Day 64 – 11/26/10 – Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

     Today, my royalties were split between Black Friday shopping and sightseeing.  Also, the fact that this was our first time back in the U.S. after more than two months away entered into the dynamics of the day.  It was nice to be able to make phone calls on our cell phones instead of on Skype, both to friends and to take care of business agendas.  Although, I loved the thought of sightseeing on the island of Oahu, I didn’t want to miss out completely on what has become my one day of the year to purchase electronics.  So, although we didn’t spend the whole day shopping, we did get a bit in before doing our sightseeing.

     We arrived in port at 7:00 a.m.  However, all passengers and crew had to go through a U.S. immigration before disembarking the vessel.  We had arranged to rent a car and go about the day on our own schedule.  We docked at the Aloha Tower and were off the ship about 8:30, with a 60-pound bag of books and papers in tow.  Enterprise picked us up at the Aloha Tower valet parking area and took us to get our rental car for the day.  I will say that it was a bit interesting to drive after not being behind the wheel for over two months.  It felt nice.  We headed down to the Alomoana shopping area. We got up to the 2^nd floor of the parking garage, and thought better of the idea.  Way to big and busy!  We headed out of town in the direction of Pearl Harbor.  On our way there, we stopped by Office Depot, Office Max, K-Mart, Target, and Wal-mart.  We also had a stop at the post office near the airport to ship out our 60 lbs. of media mail (papers and books that we brought with us and/or acquired along the way)…all for $23.

     Our shopping and stops put us into the middle of the afternoon to start our sightseeing.  We went to Pearl Harbor.  However, the boats out to the Arizona Memorial had closed before noon, due to strong winds.  So, we walked around the memorials and exhibits that were accessible.  I enjoyed being there and pondering the events of December 7, 1941.  After leaving, we made a quick stop by Hilo Hattie’s for some Hawaii touristy type shopping (those of you who have been will completely understand).  We then drove back past our ship as we headed to the other side of town to Waikiki Beach.  We arrived there late afternoon, just before sunset for some beautiful views of Diamond Head (a large non-active volcano) and the sailboats out on the water.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay long because we had to get our rental car back before 6:00 p.m.  However, we did get a nice taste of beach life, with its surfers, volleyball players, sunbathers and strollers.  We packed up our purchases for the day and returned our rental car.  They dropped us back off by the ship.  My dad went back aboard while my mother and I strolled around the shops by the port for another hour and a half before boarding the ship for the last leg of our Voyage.

     It’s hard to believe that this trip will be over in less than a week.  It has truly been a wonderful adventure.  I’ve enjoyed the brief introduction to new places, people, and cultures.  And, I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to share this amazing experience with my folks.  Really, there’s no way to express in words how much I have thoroughly enjoyed this Asia, Australia, and South Pacific Grand Voyage.  It’s gone by so fast.  I had visions of being able to lots of reading and even some studying, but alas it just hasn’t happened, and that’s O.K.  Thanks so much for your willingness to allow me to share a little about my journey along the way.  I’m honored to have friends and family that care enough to invest some of their time into reading my blogs.  I’ve enjoyed sharing with you and even more so, have enjoyed the comments that I’ve received back from so many of you.  There were many times that those comments brought encouragement and much needed peer interaction from home.  I love you all.  Blessings, Karen

 

My folks with their fresh Hawaiian orchid leis

(which were given to us by our ship's staff upon arrival)

The lei is used as a welcome or a gift on special occasions. 

They can be purchased fresh at almost any grocery or convenience store.

Good Morning!  The Aloha Tower from our stateroom balcony

Pearl Harbor - The U.S.S. Bowfin in the foreground

The U.S.S. Missouri and the U.S.S. Arizona memorial in the background

The U.S.S. Bowfin

The U.S. flag flying at Pearl Harbor

people reflecting in the foreground and the Arizona memorial in the background

The recovered anchor from the sunken U.S.S. Arizona

View of Diamondhead, a dorment volcano, from Waikiki Beach

My mother at Waikiki Beach

Diamondhead in the background



Waikiki sunset

Good night!  The Aloha Tower from our stateroom balcony

Day 56 – 11/19/10 – Suva, Fiji

     Bula!  This is the Fijian greeting meaning “hello” or “welcome.”  Everyone we passed today, with very few exceptions, smiled and said “Bula!”  Fiji is beautiful and the people are so kind, welcoming, and helpful.  They love their tourists!  We arrived in the port of Suva this morning and took a tour bus to a Fijian arts village.  Here there was a local handicrafts market and they preformed a traditional Fijian warrior ceremony.  This included fire-walking and traditional dance.  Actually, there is only one area of Fiji that does the fire-walking.  They believe the ability to do such is hereditary and a special gift bestowed on the tribe of Beqa.  It was quite entertaining to watch and interesting to hear the commentary as to the significance of each part of the ceremony.

     An odd, but interesting historical fact about this area of the world is that they used to practice cannibalism as a normal way of life.  When they killed those from another tribe, they would feast.  The children from the losing tribe would be the targets for marksmanship practice for the children of the triumphant tribe.  And then the children would feast on the other children.  Please keep in mind that this is an ancient practice and not practiced today.  However, it is part of the Fijian history that I thought some of you might find interesting (especially the teenage guys following my blog).

     Today, Fiji is a very religious place, with over 90% of the population practicing Christianity.  We’re told that on Sundays the whole country shuts down for business and everyone spends the day together in church.  The people within the villages are in very close community and truly take care of each other. 

