, sheltered side, but the city has grown to encompass most of the southern tip. We drove to the west side, past the horse race track, and along a beach road, to a high point that overlooked the sea to the south and to the resort area around two bays to the southeast:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we drove, we saw a number of people sailboarding, some going at quite high speeds in the wind. Our driver said the soil was clay-like, but not as red as most clay, because the soil had significant amounts of nickel in it. In fact, nickel mining is a major part of the economy. That also means the soil does not hold the rain well, and so the island is not the rain forest type I expected, although there were still plenty of palms and other trees, shrubs and plants.

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 17, Noumea (Cont.)

 

 

We then drove down the hill to the Baie d L’Anse Vata, which translates to Sandalwood Bay, our guide said. This is where the large hotels and resorts are, and the departure point to Duck Island, a few hundred meters offshore. It is also the site of the Aquarium. The aquarium was closed on Monday, but arrangements had been made for us to visit. I suspect our number had been increased by people booking this after their snorkel or Duck Island trips had been cancelled.

 

The aquarium is a small, but excellent facility. It features the sea life found around New Caledonia, and has large and small displays that contain the fish, corals, jellies, etc. It also has bioluminescent fish, and florescent corals that seem eerily on fire in many colors under ultraviolet light. These I failed to get any photo of in focus. There also is a low-light display tank of the chambered nautilus, which are beautiful … and which I was also unable to get a good photo.

 

But there were many displays where we could easily view the sea life:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the sea life we could get just across a glass from, such as this beautiful creature – a humphead wrasse, according to the signage. The sign said they grow up to two meters long, but I would estimate this one as about 1.5 meters.

 

 

 

 

After about 45 minutes at the aquarium, we drove back, passing the Baie des Citrons (Bay of Lemons), which is near the resorts, and has some smaller hotels and lots of restaurants, bars, etc. We then went back through old town and out past the port areas to what is now the university, which sits on the site where the original French settlers arrived – convicted prisoners and their guards. There are still a few buildings remaining, including this one. If I heard correctly, our guide said it was a barracks and now is a fancy restaurant.

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the tour very much, and were glad we had some time to spend in Noumea.

 

 

More later,

Dave

[CORealtor]

I am enjoying following this review and great pictures!!

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 18, at sea

 

 

Today is the first of two sea days en route to Sydney. It is also the last gala night of the crossing cruise. Here are the first four pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 18, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[KruiserKat]

When in Sydney, don't miss the fish market! You can order a whole crab!-not cheap, but delicious!!!

 

Francine & Gary

[erewhon]

Thank you for all your posts during this voyage.

 

We travel to Sydney tomorrow, see you on board.

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 18, at sea (Cont.)

 

It has been a very nice sunny day with relatively smooth seas, conditions that invite a session on the balcony with a book and a cool drink. But, before I do that, I thought I would post a bit.

 

This morning I attended the Mariners medallion ceremony, while DW ducked it to attend a virtual engine room tour with the Chief Engineer. There were (if I kept count correctly) 22 bronze medallions awarded, 13 silver and 7 gold. A half dozen or more current gold holders were also recognized. No platinums were awarded, although several platinum holders were recognized, as was one member of the President’s Club. DW said that CHENG gave a very interesting presentation and she was happy she went.

 

It occurs to me that I took a lot of photos of the public spaces on the ship the first few days and still haven’t posted some of them. So, here are some shots of the Crow’s Nest:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

Edited October 18, 2016 by RetiredMustang

[fire eater]

Thank you for this blog, Dave and all your lovely photos. So thrilling to travel along with you as the Maasie edges closer to Oz. See you in Sydney!

Susan

[VICKIB114]

Loving this thread, we travel for the first time on HAL in March on the Volendam, and reading your reviews is getting me excited.:)

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 18, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

A couple of observations:

- Before we left, I figured we needed to lose one more hour than we have before entering the time zone of Sydney. I forgot daylight saving time, which Australia apparently entered sometime during the cruise. In any case, we seem to be in Australian Eastern Daylight Time already. So, no more setting clocks back (until Darwin and then Geraldton, etc.)

- I really appreciate all the posts of encouragement, even if I don’t acknowledge them all. I will try to answer any of your questions, but to answer everyone’s post is difficult, especially at ship internet speeds. Thanks for all of your comments.

 

 

As I entered the Ocean Bar before 4 p.m., I saw a group of about 8-10 people at tables near the bar. Listening to them, it became apparent they were at a veterans’ meeting, mostly U.S., some Australians, and possibly a Canadian or two. I joined the discussion (as a retired USN member), and chatted for a few minutes with them. (I suppose I should check and actually read a bit more closely those On Locations I post each day, d’oh! :rolleyes:)

 

At any rate, tonight was the final Gala night, and the ship had the traditional meal. Here is the combined dinner/dessert menu:

 

 

 

 

 

I had the traditional shrimp cocktail for starter, while DW had the salad. For main dish, we both chose the surf and turf, but since DW does not like seafood :eek:, I actually had surf and surf and turf. The lobsters were from frozen, of course, but they did a good job of cooking them and they were pretty tender and delicious. The filet was excellent as well.

