drron29

I think the problem with your long wait was in fact your waiter. You know the Trainee Maitre'D Pablo and when he was our waiter our starters would appear within minutes. After those dishes disappeared it was less than 5 minutes until mains unless we asked for a little delay. We had a few talks with the restaurant manager and he said in passing on one occasion that Pablo would go and select our dishes and made sure no one else who ordered later got their dishes before us.

I love lemongrass so wouldn't have been a problem. Rojaan doesn't do curries but twice a week we go to a Vietnamese restaurant where she has the same dish every time. yes it is lemongrass beef.

On the Dawn in March 2022 and the Moon March 2023 we arrived at the ports ~ 11am and were able to begin the checkin process. On board before midday. In October this year we arrived ~ 3pm as it was pouring rain and we had a 4pm hotel checkout. Thought the hotel would be the more pleasant place to watch the rain fall than the Muse.

The Hilton on the wharf. The facade of an old pub. We stayed on board until about 9.30 in the Arts Cafe. Our flight was just before 4pm but I was hoping if we left now we might find the Qantas checkin open before a previous flight. The fiendish plan worked perfectly as all look liked they had been checked in for the 10.30 flight so we walked in to empty check in lines and soon had left our bg behind and went to the qantas lounge for 5 hours. From our flight I got one last look at our home for 14 days. So that's all folks. In just 8 days time we leave for Japan for Christmas with our family. After Christmas they leave us to go skiing in Hokkaido whilst we head to Bangkok to warm ourselves up. In 3.5 months we will again board the Muse in Bali and sail to Japan with a voyage around Honshu as well for cherry blossom viewing.

Our last morning has us approaching the Cairns Cruise terminal.

Our last dinner. Rojaan started with the prawn cocktail and then her favourite dish the NZ lamb. I decided to try the vegetable vol au vent and I likedit. I then had the lobster bisque and my favourite main the fillet steak. And we both had the night's dessert.

The afternoon was spent watching the coast and the Reef, This I think is Point Flattery. There was a trawler in action of this island.

During the morning only distant views of the Australian coast and reefs that are part of the Great Barrier Reef. So it was off to our last Atlantide lunch. Rojaan had the crab cake and the lamb. unlike me she likes meat very well done so this was perfect. I had the Penne and then the squid which was not overcooked. Then we both had the cheesecake for dessert.

I was back to the ship after 2pm so it was down to the Arts Cafe for a light lunch. I went the savory option with a salad and salami on a bun. Rojaan went the sweet option with a fruit platter and banana bread. Not long after we set sail heading for Cairns and the cruise's end. Though there was another sea day to enjoy. We were to go through the narrow strait just off Cape York but the pilot thought it would be too dangerous so only pictures of Islands just north of the Cape and possibly the east coast of the cape. Dinner in Atlantide. For mains Rojaan asked for the chicken thigh appetiser and certainly got a larger serving. I had the chateaubriand.

So i have completed a circuit of most of the town. Very relaxing views. And now the freight port. Across the road an imposing building. Was the second Customs house built in 1938 beside the original wooden building which was demolished. Now Border Force. Then the tender ride back. I thought it would be smoother as we were going with the swell. however the tide was coming in fast and 2 currents met making it extremely choppy for the first part.

And the littlest church. A big ant's nest. Slightly left of centre below the mangos. One of the biggest frangipani trees I have seen. Wow. Get the local news. Obviously recent fires.

A couple of times I managed to get them left off but most went back to the kitchen. A really bad example of fleet wide catering.

Quite a large supermarket. # other smaller ones in town as well. I got a shock when i saw this. Woolworths is one of Australia's largest supermarkets. Was surprised it might be here. But walking in with me was the store manager. They just have a deal with Woolworths to use their buying group. Prices higher than the mainland but not outrageously so. Then the next church. And I found this hard to believe. It certainly was the busiest pub and it was lunch time but with burgers $20+ and main meals $35+ I decided I wasn't hungry.

The Quetta church.

So scenes around TI. The playground and memorial park.

Next an legend to the local peoples. Gained fame as a dancer and in an indigenous troupe had several overseas tours. He became a choreographer. Came back to his small island and has become an artist, photographer and excels at craft. He designed and put together the stage decorations for today. As well he produces coconut oil. He has a large garden and the produce is distributed free to all the seniors on his island. So here is his small island on the map. Moa island. After the show I took Rojaan back to the tender whilst I explored the town. Too hot to go climbing the mountain though. Opposite the dock is an old hotel. And at the dock one of the favourite species of wildlife here. And the views of the bay. You can just make out a tender.

