Silver Cloud Live ... June 9-19 from the Kimberley!

[jpalbny]

Sunday night and our flight leaves almost exactly 100 hours from now. Here I am, sitting at the computer instead of packing. I was supposed to get some of that done this weekend but I was unexpectedly out of town on Friday, and we had a long-planned dinner event at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America, not in Washington DC) last night, so I've got absolutely nothing done. Luckily this is a warm-weather expedition cruise so I can throw some casual clothes in a suitcase and go from there. And I'll probably check our bags - not because they will be too big, but because we'll be bringing a whole lot more than 3oz of sunscreen.

 

This will be our third trip to Australia, but our first to this region - the unique, rugged, isolated, northwest area of Australia called the Kimberley. I first read about this fascinating part of the world more than 20 years ago, and I've wanted to visit ever since! Even though it's winter there it will be quite warm - though the forecast looks relatively pleasant with nothing higher than 85 degrees for the next 10 days. We'll see!

 

 

We're flying on the world's longest flight (currently) from JFK to Singapore, leaving on Thursday night, arriving in Singapore Saturday morning, and then proceeding on to Darwin where we'll arrive on Saturday afternoon. There will be no Friday for us next week. I wonder how we will keep our seven year Duolingo streaks alive with this crazy time warp? After all of that crazy travel across 12 time zones, we embark on Sunday, and we celebrate our 29th anniversary on board the following Monday. We might be awake. But even if we're not, we'll be enjoying our upgrade to a Silver Suite, so all will be good.

 

We've never done a flight this long although we've come close with JFK-Seoul and ATL-Johannesburg. This flight is so long that we get three meals, and the inflight menus look great. I've heard lots of good things about Singapore Air and we're excited to experience this for ourselves. And to add to the excitement, the night of June 6th is supposed to have a powerful solar storm, so the aurora might be more intense than usual. Will we see the aurora from the air as we fly over the North Pole? That would be the icing on the cake.

 

Enough procrastinating for now - I need to go mix up a G&T or two for packing purposes, and get to work. More to come.

Edited June 2 by jpalbny

[Jim_Iain]

Looking forward to following along.   Good luck on your long flight.  

 

 

[Port Power]

Have a marvellous trip and a great cruise.

 

However, the Kimberley, Broome and Darwin are in the tropics.  They do not actually have winter. There is the wet season and the dry season. Fortunately  for your personal comfort level, it is currently the dry season.  Unfortunately that means less water and no spectacular waterfalls. Sadly no stunning King George Falls.  On the other hand, the Ord River boat excursion will still be fantastic.

 

The journey here is a wow factor in itself.  Bon voyage!

 

P.S.  Remember to bring your binoculars.

Edited June 2 by Port Power
Binoculars

[mysty]

Have a glorious time young lad and lass!  Hope travel goes smoothly and the cruise is amazing! 🥰

[drron29]

Have a great cruise JP and Chris. And yes the weather should be delightful. enjoy Darwin and Western Australia.

Congratulations also for your upcoming Anniversary.

[taxatty]

Don't miss the Mitchell Falls helicopter excursion--a ridiculously expensive upcharge, but we loved it.

[DavyWavey70]

Have an amazing time both and if you happen to see the Ye-Ye la Violetta Grise anywhere snap it up, you’ll love it JP. I Regret not bringing some home thinking I’d find some back here. There’s not a single bottle on sale in the UK! 

[alithecat]

We are thinking about booking a Kimberley excursion for 2025, so i am very interested in following your journey. We have enjoyed going on several of Silversea's expedition cruises. Last year we went to South Georgia/Falklands/Antarctica. This year it's Iceland/Greenland. Next year Australia?

 

Safe, very long travels!

[Host Jazzbeau]

I will be following too, as the Kimberley is on my long-term wish list [and I'm getting there!]  I'll especially be following what you do off the ship, as our activities are getting more limited [never was any diving, snorkeling and swimming dropped out long ago, and hikes in hot weather need to be short with a beautiful payoff].  And of course please document any cutbacks since your last SS cruise...

[drron29]

1 hour ago, DavyWavey70 said:

Have an amazing time both and if you happen to see the Ye-Ye la Violetta Grise anywhere snap it up, you’ll love it JP. I Regret not bringing some home thinking I’d find some back here. There’s not a single bottle on sale in the UK! 

