highplanesdrifters

UP NEXT Jacquinot Bay, Papua New Guinea Jacquinot Bay is a large open bay on the eastern coast of the island of New Britain. It is a tranquil place with white sandy beaches and tropical palm trees all around. There is also a well-known beautiful waterfall that flows out of the mountainside with freezing cold water right onto the beach. But during WWII, however, it was not a quiet place. It was, in fact, an important base for the Australian Army who liberated it in November 1944. This base was used to support Australian operations near Rabaul which were conducted in early 1945 in conjunction with advances on the northern side of New Britain.

@drron29Thanks again for chiming in with your depth of knowledge. We were told that there is almost no effort to increase tourism due to the volcanos which are still considered active. After all, they have devastated the city twice in the last 30 yeara. FWIW, the city for the most part is run by the Chinese. Except for one or two outliers, all shops and businesses are owned by Chinese. The fishing fleet in the Harbour, Chinese. The NON air-conditioned vans - Chinese. Our driver complained that they were too cheap to pay for it. It was interesting to see vestiges of German infrastructure 100 years later.

Exactly same menu on the Explorer. Very enjoyable to watch this historic moment. What an amazing.production. But thought the the Windsor Whites looked a little smurfy with their blue decorations. Maybe the royal blue dye lot was off. And I'm pretty sure I need a Supertunica for the next formal night. 😃

Rabul So that concludes the whirlwind step into civilisation. Our last city until we reach Cairns in a weeks time. Back to island hopping and lazing about the surf. Yes the heat was brutal. But let's face it, we knew what the temperatures would be on this trip. No one did a thermal bait and switch. All in all quite happy we did the tour. A lot to process. I'm sure we'll think about it for days to come. Now, let me tell you about that cold shower. 😉 Ugh, we've just been informed of a 3.5 hour departure delay. They are waiting for crew to aarrive. Earlier flight canceled. Gee don't they know about getting in the day before? Disappointing as this cuts into our daylight sailout. Lots of birds, flying fish, Dolphins and possibly whales. Smoke is moving in and we are once again in the ashtray.

Rabaul Tour Stop 5 was the overlook posted earlier Stop 6 Local Market Often my favorite part of a trip. How do people live and eat? The Beetle nut stalls were something. They took up half the market. Who knew it was such a diverse product. Lots of yams. Lots and lots of yams. Peanuts, huh? Nope, not touching whatever this is. About $1.50

Rabaul Tour Stop 3 & 4 A memorial rock Picture of Explorer Ahhhhhh - A comfort stop at a local hotel. A few beers with our guides.

Rabaul Tour Yamamoto's Bunker and Peace Museum It's still HOT. Sweat is my constant companion. We drove for 15 minutes down a very bumpy road then turned around and came back the same way. I have no clue why. Didn't even bother to ask. Eventually we made it to the Museum and bunker. A few artifacts and some faded history, not a bad little place. Especially the part with fans and chairs. No longer the New Guinea Club. Notice the flag/emblem similarities? Fyi, the Germans were here WWI. Much of the infrastructure was built by them. I have no idea how this fits in. Yamamoto's Bunker Yamamoto was the Japanese Comander in New Guinea. This was their stronghold for the last years of WWII. Worth a Google. Rather spacious down there.

Grrrrrrr. Cruise critic software

RABAUL TOUR Now that I've started at the end with the last post, I'll go back to the beginning. It is HOT! Even the locals said it was jot. After 30 minutes in a cramped no AC van over dusty bumpy roads we arrive at our first destination. The Hot Springs. No tour is complete without some local drama. After sitting at the very secure security gate for 15 minutes the police arrived an magically the gates were lifted. Much discussion, hand waving, and phone calling. I bet that truck has AC And we're in. Past the very secure security gate. Local trinkets to be had. The exciting Hot Springs A very cool beach with close up volcano views. Kids always coming out to wave along the roads. Tree knot Former site of WWII Japanese runway.

