Kezzas trip report - Peach sunsets 25-10-06

[kezza]

Arrived in Brisbane after spending the night at Tulla airport at 8am. Couldn't find P&O bus so caught taxi out to Wharf. Whilst looking for the P&O bus we bumped into one of our previous dinner mates from our second cruise whom we kept in touch with for some time after, (it's a small world!! He was in Brisbane on business).

 

We dropped our bags at the drop-off spot and had a look around the wharf. It's a very nice place with some very nice shops. We went upto the Observation deck for a while then found a bar downstairs. Sat inside and had a few drinks . We had B tickets so thought we'd go and see how much longer we had to wait before we could board. C tickets were already lined up and they we calling for D ticket holders:eek: . Took about 30 mins all up from standing in line to getting into our room. We didn't have our luggage waiting yet so went and got ourselves another drink and had a walk around the ship to get our bearings.

 

I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the ship.

 

The captain gave 3 or 4 loud horn blasts and we were off. (on time).

 

We met up with Jane, Sandra and their 2 other friends and tried very hard to find Kinka but to no avail. Even the bar staff called out Kinkas name!

 

By the time we went to dinner we'd had a couple more drinks so meeting our dinner companions was a bit of a blurrrr. The next night we re-introduced ourselves and started from scratch again. We had a wonderful table of people whom we shall be keeping in touch with. We all clicked exceptionally well and would often catch up during the day and before dinner. We made the spa our object of getting together before dinner.

 

One of the guys noticed the table behind us and how odd they all looked and that a young girl sitting on her own at the end of the table was totally ignored during dinner. Couldn't work out why they would sit a young girl on her own with older people:confused: Turns out that they were the TT crew and that our table waiter Sam recognised them and had informed the Captain.

 

Our first full day at sea was taken up with lazing about up on the Oasis deck for awhile, catching up with our new friends and bingo (we never usually do bingo but decided to give it a go). didn't win a thing but we did have fun. Saw 1 and a half shows the whole cruise. The guest entertainers were very boring (although some said the flute player was very funny). Maybe we should have given them a go at least once to be fair to them. Never mind!

 

Saw quite a few crew who remembered us from our Asia cruise which was great. It's really nice when you are remembered especially since they see thousands of faces a year.

 

Sailing thru the HB waters is just beautiful, before you get to Noumea.

 

NOUMEA -

Arriving in Noumea, we were about half hour late berthing. We headed off to do our Helicopter tour. We were second last to do our flight so I was quite nervous. Some had said it was rather bumpy taking off and landing. I hate heights so this was a major risk taking tour for me.

 

It was fantastic. I loved it. You couldn't get the grin off my face:D . It is well worth doing even if it is only an 8-10 min flight.

 

Afterwards we walked around the Coconut square area, met a couple of guys looking for somewhere to have a beer so we jointed them and had a beer in one of the little pubs opposite the square. We did get told to try and not be out around that area after dusk as it can get ugly. I must say I did find it an uncomfortable place. In the pub we were getting looked at in a way that was unnerving for all of us, so we downed our beer, said thanks and left. There was a huge gathering of locals in the park by this stage so we headed back towards the ship.

On our next trip back to Noumea the one tour I would do again in also the LePetite Train. The areas you go to on this tour seem to be a lot nicer and more pleasant to walk around in.

 

Some of the ladies on our table at dinner said they had done the Plane tour and said it was also fantastic. This tour spends 30mins in the air so you do get good value for your money.

 

We left Noumea on time with no fan fare, no sailaway party which is a bit disappointing. One of the best parts about leaving an Island is the sailaway party.

 

LIFOU-

Didn't do any tours this time here. We've done a few previously so we headed upto the church on the hill. Hubby took me on the wrong path firstly so after half an hour of walking we headed back and got onto the right path! this is not a great walk in thongs. We then headed around to the snorkelling area everyone goes to and for the first time I tried snorkelling. I went out enough were I could still touch the bottom but also see some fish and coral. The fish and coral was much better out deeper apparently but I was happy with myself just putting on the mask, sticking the thingy in my gob, and trying to breath without panicking as well as also not panicking if I could touch the bottom or not.

