Regatta Circumnavigation of Australia 2018-19

[Perash]

As I wrote in my last post, we arrived in Bali on the afternoon of 27 December. Bali Benoa Port appears to be quite new and still under construction in parts. It was one of the more beautiful ports of our current journey. We were greeted by Balinese musicians and dancers at the port, which made the arrival even more special. 

There were many taxis available just outside the terminal building and lots of drivers hawking tours. The drivers hawking tours were polite and left us alone once we told them we had a prebooked car waiting. Shore excursion coaches were standing by to whisk their passengers away to new and interesting experiences.  There were also some small market stalls just inside the cruise terminal. 

We had booked a car and driver online through Bali Sun Tours. They were outstanding. I had made a mistake with my booking date and did not realise till the day before we were due to arrive in Bali. We contacted BST on WhatsApp and they fixed it for us on the spot - no troubles whatsoever. That was pretty impressive.

Our driver, Ardi, met us just outside the cruise terminal. He was 10 minutes early to meet us (booked for 2pm). Ardi spoke English beautifully and made communication so easy. First thing he asked us was when our ship was departing so he could plan our return accordingly. As we were docked overnight in Bali, this was not an issue for us. We told Ardi we wanted to visit Ubud for the Royal Palace and rice fields, Tanah Lot Temple for the sunset (around 6.20pm) and then drive back to Benoa Port via Legian and Kuta beaches. I figured the entire round trip would take around 6 hours, and since we had booked for 8 hours, it would allow plenty of time for rest breaks and whatever else. Wrong! I had not visited Bali previously so had little understanding that while distances may not look big on paper, the traffic congestion made driving challenging and took much longer than expected.

Ardi told us Ubud was around 2 hours drive away, so we probably would not make it to Tanah Lot for sunset. We were happy to take his advice, especially once we saw the traffic! It was bumper to bumper at every step of the way and motor bikes and scooters filled every possible space on the roads. Some scooters had 3-4 people perched precariously on them....one even had a little dog sitting in front of its owner (the scooter driver), doggy ears and tongue flapping in the breeze. So dangerous, but such fun! Luckily for us, Ardi did all the hard work driving while we took the opportunity to absorb everything around us. There were temples everywhere - in every house and building. The result was striking as every temple had sculptures and intricate carvings, even along the busiest roads. There were bamboo Penjor Poles everywhere (to show gratitude to nature, and symbolise triumph of good over evil), ubiquitous offerings of food and flowers on banana leaf squares, and chequered cloths adorning some statues, trees and rocks (the colours and pattern of the cloth symbolising harmony).

In the hills of Ubud we visited the Tegalalang Rice Terraces - a place of great beauty, marred only slightly by the hoards of ‘selfie’ collectors (those folks who take photos of themselves ALL the time) at every turn. The enterprising locals had set up ‘selfie beauty spots’ where self-photographers could take particularly alluring selfies with a particularly beautiful background for a small fee. I love entrepreneurialism! We spent around half an hour there, just absorbing the beauty of the place.

After our journey into the hills, we really wanted to go to Tanah Lot, a 2 hour drive west of Ubud! Poor Ardi looked at us like we were a little crazy....but then smiled sweetly and started driving. To be continued.....

 

Photo: the super busy Benoa Cruise Port of Bali...

Edited December 30, 2018 by Perash
Photo

[cbb]

thanks for the update on Ray.  Get well soon. 

 

Hope you get into Exmouth--it was one of the ports we missed last year (one of several unfortunately)

 

Probably too late to tell you about the Rocks Bar Bali.  Amazing views but very popular--we got lucky and got a great table for birthday celebration. 

[Perash]

Bali...continued.

It took around 2 hours to drive from the rice terraces in Ubud to the Tanah Lot Temple. Ardi (our driver) saw that we enjoyed the local roads and sites and took us via some more ‘suburban’ roads and I feel we got a brief glimpse at how some local people live, away from the tourist sites...but then, I could also be wrong! 

We reached Tanah Lot in time to witness the sunset. The Tanah Lot area appears to be a large cultural tourism area which has grown around a beautiful Hindu temple. People (like us) flock to see the sunset over the sea, creating the most spectacularly beautiful backdrop to the temple. The tourist area has lots of souvenir shops and food stalls. A short walk from the temple is an open stage where sunset Kecak fire dance performances are held for tourists. We were not so interested in the Kecak performance as we read a German musician created it in the 1930s by adapting a Hindu Kecak trance ritual into a dramatic act for performance before Western tourist audiences.