Next up was the Mother's Union choir from the Quetta Church. The church got it's name from a shipwreck here in 1890. After the sinking the church was named the Quetta Memorial cathedral. These women com from several different islands to stay at the church. If you like a retirement home The woman in the middle who led the singing and introduced the songs admits to being 80 but one of the others thought she was much closer to 90. They took a while to set up. After the performance. Then a local Historian gave a brief history of the Islands. He was very kind when talking about the Queensland and Australian Governments treatment of the islands and it's peoples. However he did talk a fair bit about land rights and multiculturalism. Apparently a few Australians felt insulted and walked out. They obviously knew little of our history. Native title is a major talking point here as the successful challenge to establish native title in the High Court was led by a Torres Strait Islander Eddie Mabo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Mabo What's more the majority of Torres Strait Islanders I had met in the past was when working in Mackay Queensland where their ancestors had been brought to work the cane fields. Naturally the australian aboriginal population and the Torres straight Islanders rebelled against this which led to the infamous blackbirders. As America abolished slavery Australia started it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbirding

Just 50 metres from the Cultural centre was this craft shop and Art gallery. You would think on a Monday morning with at least 200 tourists arriving virtually next door you would open your business. But No. Monday to Wednesday are by appointment only so it remained closed, Now there were a lot of us in the Cultural centre with quite a few locals but the air conditioning and several fans weren't enough to keep the place cool. It obviously was not designed for such a ground. First here are the Musicians. And the woman from the tourist organisation who had travelled ove 20Km by dinghy to be here. and of course back home this afternoon. Then traditional dancers. this group was comprised of people from the northern, western and central Torres Strait Islands. And off they go.

That evening was the last formal night of the cruise and the Venetian Society Cocktail party. For the first tme since being on the Explorer to Cuba when there were only about 50 passengers and most were first timers we made the top 5 list of most nights on Silversea. First segment - 5th place. Second Segment - 2nd place and 3rd segment 5th place. By rights our trivia team should have taken the team prize as 1st, 3rd and 5th places taken by the team. Though that day we had come first and the next day a perfect score and equal first. But the next morning steaming through the islands to Thursday Island. Now originally we were booked on a Green hill fort tour but that was cancelled and everyone went on a cultural excursion. I am sure by talking to the boss of the local tourist organiasation it was the suggestion of the locals, People came from many of the Torres Strait islands to appear in the show. But first we had to walk from the dock where the tenders arrived to the Cultural Centre in the main street of Thursday Island.

Dinner was back in Kaiseki as we had a little OBC left. before we left for our pre dinner drinks the sun began to set. The menu. You start with a small plate of edamame. Just as well Rojaan left me a few to photograph. Next the entrees served like this. Then opened up. Tonight 1 beef and one seafood. Sauces for the mains.

Lunch on the first sea day to Thursday Island was Kaiseki again. And dinner in Atlantide - again most pictures disappeared. Rojaan had the king prawns from the main menu. I'm sure I had the Dover sole but no evidence. So on to lunch at Atlantide for the second sea day when all we saw was the sea. The wine. Rojaan had the coconut prawns without the salsa whilst i started with the pappardelle. We both had the short ribs for our main. yummy. For desserts Rojaan had the rice tarlet and I the cherry Clafoutis.

That evening we started in the Panorama lounge with a couple from dallas that we have cruised with before. New orchids there. And the last of the sunset. As the lights of Darwin disappeared. Then to Atlantide. Got 2 tables put together so the 4 of us could dine with Pablo. Rojaan had the laced prawn and the NZ lamb again. I went with the curried cauliflower and steak Rossini Both very nice. We both had the eclair for dessert.

Back to the ship and a few shots of the Port area. Firsthe old wharf with the building now a restaurant. The area between the 2 wharves has been turned into an entertainment area with restaurants and bars with upscale residential buildings and the Convention centre. Easy to get to from the ship as just outside the terminal building is a walkway across the water to the district. You can see it in this photo. And the terminal building. At least the commercial port is a long way from the Passenger terminal. Now for sail away.

We decided to have lunch in the CBD and looking at Trip Advisor I came up with 3 possibilities. As luck would happen we turned a corner and on the other side of the road was one of the three so we decided to try it. walked in and they asked if we had a reservation and we were told you can sit outside or one of the 3 tables at the back of the restaurant. We went for a back table as inside was air conditioned. I thought it was a good sign that they were nearly fully booked for lunch and it turned out to be an excellent sign. It is a Spanish/ North African restaurant with a good tapas menu plus lunch specials. They had a large and interesting wine list but we didn't think we wanted a bottle so Rojaan had a glass of Sav Blanc and I had a very nice local drop. I'll post the wine list at the end of the lunch pictures. We shared 3 dishes and I tried their Kangaroo dish by myself as Rojaan doesn't like Kangaroo. It was very nice though. The first dish we shared was the gin and juniper cured salmon with dill aioli and pickled cucumber. Fantastic. We were blown away by this. Then the cauliflower with goats with goats cheese and pomegranate. Excellent. Then the seared scallop with pomegranate and coriander dressing. Another excellent dish. We had enjoyed this so much we decided to have desserts.The menu Rojaan had the turkish delight ice cream. Wouldn't give me a taste. I had the simple crema Catalana. wow. Here are pictures of the restaurant interior. This was at midday. By the time we left it was full. We have 3 days in Darwin next year on our way to Singapore. We have decided to have lunch here at least twice. Here is the wine list. So a definite recommendation if you visit Darwin.

The next morning it was Darwin. We just got the shuttle into the CBD and walked around. We have had a few Northern territory holidays so didn't want to do an excursion. Christmas tree up in the Mall. Rojaan does like her pearls. Older aussies will know what this celebrates at Wave Hill. https://www.commonground.org.au/article/wave-hill-walk-off