 

I snorkelled no more than 30 mins and go so burnt on my back that I blistered!! Urgghhh. Don't forget to use your suncream. It was so hot and the water so salty and the sky cloudy I didn't even think about suncream. I will next time!!

 

VILA-

We did the Jet boat tour. This was a lot of fun. We got absolutely drenched. We were going to go back to the ship and change but decided what the heck, it's so warm we'll eventually dry, so walked into town. Headed straight to the duty free shop everyone recommends and bought too much alcohol but hey what the heck. It is sooooo cheap. Our alcohol cost us $91 for 2 bottles of Ouzo @ $10 ea (1125 ltr ea), 1 Midouri (1ltr), 1 Vodka (1ltr), 1 Jim Beam (1125 ltr) $12 and 1 pair Sambucca.

 

Well going thru Customs cost us another $93:eek: . Urggh. A lesson has been learnt let me tell you. Once you go over your concession you loose your concession. You either have to give it all back or pay up. We paid up. We were even let off a couple of litres! (we've never been over our limit before and their rules have changed so next time we now what to do). We didn't open any of these bottles. I now understand what some of the people on this board say about saving some money on the last day of the cruise and buy softdrink to add to their duty free alcohol they open.

 

Bought a LV bag for $80 and some Billabong t's - $12. We sat in a small bar opposit Ma Bakers and enjoyed a Chicken burger and a few ales. Caught a taxi back to the ship for $5 for both of us and DH had a nap and I had a good look thru the market area and my photo taken with the locals dancing on the wharf. Vila is a great day. They've changed when they have Island night now and it is not always when you leave Vila.

 

CHAMPAGNE BAY-

This is our most favorite place. We did the Blue lagoon trip with the locals early. Cost $10 ea. Our driver took us to the highest point for photos, drove thru local village then onto lagoon. What he didn't tell us was that it's a $3 fee each to get down to the lagoon! Still it's worth the $3 ea. The water was beautiful and clear and had a blue tinge thru it in certain light. Hubby had a swim and snorkel for awhile then we headed back to the beach. They also sell fruit and goodies at the lagoon entrance.

 

The market on the beach seemed a lot bigger than the first time we were there 3 years ago. Hubby snorkelled while I sat and swam. It's such a beautiful spot to just sit and enjoy.

 

The only disappointing part of the day was the humungas fight that occurred. I was walking to get a drink at the bar when I heard all this commotion. I got my can of diet coke, walked over to see what was happening and OMG it was unbelievable. What I thought was a coconut on a guys head was actually a bottle of beer smashed on his head, a machette was raised, some of the signs that had stakes keeping them upright were taken out of the sand for weapons, a huge tree branch was picked up by Godzilla and smashed on the back of a trucks window. Two men were being beaten to a pulp and knocked out. It finally settled down with the intruders leaving, the 2 men knocked out took about 10mins to come around, 1 being carried away with blood all over him and the other finally getting up and wobbly walking away being held up by others. It was so scary with men running everywhere, their women and children screaming, especially when the machette came up I had drank my cola without even realising it. It was interesting afterwards to watch the locals looking behind them in the bushes. A lot of them started packing up, they were very nervous about what was too happen later on. Apparently 2 brothers own the land and 1 lot are not allowed onto the Champagne Beach area and once nighttime came they were going to settle the dispute on the beach. A young local boy was telling me this. He was packing his boat up and heading back to his friends house, well away for the trouble.

 

A lot of people left the island after this and said they wouldn't go back, but no way were we leaving, it felt like the locals needed to know they still had our support. All those that were up further on the beach didn't even know there had been trouble.