I am very glad we were able to witness the sunset at Tanah Lot. It was super crowded and full of selfie-loving folks who seemed to witness the sunset through the selfie camera (ie with their backs to the actual sunset, and their heads in the middle), but still a beautiful, unforgettable vision that I will hold for some time.

It was ~7pm by the time we left Tanah Lot. For some reason we felt exhausted and assumed our driver was fairly tired from all the driving, so we asked to head back to the ship, thinking it would take a couple of hours. However the traffic seemed to have gotten even heavier and more erratic as the evening wore on - at times the roads felt like a parking lot - and it was approaching 10pm when we actually returned. We were able to drive through the densely tourist areas of Seminyak and Kuta on our way back, and just the very brief glimpse of them left me with no desire to go see them the next day, as I had originally planned. We bid farewell to Ardi, realising how hard he works as his driving day was going to start at 8 am the next day. He does this 6 days per week.

Next day, 28 December, we woke up in our ship still docked in Bali. I enjoy these overnight stays in port a lot. It was fantastic because we had much of the day to explore the area around the port - especially the little stalls. I had no desire to set out on a drive across town again. Instead I haggled happily with the local stall holders for dresses, sarongs and little bits of silver jewellery. They laughed at me....I am a terrible haggler - my husband always reminds me to not bid the price up - but I think I did okay with some sarongs for $5 and dresses for $5-$10. It was fun for a little bit to go through the haggling ritual. But I’d hate it if I had to do it everyday!

The Regatta departed Bali at precisely 4pm as scheduled and once again we marvelled at the busy, shallow channel we had to sail through in order to leave.

As Bali was the connecting point between the two cruises which actually comprise our Australian circumnavigation cruise, a number of passengers left us and a few new ones joined us. A number of crew members also seemed to leave the ship in Bali, replaced by new faces. I’m not sure if I’m imagining it, but the overall crew spirit seems a little subdued after Bali - we’re noticing it particularly in the Main Dining Room. Perhaps it’s just the adjustment phase as the new incoming crew settle in. Perhaps they are thinking about Ray, our original CD. Speaking of Ray, there was an announcement that we will see his smiling face on board in Exmouth tomorrow. Good news.

[Perash]

It’s Monday 31 Dec and we are sailing past Exmouth. It’s sunny and windy and not safe to tender to shore. I am not overly disappointed. It was forecast to be around 40 degrees C in Exmouth today, and that is never pleasant. I wish we had been able to go to Broome - that was the plan when the itinerary for this cruise was initially published - I think it is possible to actually dock in Broome. Still, can’t change the past, so its onwards for us.

My next wish is that we may be able to stay overnight in Fremantle instead, like they did in last year’s cruise. Fremantle is a gorgeous place and I’d love the extra time to explore it.

I wonder if they were able to transfer Ray to the ship this morning.

[cottagelover]

Thank you for getting back to us on your tour operator in Bali. Your comments as well as your description of your time there will enable us to better plan our time. We will continue to follow your trip. We did the same last year with the circumnavigation and found it , as we do yours, very informative and interesting. 

[cbb]

i hope you get to spend quite a long time in Fremantle--we loved it last year.  We trained to Perth and walked around town & boated back to Fremantle.  Could live in Fremantle but Perth was just another big city in our opinion.

 

I don't know whether the art installation is still there but if you walk to the Round House, climb those steps and look along High Street you will see the yellow painted stripes that are everywhere--suddenly make sense!  Hope it is still there for you--very cool and one of my favorite memories of the entire cruise.

 

Hope Ray as been able to rejoin you.  If so, that is some amazing IV!!!   

[Perash]

Our brief trip to Exmouth....

[Perash]

14 hours ago, cbb said:

Probably too late to tell you about the Rocks Bar Bali.  Amazing views but very popular--we got lucky and got a great table for birthday celebration. 

I remember cbb - you went there to celebrate Dave’s birthday and wrote that it was a very beautiful view. Nice memories for you!

[cbb]

and it is just about that time again this year....birthdays, if we are lucky, come around every year.  Otherwise, consider the alternative!!!   His celebration will NOT be in as nearly as wonderful place as last year's!

[Perash]

Happy New Year to all.

We had a wonderful evening over a special New Year’s Eve dinner.

There was some excitement at around 7.30pm when Regatta blew out two big black puffs of smoke, the lights flickered, the engines stopped humming and the ship stopped moving. The captain came on the PA system quite promptly to advise us the ship’s propulsion system was down and the engineers were working to restore power. The ship’s generator had kicked in to keep some lights and essential power on. Everyone seemed to take it in their stride and carried on eating, drinking, socialising....leaving the hard work to the experts. 