RABAUL CALDERA There we're two recent eruptions, 1994 and 2014. A 51 year rest for these sleeping giants. The 1994 event was the more devastating as both Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted simultaneously. Can you imagine! Their magma chambers were connected. Only Tavurvur erupted in 2014. Hence Tavurvur still has a charcoal appearance. While Vulcan across the bay is blanketed in green. This scenic overlook affording sweeping views of the Rabaul Caldera was our last stop of the day. Sadly the volcano center was closed. Rather disappointed 😞. But oh what a view. You can see Explorer docked in Rabaul. Maps. Me likey.

As for decorator wear and tear, Silversea have done a fine job of keeping everything up. Ship shape for sure. Staff are all fantastic. Many are staying through the handover. The bones of the ship....well....that's another matter. Of the two guest elevators on the ship one has been broken since we boarded. Im not sure if there is a staff elevator. The other rarely works. We have been stuck in it twice and had to pry the doors open. Today our shower clogged and flooded the bathroom. She's an old girl so we expected some issues. None of this has diminished this fabulous trip.....yet.😉 will keep you posted. A regular site on the way to our cabin.

Ebay? Me thinks precious items like that deserve a Sotheby's consullt.😉

Had some free time yesterday and a wander about the ship. As Explorer is leaving the fleet thought I might document some of the ports visited. Always amazed by the artistry in the plaques. Have a look see when you have some time to kill.

Oh M....🤣🤣🤣

Loving all the comments, photos, and videos. Keep em coming!

Wowza, what a story. Thanks for sharing. Hope all keep their comments and stories coming. So.....which body parts did the elder recommend. Asking for a friend.😃

Thanks for all the encouragement. Will keep em coming! I don't know why the videos are being troublesome. I've been regularly rebooting the phone in hopes that would help. Last night was a bit of a challenge. The usual garbage and agriculture fires were burning. The smoke settled in and it felt like we were sleeping in an ashtray. We got our KN95s out and slept in them. Helped tremendously. Skies clearer this a.m. I really hope things went well for the Baining Fire burning and folks had a fantastic time. Vans and busses being loaded.

RABAUL SAIL IN Spent some time on deck this afternoon and enjoyed the sail in to Rabaul. Even saw a few critters. Very dramatic skies. Volcanos in the distance. Almost looks like a blow up Saw a lot of flying fish. Even got a mediocre picture of one. They easily fly a few hundred feet. Getting closer. 1994 volcano leftovers on the left. What's going on here? Don't think we'll be walking around the port tonight.🤣

Oh goody! BTW, I did score you a bottle of Blue Turtle Gin in Fiji. And happy to take AUD. Price was 119 FJD. 😃

And tourists? Ha ha, don't laugh. Cannibalism was still practiced until the late 60s. I've been holding out this little tid bit. We've been on 4 expeditions in the last year. Three on Silversea and all with Chef Pia, including this one. JACKPOT Me after 4 more weeks with Chef Pia