 

Hubby loves this island so much he was going to be last back on the tender. There were 5 of us left at the end of the day along with the security staff and tender guys. We had to pick up the bouys on our way back to the ship. What these tender guys have to do is unreal. They literally put their saftety on the line. Unless your last back on the tender you don't see most of what they have to do. One guy hanging onto the staps of the guy in front leaning over the side with a gaffer hook trying to get the bouys in choppy waters. One wrong move and over the side he'd go!

 

LUGANVILLE-

Well this isn't the prettiest of towns that's for sure. A large market area which is really cheap. 1 street with a few stores, all seemed to be owned by the chinese. They have Billabong etc here as well and all are around $12 the only problem is most sizes are L. lol.

 

We did a tour here to Oyster Is. It's a new tour so there were a few teething problems. We could go to the Blue Hole which is absolutely gorgeous. The blue water is the colour of the blue question mark icon when you submit a thread (best discription I could give!!) You could go to a plane wreck and snorkel down to it or you could snorkel around Oyster island itself. We were going to do all 3 but could only do one due to rough waters apparently. This wasn't quite true, it was just that they hadn't prepared themselves too well and didn't have enough boats to go to the different places people wanted to go.

 

This tour certainly wasn't worth the money and most of us felt very ripped off so we filled out a Tours complaint form. It would have been a good tour if it had been organized properly so hopefully they will have sorted it all out for the next group of people who chose to do this tour.

 

There apparently are some beautiful beaches in Luganville so if we go back maybe we'll pick better next time.

 

We went to have a beer in the only pub but it didn't look too inviting so we headed back to the ship. On the way back there seemed to be a lot of local men coming out. I'm not sure if I like this place or not:( .

 

WALA-

This is another beautiful island. did the local tour which was very informative. You only need to do this tour once. We sat on the beach all day and snorkelled. I gave it a go this time and saw my first star fish. I was very excited. The fish here were beautiful colours. Again I only went out as far as standing was still possible. Hubby held my hand as we went out which gave me more confidence. I do love snorkelling and would love to be able to go out further. Who knows maybe next Feb...

 

We bought most of our souveniors here and had most of them taken off us at Customs. Be very carefull when buying necklaces. Any with seeds, DON'T BUY. They even colour dye the seeds which is a bit sneeky. We bought a mat which was taken off us because it had little spiders when tapped on the table, a windchime which was covered in seeds and shells and 2 woven bags which one probably should have been taken buy the Customs lady told us to go.

 

Tonight was Island night. What a great night. Love island night, had some great photos taken and had a photo with the Captain (thanks to Sandra).

 

The Rock and Roll night was a hoot. I answered a question right and with 3 other guys we were Elvis for our 2 mins of fame. I came in 2nd (next time i'll get hubby to dive for my legs and pull at me lol).

 

The Horse racing day was great fun. Hubby was our jockey and he did well to come in 2nd. It was a close call. We won on the races prior to the main race, so we still came out ahead.

 

Well I'm sorry this is so long, was going to do it in installments but once I started it was hard to stop. I'm sure i've forgotten things but never mind.

 

Thanks to Sandra, Jane, Robyn and Janine for a wonderful time. We thoroughly enjoyed your companies and look forward to our next cruise.

 

Kerri

[howsthis]

Great read Kezza, I really enjoyed it and glad you put it all in. I am interested in how much it cost for the taxi from the airport to the terminal if you remember. I am flying up to Brisbane to join my mum for our trip on the Pacific Star. I will have to get a taxi if I can't find a p & o bus.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Yay, its up! Nice reading your story.

[Skyrules]

Great read Kezza, I really enjoyed it and glad you put it all in. I am interested in how much it cost for the taxi from the airport to the terminal if you remember. I am flying up to Brisbane to join my mum for our trip on the Pacific Star. I will have to get a taxi if I can't find a p & o bus.

 

At a guess I'd say $15 at the most. Hamilton would be less than 1/2 the distance from the Airport than where we live and it normally costs us around $30 from the domestic terminal to home.

