Regatta Circumnavigation of Australia 2018-19

[DeanoNorthPerth]

Thanks for this travelogue Perash. I am on this cruise as well although, alas, we disembark in Bali. We’ll be sad to leave.

With regards Port Moresby, we were part of a group who went on a private tour. There were about 16 of us in 2 mini-buses. Basically we drove through PM and a local food market and headed to  Varirata National Park. The views were stunning and a 30 minute walk through the forest was included. On the drive back we pulled into a nature park with great collections of orchids, native birds and animals. A really neat place which was well laid out. We had a fantastic day. I think this backs up the previously aired view that if you happen to have PM on your itinerary, get out of the city and head for the natural beauty around it.

By the way, for our group of 16 we had 5 security guards. None of them were armed but they looked like the kind of guys who you could hit with a baseball bat and they wouldn’t flinch. A few of the tour party wanted to check out an open air craft market on the way back and, although they didn’t stick together, the guards kept an eye on each and every one of them. They were great. The tour was organised by Maramuni Treks in case anyone needs that info.

Keep up the good work Perash. It has been great reading.

Edited December 23, 2018 by DeanoNorthPerth

[vaitape]

Wow, keep the postings going Perash and DeanoNP....very valuable info! Many thanks...

[Perash]

21 hours ago, DeanoNorthPerth said:

Thanks for this travelogue Perash. I am on this cruise as well although, alas, we disembark in Bali....

Thanks DeanoNorthPerth. Your excursion out of Port Moresby sounded wonderful. I think the security guards with you are worth their weight in gold! 

I hope you have some beautiful memories of this cruise and you enjoy the Christmas celebrations on board before you disembark in Bali. 

[Perash]

20 hours ago, vaitape said:

Wow, keep the postings going Perash and DeanoNP....very valuable info! Many thanks...

Thanks vaitape - I really appreciate that you're reading this. The Regatta is a wonderful, charming ship with an outstanding crew. And I think there is something for everyone in terms of services and possible excursions.

[PaulMCO]

The National park is another good choice to visit.   The Jungle trail we did can be quite hot/steamy and took around 90 minutes at a brisk pace.  It was a 3 bottle of water Trek...

Edited December 24, 2018 by PaulMCO

[cbb]

I had forgotten we had guards in the buses at our Port Moresby excursion but then we've been on many O shorex with guards IN the vehicles as well as police escorts to some sites.  Like I said....safety concerns!

Edited December 24, 2018 by cbb

[Perash]

Merry Christmas to all. We have a sea day today, on our way to Komodo Island tomorrow.

The crew on Regatta has been exceptionally gracious on this special day. I imagine many of them are thinking of their families and friends at home and missing them. I wish them all the very best.

There was a non-denominational Christmas Mass held on board last night. Today we had caroling and Christmas brunch in the main dining room. Santa visited Regatta at 10-ish and kindly gave gifts to the handful of children on board. It was very thoughtful and generous of the Regatta crew and Oceania, and the children loved it. I think all the grown ups enjoyed it too. Christmas festivities and eating will continue on board for the rest of the day.

We visited Darwin all day yesterday. Darwin is one of my favourite cities and I have visited several times previously. I feel it has been developed quite beautifully. While there are many new, shiny buildings, Darwin manages to retain some of its ‘frontier’ authenticity and honours its cultural and historical past very well. I find it fascinating that Darwin is closer to some Asian cities than Australian ones, and indeed it is faster and less expensive to fly from Darwin to Singapore, than Sydney or Melbourne.

As it was Christmas Eve, the city of Darwin was very quiet. We walked from the Fort Hill Cruise Terminal to the Northern Territory Parliament House. It was a very easy walk, hindered only by the strong heat - it is Summer, after all - we were lucky that it was not raining as this is the start of the wet season in the north. Parliament House is a rock solid, cyclone proof building. Its facade apparently diffuses 80% of direct sunlight. We were the only visitors at the time, so enjoyed it all to ourselves. The courtyard provides stunning views out over Darwin Harbour.

During WWII Darwin was the first Australian mainland region to come under direct attack from Japanese air raids, causing huge devastation. Darwin played a major role in the defence of Northern Australia. Much of its military heritage is well preserved, including oil storage tunnels, bunkers, airstrips and lookout posts around the city, and very accessible for visitors. During our walk we passed secret oil storage tunnels from WWII, located under the cliffs of Darwin city. The tunnels were built by Civil Construction Corps. They were reopened in 1992 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin, in which over 240 people were killed.  