Rabaul, PNG OK- we'll get a little hot and dusty for this one! Learn Rabaul history and see panoramic views of the surrounding islands and bay on this half-day excursion. Disembark the ship at the Rabaul pier and board a tour bus for your driving tour, with distances between the four sites on this tour varying from three kilometers to just meters.Visit the national Volcano Observatory Station that monitors activity of the 14 active and 23 dormant volcanos in Papua New Guinea. Rabaul is situated inside the flooded caldera of a giant volcano with several sub-vents still active today.Drive to a WWII barge tunnel, part of at least 300 kilometers of tunnels built beneath Rabaul to hide and protect Japanese Imperial forces and materials from Allied air-raids. An engineering feat of the Japanese, the barge tunnels were built mostly by the forced labor of POWs and local Tolai people. Next, take the tour bus to the Yamamoto Bunker, named for WWII Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. From here he directed the Japanese Pacific campaign. Naval charts can still be seen drawn in the ceiling of the bunker.Walk to the Rabaul Museum located opposite the Yamamoto Bunker and see exhibits related to Rabaul's history from the 19th century to Papua New Guinea's independence in the 1970s.If time allows, take in the super-heated volcanic hot springs frequented by Japanese military during WWII. They are still used by the local owners to cook traditional foods. Alternately, take a walking tour from the pier into nearby Rabaul Township to explore the colorful town market and mingle with the local community.Please note: Papua New Guinea is a very-low-income country with very basic infrastructure, and vastly different to the western culture mentality. Local conditions may be challenging; therefore, we urge flexibility and understanding as we visit unique and somewhat remote destinations. Coaches, guides, equipment, and services are the best-available in the area, but may not be up to the standards of those found on other excursions. Guests with limited mobility may be challenged at some sites; however, this tour does not include a lot of walking and guests may return to the waiting buses. We suggest guests to bring a mask as the roads are dusty and because the local buses are not equipped with the a/c, windows will be open.

Rabaul, PNG If surreal and unique experiences are your thing, then the Papua New Guinean town of Rabaul should tick your travel boxes. Found on the north eastern tip of New Britain Island (the largest island off mainland PNG) Rabaul, the former provincial capital, has quite a remarkable location. The town is inside the flooded caldera of a giant volcano and several sub-vents are still quite active today! The lively city was almost entirely devastated by Mount Tavurvur in 1994, covering the city in ashfall, but thankfully costing no lives. Since then, thanks to Rabaul's deep-water port, commerce has been on the up, and a few shops and hotels have managed to find an audience. However, Rabaul's remote location together with the volcano still being one of the most active and dangerous in Papua New Guinea means tourism in not rife. Rabaul has an impressive WWII history which includes a 300-mile network of tunnels dug by Japanese POW designed to conceal munitions and stores. After the Pearl Harbour bombings, the Japanese used Rabaul as their South Pacific base for the last four years of WWII, and by 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul. Post war, the island was returned to Australia, before it was granted independence in 1975. It should be noted that patience is a virtue here. However, that is not all bad. The slow pace of transportation allows travellers to marvels at the quite astonishing landscape. Divers will also be richly rewarded – the marine life of the island is extraordinary.

UP NEXT.....or not Rabul, Papua New Guinea Baining Fire Dance Hmmm. So let me get this straight. Three and a half hour excursion. Two hours on a van with no AC, windows down, dusty, advised to wear a mask, no toilets, lots of mosquitoes, and it's HOT. Think I've got a iced G&T on air-conditioned Explorer in my future tonight. Color me spoiled. See the spectacular Fire Dance performance, a nocturnal sacred dance presented in the traditional manner by the men only. Disembark the ship at the Rabaul pier and board the tour bus for the one-hour nighttime drive to Baining village at Kainagunan in the province of New Britain. The Baining tribe are the first people to settle the eastern part of New Britain.From the bus drop-off take the short walk to the performance venue. Enjoy the performance, with costumes that are utterly unique, found nowhere else in Papua New Guinea. Legend has it that the movements of the Fire Dance imitate the spirits the of the forest. The fire represents the first volcanic eruption witnessed by man.Watch as the performers dance around the bonfire and then into it without being burned. The ceremony lasts for about an hour and a half.Please note: The walk is easy but may be slippery if wet. Bring a small flashlight to supplement lights tour guides carry. Long pants, long sleeve shirts and shoes that grip are recommended. Guests may leave the event early with a local escort to wait in the tour bus. No toilet facilities.

Wow Wes, what a cool story. And what a keepsake that carved boat would be. I'm sorry to see Explorer go. The ship has a very low key, less corporate vibe.

Thanks. It eases the retail therapy guilt.😃 At the recap we were asked who bought carvings. Almost every hand went up. Many of the better pieces went for $100 plus. Big cash infusion. Certainly carvings would have another zero back in the states. Spreading the love.