 

Kym

[Skyrules]

Saw quite a few crew who remembered us from our Asia cruise which was great. It's really nice when you are remembered especially since they see thousands of faces a year.

 

I'm always impressed that staff can remember the regulars. When we sailed on Star, there were alot of crew that had moved over from Sun, which we'd been on about 9 months previously, and quite a few of the crew remembered either us, or my parent's who cruised with us both times.

[acdc]

Kezza, reading your review is really whetting my appetite for our cruise - in 2 days! So excited.

I was told there'd be lots of taxis and buses waiting at the wharf in Vila, also that the fares are higher on cruise days, so was interested to know that it cost $5 from the city to the wharf.

Did you get a fare quoted or was it by meter?

Thanks again for your review!

[karmac]

....I was told there'd be lots of taxis and buses waiting at the wharf in Vila....

 

Just keep your fingers crossed they don't go on strike

 

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3709346&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=

[aussiedisneyfan]

Oh dear, wouldn't like to have that walk. TT got their revenge!!

 

The locals are "shooting themselves in the foot" if they refuse to service the ship because no-one will go into town anymore and they will lose a lot of business.

 

ACDC, I don't think they have meters. It is usually $2 per person to cram into a minivan or $10 for a taxi. Kezza, was it $5 each or did you get a bargain?

[acdc]

Thanks for that tip. I got in touch with Melanesian Tours in Vila (2 ex kiwis) and they said that some of the buses are really in a deplorable state. Only 1 company is allowed to pick up P&O passengers for tours...

[aussiedisneyfan]

Deplorable can be putting it nicely. I actually enjoy the experience of tearing down the roads holding while the van overtakes into onciming traffic with a big grin on my face. Don't hope for aircon, that is what windows are for. I reckon some minivans are held togther by ductape. :D

[kezza]

At a guess I'd say $15 at the most. Hamilton would be less than 1/2 the distance from the Airport than where we live and it normally costs us around $30 from the domestic terminal to home.

 

Kym

 

Howsthis & Kym the taxi cost us $25.:eek: Because it was peak morning it was quite busy.

[kezza]

Kezza, reading your review is really whetting my appetite for our cruise - in 2 days! So excited.

I was told there'd be lots of taxis and buses waiting at the wharf in Vila, also that the fares are higher on cruise days, so was interested to know that it cost $5 from the city to the wharf.

Did you get a fare quoted or was it by meter?

Thanks again for your review!

 

acdc the taxi driver saw us just standing looking at the pub across the road when he stopped and asked us if we wanted to go back to the ship for $10. All I had on me was $6 and told him so and he was fine with that so I think we got a good deal.:cool:

 

Kerri

[kezza]

Oh dear, wouldn't like to have that walk. TT got their revenge!!

 

The locals are "shooting themselves in the foot" if they refuse to service the ship because no-one will go into town anymore and they will lose a lot of business.

 

ACDC, I don't think they have meters. It is usually $2 per person to cram into a minivan or $10 for a taxi. Kezza, was it $5 each or did you get a bargain?

 

Hi Jane it was $5 for the 2 of us. It was a bargain:D

[kezza]

Deplorable can be putting it nicely. I actually enjoy the experience of tearing down the roads holding while the van overtakes into onciming traffic with a big grin on my face. Don't hope for aircon, that is what windows are for. I reckon some minivans are held togther by ductape. :D

 

I'm with you on that one Jane. And yep I reckon a majority of the vans are held together with ductape too.:D The whole experience is well worth it. We asked our driver if there were many accidents and his reply was "no, hardly any). I think they'd have a heart attack if they had to drive over here!!:)

 

Kerri

[keepcruising]

Great read Kezza. I alway love it when you read another review, and reminiss about your own trip.

 

Look forward to continuing the partying on Feb with you and OZ, shame it will be with a different captian though.