Within half an hour the lights were back and a few minutes later the engines started humming again and we started moving. Captain returned on PA to advise that we were back to normal and engineers would keep working and testing to ensure things continued working as expected. 

I think we’re in pretty safe hands and I expect they will be working hard to keep things running as smoothly as possible...and writing up an incident report, amongst other things. I hope they can have a glass of champagne soon to celebrate the new year! 🍾🥂💥

 

[Suncitygaltx]

We, too, will do this itin in Dec., 2019...can't wait!  Thanks for all of the great info.  We'll be onboard after the renovations, so I'm anxious to see the new look.  We got a peek on the Nautica in July when they had converted one penthouse suite, just to tantalize the passengers.  It worked!  We found it very attractive.  Keep the reviews coming, please!

[DeanoNorthPerth]

I think skipping Exmouth would have meant 4 sea days between Bali and Geraldton. I’ll be interested to hear from Perash as to how that went. There is always extra pressure on the crew when there is that number of sea days in a row, especially when it is not expected.

[Perash]

We docked bright and early in Geraldton this morning. It was an absolutely stunning day in terms of weather: 26 degrees C, warm sunshine, slight breeze. Geraldton is another industrial working port. Very neat and clean. We watched a l-o-n-g Aurizon freight train pull up next to the port to collect/empty its haul. Not sure what it was, but predicting coal because of the blackened containers. Buy Aurizon shares? 

Some very friendly local volunteers greeted us at the pier and helped us onto shuttle buses which were going back and forth between the pier and town centre all day. It would have been a short walk into town, but the port authority did not want pedestrians wandering around a working port, hence the shuttles.

In town, we were dropped off in front of the visitors’ centre. Some more lovely local volunteers greeted us and provided maps and directions to the main attractions in Geraldton. We could have caught a hop-on hop-off bus from there, which would have dropped/picked us up from many of the main attractions for just AUD5, but it looked like a short, easy walk all over, so we decided to use our own muscle power.

First visit was to the HMAS Sydney II Memorial. This magnificent and haunting site was built to honour the 645 crew members who died off the West Australian coast in November 1941. It is a beautiful location and provides stunning views out across the town of Geraldton, all the way out to sea. 

We walked back down to the Esplanade, passing Geraldton Regional Art Gallery which comprises nearly 500 pieces of local art. A walk along the Esplande allowed us to enjoy the Geraldton Foreshore. It has some lovely parks and playgrounds. We thought about visiting Geraldton’s Museum, but somehow couldn’t pull ourselves away from the gorgeous sunshine long enough to go inside. We have been sailing on a ship for 4 days and just wanted to enjoy terra firma outdoors!

Geraldton is a charming town with super friendly residents. With a population of around 40000, it appears to offer a very laid back, healthy and lovely lifestyle...almost exactly what I think of when I think about a ‘classic’ Australian town. It apparently has a very diverse regional economy as well with industries including mining, farming, tourism and aquaculture. I wonder why the developers have not swooped in here to capitalise on the natural attributes of this place - although I’m glad they haven’t! 

And an extra bonus today: we heard Ray on the PA airwaves...so he’s back! Ship’s gossip was that Ray’s blood pressure shot up after the travails (and related passenger complaints) of Port Moresby. But who knows!?!

[Perash]

12 hours ago, Suncitygaltx said:

We, too, will do this itin in Dec., 2019...can't wait!  Thanks for all of the great info.  We'll be onboard after the renovations, so I'm anxious to see the new look.  We got a peek on the Nautica in July when they had converted one penthouse suite, just to tantalize the passengers.  It worked!  We found it very attractive.  Keep the reviews coming, please!

That’s very exciting Suncitygaltx. It is a very enjoyable cruise on a beautiful ship with a lovely crew. And you’ll get to enjoy Regatta after the renovations - I’m sure it will be even more glorious ship. Thanks for reading!

[Perash]

5 hours ago, DeanoNorthPerth said:

I think skipping Exmouth would have meant 4 sea days between Bali and Geraldton. I’ll be interested to hear from Perash as to how that went. There is always extra pressure on the crew when there is that number of sea days in a row, especially when it is not expected.

Hi DeanoNP. Yes, we had 4 sea days in a row. It went very well.

The crew seemed to take it in their stride, and yes, while they appeared to be a little more tired (I imagine they appreciate when we get off the ship almost as much as we do!) they were gracious and professional throughout. Lisa, the CD, rolled out a new sea day program on the day we were scheduled to be in Exmouth and it all proceeded as though a sea day was intended all along.