We also visited the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. The museum features history, science and arts of the NT and its people, including a fascinating and diverse maritime history. 

 

 

[cbb]

Love Darwin, too and we also looked at all the cool WWII things that have been preserved.  

 

  Knew that Darwin had been devastated by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day, 1974 but found out that my great friends D & D who were on board lived there at that time and were evacuated immediately afterwards so I heard history from her.

 

She said most of Darwin had been destroyed, power gone, unsafe conditions everywhere.  Massive evac began and most of Darwin's population were transported elsewhere--many never returned.   Those that did rebuilt the town--well done Darwin!

 

[Perash]

We are into our first day of two sea days as we return from Indonesia (Komodo Island and Bali) to Australia. Next stop: Exmouth, Western Australia.

We anchored off Komodo Island on 26th December. We did not venture onto the island but the scenery from the ship was spectacular. It was a warm, sunny day and there were many stunning volcanic islands and jagged rocks all around. Komodo Island is one of the smaller islands in a volcanic arc, and part of Komodo National Park. It is of course home to the Komodo Dragon. Around 2000 people also live on the island. You could only tender ashore if you had booked an excursion with Oceania, or had proof of a booking with another provider. The price of an excursion with Oceania was around USD145 and the most competitive price I found online was around USD70. It was a popular excursion and as I understand, almost all the Oceania excursion places were booked up. I believe it involved a ~2 hour walk through the national park with a guide, on the lookout for Komodo Dragons. I haven’t heard any particularly good or bad stories about the excursion, so I think things were generally okay.

While we were anchored off Komodo Island, some young local boys in small canoes and dinghies, and what can only be described as ‘put-put’ engine power boats came out to the side of our ship and called out to people on the balconies or out on deck, what appeared to be greetings in different languages. I picked up “Hello, hello, money, money”, “Hola”, “Hello ladies”, “Money, money, please!” and of course lots of their own language(s). It was interesting to watch them for a while. One boy appeared to be canoeing in a small boat shaped basket with a stick. He stopped often to bail water out of his basket and we hoped he was a strong swimmer.

Anyhow, as all passengers returned from Komodo well before final call, Regatta was able to depart a good half hour before schedule. It’s one of the many things I like about our Captain - he doesn’t muck around: if everyone is on board and accounted for, he departs as soon as possible.

As a result of this, we arrived in Bali the next day (27 December) almost an hour ahead of schedule. The Benoa Bali Port was a challenging port for the Regatta to navigate, not least due to its narrow channel approach and many sandbanks. There were a couple of rusting boats which appeared to met their ends on those sand banks. There were a few rusting, over filled boats ferrying locals around the harbour. In addition, there were dozens of leisure water sports vessels in and around the channel including motor boats, banana boats, canoes, parasailers,

wakeboarders, kitesurfers, jet skis and water jet packs. It was a super busy port. We were helped through the channel by at least two tug boats. I believe part of their mission was to get the thrill seeking small vessels out of the way of our ship!

In Bali our ship was cleared by 1 pm and we disembarked at 2 to meet the car and driver we had booked to do our own sight seeing tour. We had nearly 8 hours sightseeing (mostly navigating heavy Bali traffic really - even that was fascinating) and we enjoyed it thoroughly. More about Bali tomorrow!

 

Edited December 29, 2018 by Perash

[Perash]

Fascinating volcanic islands near Komodo.

[cbb]

Perash--I think our friend Ray Carr is your CD.  Tell him a bunch of ATW16 people say "HI" and hope he's going to be on ATW 19 & 20 with us.

[palakika]

Perash..Thanks for your enjoyable posts about your trip.  Putting thus together with cbb's posts from last year, it gives us a good perspective about Australia and the other ports.

 

Happy New Year to you..and cbb and Dave too!

Palakika

[cbb]

Palakika....how nice to hear from you!  Will you be able to do segments of ATW20?  Are you going to circumnav AU?

 

 

  It is a wonderful cruise--we just wish we hadn't missed so many ports.  Happy New Year to you and your dave!

