There’s a game our family likes to play called Australian Rails. It has a map of Australia with cities, each with things that they sell or buy and players build railroads with crayon across the continent trying to earn revenue. … Continue reading We Pull a Hazard Card in the Train Game.
In Kalgoorlie water is more precious than champaign. It was the site of one of the biggest gold strikes in Australia, but to develop its full potential it needed water. The answer was The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme or “Golden … Continue reading More Precious Than Champaign… Kalgoorlie
Note to Naval Architects. It is not a good idea to put the sick bay in the bow of the ship. It’s the place that pitches the most. I am a notoriously hard “stick” when drawing blood. Moderately heavy seas … Continue reading Freo Checkup
…and Mardi Gras trumps Ash Wednesday, at least on Zaandam. Tuesday was both Lunar New Year and Fat Tuesday. Holland America makes a big deal out of both. But how can you make a big deal of each when they … Continue reading Chinese New Year Trumps Mardi Gras…
After we pulled into Broome in Western Australia Cruise Director Rebekah came on the PA saying that it would take some time for us to dock because of the wind, please don’t gather near the gangways. A few minutes later … Continue reading Unexpected Sea Day
…But HMS Beagle was. In 1839 the ship was on a survey mission to Northern Australia. Both the Captain and Lieutenant remembered Charles Darwin fondly so they named the bay Port Darwin. The city that grew up around the bay … Continue reading Charles was never in Darwin…
We began our four sea days between Cairns and Darwin with sail out along Trinity Inlet with the city on one side and mangrove on the other. We grabbed dinner from the lido and stayed on the aft deck for … Continue reading Explaining Transubstantiation to Cannibals
I booked this tour because I’m a train nut. But in the event, it was the gondola ride down from Kuranda that caught my fancy. The gondola holds six people but they only put in four. It flies over and … Continue reading Sky Rail Down
“Be Mindful of the gap” shows a more relaxed Aussie attitude to rail travel than the British commanding “Mind the Gap.” Or perhaps the mindfulness movement has just taken off more completely in Australia. But if the Kuranda Scenic Railway … Continue reading Be Mindful of the Gap
The tour out of Cairns (pronounced cans, as in an Andy Warhol painting) was advertised as “Green Island Eco Adventure.” This is the second time we have tried it and we found, blessedly, that this time it was much less … Continue reading Green Island Redux (Cairns)
During the Second World War cargo cults developed in Papua New Guinea. Isolated local tribes saw airplanes arrive with unimaginable goods, some of which trickled down to the locals. Then they left. Some leaders preached that if the tribes imitated … Continue reading We Are the Bank, Kiriwina
A little over 40 years ago I had major surgery that required 6 weeks convalescence. I was told not to climb stairs or even walk very much (now for the same surgery they get you up and walking immediately). I … Continue reading Tok Pisin
Before visiting several of the islands on our tour we were given warnings about how to behave. No personal displays of affection, no shorts except on the beach, no sleeveless dresses, dress modestly because this is a strongly Christian area. … Continue reading Aloatu and the FCC.
Rabaul was founded by the Germans in 1910 as the capital of German New Guinea because of its fine natural harbor. It turns out they could have picked a better spot. The town was seized by the Australians four years … Continue reading Great Harbor, Poor Townsite, Rabaul
In the last post I wrote about the Vilu War Museum on Guadalcanal. Getting there was half the fun. We were on a tour traveling in a Toyota Coaster. My first Coaster trip was in 1985. I was covering an … Continue reading Getting to War Junk
For several years a group of Expat Aid Workers put together a blog making fun of themselves, Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like (SEAWL). I was a contributor. It punctures our self-importance and our tendency to one up each other, by … Continue reading War Junk
The last couple of weeks have been a mix of port and sea days. I just love it. The ports stimulate my curiosity. When I get back, I madly start googling to find more information and enjoy writing about it. … Continue reading I Just LOVE This!
Before independence Vanuatu was called the New Hebrides and was colonized by both the British and the French. Unlike other island groups where each side took a few islands, here they ruled through what they called a condominium. Locals called … Continue reading Pandemonium in Vanuatu.
Most of the tours offered in Vanuatu involved swimming, snorkeling and hiking. I was interested in a UNESCO intangible Cultural Heritage unique to Vanuatu, Sandroing (in the local Bislama language) or Sand drawing. In her family letter Suzi better explains … Continue reading Sandroing in Vanuatu
After taking more than 10,000 steps walking around Nouméa I went to the Sea View pool to workout in the weightless environment of water. They were getting ready for the sail out party and already playing party music, relentless techno … Continue reading Escorted Sail Out.
The Americans in New Caledonia during the Second World War changed everything. The French created the colony of New Caledonia in the 1850s. They created a penal colony, importing French prisoners to work in the nickel mines and agriculture. That … Continue reading Colonial Hangover
In New Caledonia they are called Flèches Faîtières, they go by other names in other Melanesian communities. Sometimes they are called tikis, although that is more Polynesian and sometime referred to as totem poles. I wanted to photograph them because … Continue reading Family History in New Caledonia
Long cruises take me to distant and difficult to get to places that I have always been curious about. This trip has taken me to Pago Pago and will take me to Guadalcanal and Rabaul, plus on a trans continental … Continue reading Just Being There, Easo
“We’ve got sunlight on the sand; we’ve got moonlight on the sea.”1 When I was a kid, the South Pacific was portrayed as paradise, especially since the war had ended. Some of our dads were there and they stressed the … Continue reading Perry in Paradise