For me personally, the four days seemed to melt into each other and I made the most of the gorgeous library on board. It was a little too windy to be out on deck. And I enjoyed today in Geraldton even more.

Yesterday we had a cupcakes afternoon tea in Horizons. Another beautiful way to celebrate the New Year.... and the Captain’s Birthday...and the end of four sea days....Here’s a photo...

Edited January 2, 2019 by Perash

[Perash]

On 12/31/2018 at 2:30 PM, cbb said:

and it is just about that time again this year....birthdays, if we are lucky, come around every year.  Otherwise, consider the alternative!!!   His celebration will NOT be in as nearly as wonderful place as last year's!

I’m sure it will be a wonderful birthday cbb, because you’re there! 

[cbb]

Perash....thank you...that is so sweet of you.  Friend is on board with you and she had reported that Ray was back on board.  I'm so glad.  As I've said, Lisa Jeanne the asst CD is a wonderful singer; hopefully, you'll get to hear her.

 

We, too, loved Geraldton and thought the Memorial to the HMS SydneyII was so perfect--both in situation and in architecture. 

 

Do you go to Eden?  It is another perfect little gem of a town.

[palakika]

Perash..  Thanks for your great posts about your travels.  The pic of cupcakes looks delicious!  So glad to hear that Ray is back on board and hopefully in good shape.

 

Happy New Year to all:)

[Perash]

We had a beautiful day in Busselton today. It’s a gorgeous seaside town near the south western tip of Western Australia - perfect for a gentle, relaxing holiday by the sea.

Busselton has a population of ~38,000 people. It is home to the longest wooden jetty - 1.8km / 1mi - in the Southern Hemisphere. You can walk along the jetty or catch the choo-choo train to the end and back. 

After tendering ashore from Regatta, we had a very pleasant walk along the jetty as it was a very mild day with partial cloud cover. Then we walked back to the pristine beach with soft white sand and just enjoyed sitting there, watching the waves go in and out, seagulls resting on the sand (these were the least aggressive seagulls I’ve ever seen), a few children playing, and all sorts of people coming and going along the jetty. The beach really was picture perfect, but it must get a lot of sand erosion because there were piles of sand bags placed at regular intervals along the water line. 

We had the option of walking a little further into town to explore Busselton - it has a museum, courthouse complex and a church amongst other historic buildings - but we just wanted to enjoy the beach for a while. Some of our more adventurous fellow travellers went off on excursions to explore further flung attractions like caves, lighthouses and wineries - Busselton is a gateway to Australia’s beautiful Margaret River wine region. I can imagine spending a very relaxing week or two in Busselton if I wanted to get away from it all and unwind completely.

 

Yesterday, we had around 12 hours in Fremantle. It was a fantastic day. After docking at Fremantle Ports Passenger Terminal, we walked off Regatta, across the port carpark, crossed a foot bridge over train tracks to catch a Fremantle CAT - a free city bus service - which did regular circuits of the city, passing many of the main attractions. We did a couple of circuits to get our bearings and then got off at the Esplanade Reserve, so we could walk and take our time to explore Fishing Boat Harbour, the Shipwreck Galleries, the Roundhouse Gaol, some little art galleries, Submarine HMAS Ovens, and WA’s Maritime Museum.

Fishing Boat Harbour is true to its name, with many fishing boats moored here. It boasts many eateries - mostly focused on providing the ‘best fish and chips’. There are many interesting pieces of street art/sculpture around the place to admire as well. 

The Roundhouse is Western Australia’s oldest public building (originally built as a jail in 1831), and mainly housed ‘criminals’ for drunk and disorderly behaviour! For trivia buffs, it is not actually round, but a dodecahedron! Right next to the Roundhouse are a number of small art galleries in historic cottages along Captains Lane. We enjoyed visiting some of these - particularly a photographic exhibition by Glen Cowans, an underwater photographer, whose photography of seascapes and marine life forms are breath taking. One canvas print of a coral was so vivid, there was a sign underneath saying ‘please do not touch - this is a canvas print’ (ie it’s not actually 3D stupid, don’t touch).

We kept walking till we came across HMAS Ovens, a real Cold War era, Oberon class submarine on display outside the WA Maritime Museum. While guided tours of the submarine were available, we were happy to admire and examine it from the outside.

Inside the Maritime Museum was wonderful. It is home to many iconic vessels from WA’s Maritime history, including the America’s Cup winning yacht, Australia II, and really does make you think about WA’s affinity with the seas and oceans.