[palakika]

Hi cbb...haven't decided about next cruises.  My Dave is having some health issues.  When these get resolved, we'll decide.  Yes, I remember your AU trip had quite a few unexpected events!  Don't mean to talk about other things besides your cruise Perash, but haven't been on CC for awhile so catching up with a friend! 

[cbb]

I'm so sorry to hear about your dave.   Best wishes to you both in 2019.  Sorry about hijacking the thread...

[Perash]

Hi cbb and palakika. So glad you reconnected here...not hijacking thread at all.

Yes cbb, Ray was our CD from Sydney to Bali, but he appears to have disembarked in Bali and now Lisa is our CD. Ray did a wonderful job and we enjoyed his flair and style! 

[cbb]

wonder if your new CD is Lisa Jeanne Peterson--if so, she is an amazing singer...we loved her on our Mumbai-Rome on Nautica. 

 

[cottagelover]

Thank you for your postings. We are following with interest your entries. Regarding Bali...was your car and driver booked through Bali Sun Tours? Did you go to Ubud ? Given the traffic issues you encountered what window would you create for return to the ship prior to departure? Our ship leaves at 8 pm. 

We look forward to your ongoing commentary. 

[DeanoNorthPerth]

2 hours ago, Perash said:

Hi cbb and palakika. So glad you reconnected here...not hijacking thread at all.

Yes cbb, Ray was our CD from Sydney to Bali, but he appears to have disembarked in Bali and now Lisa is our CD. Ray did a wonderful job and we enjoyed his flair and style! 

Ray was taken ill in Bali and is still here getting treatment. He is much better and hopes to return to the Regatta at latest in Perth if not before. You can’t keep a good CD down!

 

[palakika]

Sorry to hear Ray has been ill and glad to hear he's recovering.  We really enjoyed having him as our CD.  As some of you know he's from Seattle and therefore a big Seahawks fan.  He put on a great Super Bowl party on Marina the year the Seahawks played.  Alas we (the Hawks) lost!

[cbb]

so glad that somebody knows what has happened with our Ray.  ATW16 people are all worried about him so I'll pass on the info to them.  Thanks for the update DeanoNorthPerth.

 

if you see him tell him the worldies of ATW16 are thinking of him!!! (and ATW17 too)

 

[Perash]

4 hours ago, cbb said:

wonder if your new CD is Lisa Jeanne Peterson--if so, she is an amazing singer...we loved her on our Mumbai-Rome on Nautica. 

 

Yes cbb, I believe it is Lisa Jeanne Peterson. Haven’t heard her sing, but she has a very pleasant, soothing speaking voice!

[Perash]

3 hours ago, DeanoNorthPerth said:

Ray was taken ill in Bali and is still here getting treatment. He is much better and hopes to return to the Regatta at latest in Perth if not before. You can’t keep a good CD down!

 

Thank you for sharing that information about Ray, DeanoNP. We saw an ambulance at Bali port but as there was no announcement, we thought everything was okay. Wishing Ray a speedy recovery and hope to see him again in Perth.

[Perash]

4 hours ago, cottagelover said:

Thank you for your postings. We are following with interest your entries. Regarding Bali...was your car and driver booked through Bali Sun Tours? Did you go to Ubud ? Given the traffic issues you encountered what window would you create for return to the ship prior to departure? Our ship leaves at 8 pm. 

We look forward to your ongoing commentary. 

Thank you cottagelover. Yes, we booked with Bali Sun Tours (BST) and we did go to Ubud. Our driver, Ardi, was amazing. We cannot recommend him and the company highly enough. You may have seen the reviews of BST on Viator and TripAdvisor already....they’re generally pretty positive, and from our experience, rightly so. I’ll continue my musings about Bali below, but to answer your question about timing, it was a 2 hours drive to Ubud and while the traffic was very heavy, Ardi said it was often much heavier. The first thing Ardi asked us when we met was, when our ship was due for departure, so he could plan accordingly. We had an overnight stay in Bali so it was not a consideration, but it would probably be good to have the conversation with your driver when you first meet as well.

[DeanoNorthPerth]

1 hour ago, Perash said:

Thank you for sharing that information about Ray, DeanoNP. We saw an ambulance at Bali port but as there was no announcement, we thought everything was okay. Wishing Ray a speedy recovery and hope to see him again in Perth.

Looks like it will be before Perth perash. Ray flies out of Bali tonight and hopes to join the ship at Exmouth.