 

For dessert, we both had what DW considers the A-number-1 HAL dish – warm flourless chocolate cake. I admit it took little coxing for me to order it as well.

 

After dinner, we enjoyed the music of Adagio, at least the female pianist; I don’t know where the male violinist made off to … but she was superb. A very enjoyable half-hour or so.

 

More later,

Dave

[Karennella]

Just to confuse you, Queensland does not have Daylight Saving. The climate is hot and it seems people prefer the light early mornings to having more light in the evening. Whatever! So the clocks go back once you get to Brisbane.

We get confused too!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I always love looking at pictures.

I see that those curtains around the pink and orange sofa areas have been removed. I never liked them.

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 19, at sea

 

 

Today is a sea day, and the last day of the cruise before arriving in Sydney tomorrow. The seas are pretty calm, the air clear, and the sunrise gorgeous. The temperature is 64F/18C. Looks to be a great day.

 

Here are the first four pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 19, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

Edited October 18, 2016 by RetiredMustang

[RetiredMustang]

Just to confuse you, Queensland does not have Daylight Saving. The climate is hot and it seems people prefer the light early mornings to having more light in the evening. Whatever! So the clocks go back once you get to Brisbane.

We get confused too!

 

Thank you for the info. I wonder if the Northern Territory does daylight saving -- would that mean having to set the clocks ahead before Darwin? I think it would be strange for the time to be 10:00 in Cairns and 10:30 in Darwin. But, no doubt the On Location will tell us what to do.

 

Thanks again,

Dave

[kura]

No....NT and WA do not have daylight saving....so if it is 10am in Sydney....

 

10am in NSW

9am in QLD

8:30am in NT

9:30am in SA

7am in WA (Perth and Northern and western WA, but 7:45am in Eucla)

10am in VIC and TAS

 

Very confusing during daylight saving time!..hope this helps!....

 

Very interested in your posts as we will be on the Maasdam next year doing the circumnavigation of AUS and then the Pacific islands return to Sydney.

Edited October 18, 2016 by kura
Typo

[Karennella]

Yes it seems Queenslanders tried it for a year and gave it up. Of course the length of the days does not vary as much in the north of the country so it becomes a bit pointless. Also the culture in Australia, especially in the north, is a day culture. People up and jogging etc at 5 am and enjoying the cool time of the day. unless you are young and like to go out in the middle of the night!

[RetiredMustang]

No....NT and WA do not have daylight saving....so if it is 10am in Sydney....

 

10am in NSW

9am in QLD

8:30am in NT

9:30am in SA

7am in WA (Perth and Northern and western WA, but 7:45am in Eucla)

10am in VIC and TAS

 

Very confusing during daylight saving time!..hope this helps!....

 

Very interested in your posts as we will be on the Maasdam next year doing the circumnavigation of AUS and then the Pacific islands return to Sydney.

 

Thanks, yes that is very helpful. I will figure it out I'm sure what time it is where we pull in ... probably after a good deal of clutching my head. :D

 

Thanks again,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 19, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

We attended two events in the Showroom this morning. The first, at 10:30 was the Indonesian crew show, which was very enjoyable. This was followed immediately by the traditional crew farewell, which we have not seen in quite a while, and it included the singing of “Love in Any Language.” We noticed a few passengers singing along.

 

I did not want to use my flash at these two events, so was unable to get any good shots of the crew show, and got only one of the farewell that shows much – it shows fellow passengers in the balcony pretty well, but the crew on stage not so much. But, it may give you an idea of how many were there:

 

 

 

 

Since I don’t have any other useful photos from today, here are some more of ship public spaces from earlier in the cruise, this time the Lido pool and Lido bar area:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Oct. 19, at sea (Cont.)

 

 

Dinner tonight was the farewell one featuring dishes from the various chefs of the HAL Culinary Council. I think it is much better than the older one with four different lists of dishes from different areas of the world. At least we found something we liked from the list.

 

Here is the combined dinner and dessert menu:

 

 

 

 

For starter, DW had the potato soup, while I opted for the mushroom one – outstanding! We both chose the prime rib for main dish (hint for those who have not noticed – we really like beef dishes). Neither of us liked the dessert choices, so we asked Ayep for a simple scoop each of vanilla ice cream, and since he is a jewel of a dining steward, we got them.

 

More later,

Dave

Edited October 19, 2016 by RetiredMustang