I will have to organise a trip to Wales. Our local bottle shop has it for sale.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 minute ago, drron29 said:

I will have to organise a trip to Wales. Our local bottle shop has it for sale.

Wales?

[gnome12]

5 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Wales?

For DavyWavey70. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

10 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Wales?

 

3 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

For DavyWavey70. 

Yes, Davy should buy Wales if it's on sale.  Get back at Edward I.  🤣

 

[sorry I omitted the laughing emoji on my first post]

[les37b]

Not envious of your flight, but certainly am for the rest. I know you’ll have a great time and look forward to your posts. Say hi to Albert for us!

[rojaan19]

6 hours ago, taxatty said:

Don't miss the Mitchell Falls helicopter excursion--a ridiculously expensive upcharge, but we loved it.

Totally agree JP  !! We did this as well,  you will  love it  !

[jpalbny]

T-3 days. The piles of clothing have made an appearance on our dressers. Lots of laundry. Time to figure out what to wear on the airplane! And to choose our three meals from the extensive menu.

 

9 hours ago, taxatty said:

Don't miss the Mitchell Falls helicopter excursion--a ridiculously expensive upcharge, but we loved it.

 

3 hours ago, rojaan19 said:

Totally agree JP  !! We did this as well,  you will  love it  !

 

This has been fully booked since we started looking at tours for this sailing. I guess we'll have to come back for that!

[drron29]

But if you can enquire straight after boarding they may very well add extra flights. you don't want to miss this.

 

You could email the helicopter company and see if you can do it privately.

https://helispirit.com.au/scenic-flights-and-tours/mitchell-falls-helicopter-tours/

[DavyWavey70]

9 hours ago, drron29 said:

I will have to organise a trip to Wales. Our local bottle shop has it for sale.

I'm Happy to pay for an extra suitcase drron! Have you tried it?

[drron29]

I will.

[jpalbny]

13 hours ago, DavyWavey70 said:

Have an amazing time both and if you happen to see the Ye-Ye la Violetta Grise anywhere snap it up, you’ll love it JP. I Regret not bringing some home thinking I’d find some back here. There’s not a single bottle on sale in the UK! 

 

That does look good! I've only seen that blend of Riesling and Gewurztraminer in the Finger Lakes, and very rarely at that.

[Lady Meer]

Looking forward to your live report on this unusual itinerary. Thanks for taking us along.
 

Regarding the aurora - on our recent flight from Tokyo to London we had a great view of the aurora which lasted over an hour. Hopefully you’ll be lucky too.

 

 

[Dolcevita Diva]

 

So looking forward to reading about your journey. What a fantastic itinerary on which to celebrate your anniversary!

[Dolcevita Diva]

11 hours ago, DavyWavey70 said:

I'm Happy to pay for an extra suitcase drron! Have you tried it?

 

The names of their other wines look intriguing as well (Penury, Das Sakrileg and Chagrin).  😁

@drron29 may need to try a few of these!

[FlyingScotSailors]

On 6/2/2024 at 6:36 PM, jpalbny said:

We're flying on the world's longest flight (currently) from JFK to Singapore, leaving on Thursday night, arriving in Singapore Saturday morning, and then proceeding on to Darwin where we'll arrive on Saturday afternoon. There will be no Friday for us next week. I wonder how we will keep our seven year Duolingo streaks alive with this crazy time warp?

JP, we flew the 5th longest flight, Aukland to JFK, but with a tailwind we made it in under 15 hours.

 

Our Duolingo streaks are only 4 1/2 and 3 years.  If you do not want to use a streak freeze, and you do not have internet access up front where you fly (😉), you can set the time zone on your phone ahead before you fly, or back after you land, and do a "Friday" lesson.

[Host Jazzbeau]

22 minutes ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

Our Duolingo streaks are only 4 1/2 and 3 years.  If you do not want to use a streak freeze, and you do not have internet access up front where you fly (😉), you can set the time zone on your phone ahead before you fly, or back after you land, and do a "Friday" lesson.

On the way home you should arrive before you take off, so plenty of time to sneak in that extra lesson!!!  It worked for Phileas Fogg...