We stopped briefly for lunch and contemplated the afternoon. To explore Fremantle further or catch a train into Perth? We decided we were a bit tired of walking and hopped into a Transperth Train for a quick 30 minute ride into Perth. To be continued...

...

 

[Perash]

Perth...continued.

We enjoyed a smooth, easy ride into Perth. It’s just 30 minutes and 16 stops from Fremantle. There was nothing specific we wanted to see in Perth, so hopped on a Perth CAT to do a circuit of the city. Perth has 4 CAT bus services: red, yellow, green and blue. Not sure if this was intentional, but the green service went past some of the greener parts of town (eg Botanic Gardens) while the blue service touched on the Swan River waterfront. The red and yellow services appeared to do inner city areas. We spent some time on the blue and green CAT buses but didn’t feel any desire to get off and explore further because we’ve visited Perth several times previously. It really is a very nice city: very spacious and clean and liveable, and apparently not suffering the same congestion issues as some of the other major cities in Australia.

After riding buses for some time, we got back on the train to Fremantle and were back by 6pm. We had planned to have fish and chips for dinner at Fishing Boat Harbour, but an increasingly strong southerly wind made dining outdoors unpleasant. 

Regatta was due to depart Fremantle Port at 8pm so it was all aboard by 7.30. At 7.35pm, a PA announcement told us they were looking for one passenger and could she contact reception if she was on board? Five minutes later, we saw a lady rushing along the pier to reach the gangway before we sailed away. Thank goodness she made it back in time - I imagine it would be a stressful situation for her if she was held up in traffic or something. All passengers accounted for, we were able to leave at 8 as scheduled. I really adore Fremantle and it’s environs. I could imagine living here one day.

 

 

[Perash]

We docked in “Amazing Albany” at 9 am this morning. 

Albany is another sweet Western Australian coastal town - this time on the southern coast. It is the oldest colonial settlement in Western Australia and has a population of ~33,000. 

We were welcomed ashore by lovely volunteers and then caught a shuttle bus into the town centre. We spent a couple of hours exploring the town and taking in some historical buildings. There was even a local church fete to visit. Then we walked back to the Regatta to have lunch and a siesta. It was an easy 15 minute walk. As lovely as Albany is, I’ve had my fill of quaint WA coastal towns for the time being.

Now we have 2 sea days ahead. Next stop: Adelaide!

Here is a photo of the port of Albany:

Edited January 5, 2019 by Perash
Photo

[Perash]

On 12/31/2018 at 12:30 PM, cbb said:

i hope you get to spend quite a long time in Fremantle--we loved it last year.  We trained to Perth and walked around town & boated back to Fremantle.  Could live in Fremantle but Perth was just another big city in our opinion.

 

I don't know whether the art installation is still there but if you walk to the Round House, climb those steps and look along High Street you will see the yellow painted stripes that are everywhere--suddenly make sense!  Hope it is still there for you--very cool and one of my favorite memories of the entire cruise.

Agree completely cbb. I could also live in Fremantle very happily. Perth is lovely but not so different from other nice cities.

The art installation was still there in Fremantle - we turned around on the Roundhouse steps specifically to look for it, and thought of you!

[cbb]

YAY, the art installation is still there!!!

 

I just thought it was so cool to see those random yellow markings suddenly all form a pattern and Mr Science loved the whole "perspective" of it= well done. 

 

I'm enjoying visiting Au again thanks to your posts. 

[catsngoats]

This is a wonderful review.  We are anxiously watching for the Dec 2020 cruise to be available, will book ASAP,  it is our dream to get back to AU after a Jan 2017 work trip to Sydney and Melbourne.  Goodness knows Regatta’s condition by then, hopefully a drydock before.  We loved Rivieria a few years ago and are sailing Panama Canal (Santiago to Miami) Jan 2020 on Marina.

[Perash]

13 minutes ago, catsngoats said:

This is a wonderful review.  We are anxiously watching for the Dec 2020 cruise to be available, will book ASAP,  it is our dream to get back to AU after a Jan 2017 work trip to Sydney and Melbourne.  Goodness knows Regatta’s condition by then, hopefully a drydock before.  We loved Rivieria a few years ago and are sailing Panama Canal (Santiago to Miami) Jan 2020 on Marina.

Thank you catsngoats. I hear Regatta is going to dry dock later this year, so she’ll be all freshened up for your travels. I can see what people mean when saying Regatta needs a freshening up, but she really is a glorious ship all the same! 

I’d love to sail through the Panama Canal one day. I’m sure you’ll have a very enjoyable cruise.