     After watching the Fire-walkers and dancers at the cultural center, we were served an traditional Fijian lunch.  We had baked chicken, taro root (which is similar to potatoes) and also the taro leaves stuffed with a fresh cheese.  After lunch, we headed back to the city of Suva for some shopping at the local market.  The local souvenirs that are popular unique items of Fiji were wood carved “cannibal forks” and tapa drawings (which is a cloth made out of tree bark with designs printed on it from natural dyes).  Of course, being the tourist that I am, I made sure to purchase both items.  Overall, this was a very nice day. All aboard wasn’t until 5:30 p.m., which gave us plenty of time to see the highlights without feeling rushed.

     Tonight, we will go from being 18 hours ahead of the east coast of the U.S. to being 6 hours behind as we travel back across the International Dateline.  Instead of skipping a full day like we did traveling to Asia, this time we will actually have two November nineteenths.  (Groundhog’s Day anyone?)  I do have to say it was quite nice having 25-hour days coming out here, but it’s been less than ideal having 23-hour days as we travel back east.  However, I can’t complain too much because what else do I have to do on sea days other than sun myself and catch up on some sleep.  Blessings to you, my friends.  It’s with mixed emotions that I’ll be seeing many of you in two weeks as this wonderful Grand Voyage draws to close.  Only two more ports: Apia, Somoa and Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Welcome to Fiji

I had to buy and drink a bottle of Fiji Water while in Fiji

It was a lot cheaper than at home and just as good, if not better.

The fire-walking ceremony

Yes, those are red hot stones that the guy in the middle is standing on

Traditional Fijian warrior dance

Carrying their kill to the barbie

Okay, well of course they have to take him away and prepare him first.

Our Fijian lunch

Baked chicken, a type of coleslaw, taro root, and steamed taro leaves stuffed with cheese

Our entertainment

A guy blowing the conch shell and the other beating on a large piece of hollow wood

A fruit and veggie stand on the side of the road

Yes, the men wear skirts here, and it really doesn't seem odd, as it's their culture.

These are high school guys after school in their uniforms.

11/17/10 – Day 54 – Noumea, New Caledonia

    Today was a pretty low-key kind of day.  New Caledonia is a French island located East of Australia and North of New Zealand.  The island is only about 35 miles wide, yet nearly 400 miles long.  Unfortunately we were only able to visit our port city of Noumea, located on a small peninsula at the southern tip of the island.  It’s always frustrating for me when I can see the beautiful, lush mountains in the distance, but am not able to get out an explore them.  There weren’t any huge tourist attractions in Noumea that were must-sees.  Instead, it was a time of getting out and exploring the city and experiencing the culture.

     We arrived about 8:00 and boarded the 9:00 a.m. city tour on Le Petite Train.  This was a 90-minute introduction to Noumea on an open-air, train-like vehicle that drove us around the city.  Our guide was a French lady who spoke English very well (which was not the case with many of the New Caledonians).  French people seem to have the reputation of being high strung, rude, and somewhat impersonal.  However, this was not the case with New Caledonians.  Even though many didn’t speak English well, they were friendly, laid back, helpful, and kind.  I guess somehow island life breeds a much more relaxed culture…maybe its being so close to the “no worries” lifestyle of the Australians.  Or maybe it’s the young population as a third of the population is younger than 15.

     Anyway, our tour took us around the coast, where we saw Noumea’s beautiful beaches.  Too bad we hadn’t prepared for swimming because a dip in the ocean would have been nice.  Apparently, they don’t have waves in Noumea because of large reefs that serve as breakers within a few of miles of shore.  Next we went up to the highest point in the city for a bird’s eye view, which was nice.  A few other things that we saw on our tour were the nickel abundantly found in the rocks and a monument honoring U.S. soldiers who served in World War II. 

     When our tour ended, we then got day passes for the City Explorer Bus that ran a continuous loop around the city with buses every 30 minutes, which served as our transport for the rest of the day.  We spent an hour at the Botanical Gardens and Zoo.  Here we saw the national bird, the Cagou, which is a flightless bird only found in New Caledonia.  We then spent an hour at the Tjibaou Cultural Center learning about the Kanak people (the New Caledonia natives).  Our last stop was at the town square where we walked around, looked and shopped for our last couple of hours. (Although we didn’t buy much because things were very expensive)  All aboard was at 4:30 and we sailed away shortly after.  It was a nice day in New Caledonia.  Although, I miss Australia and the reality that our cruise is coming to an end is starting to set in as we head back across the Pacific.

Le Petite Train

My mother enjoying her tour of Noumea

Trees in bloom...yes, it's spingtime here!

One of Noumea's beaches

You see all the green in this rock...that's nickel, which is New Caledonia's top industry. 

Looking out from the fortress overlooking the city

My mother with a tri-colored bougainvillea in full bloom

The harbor from behind and above the Protestant church

The Cagou bird, which is flightless and only found in New Caledonia

I found a new friend...one of the native carvings at the Cultural Center

Isn't she darling?

She danced with the her mother and other ladies as part of the on-the-dock native entertainment.

Byebye Noumea

11/11/10 – Day 48 – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

     I really enjoyed the city of Brisbane.  It was our first decent size city in Australia and we had a full day to spend as all-aboard wasn’t until 9:30 p.m.  It was nice to spend the day and see normal “real life” happening all around.  The city itself is spread out about 30 miles along a river, which is a very active means of transportation.  The northern-most City Cat (the river ferry) stop was only a 5-minute walk from where our ship docked.  Also, important to note is that today is Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Veterans’ Day, ANZAC Day, or whatever your Allied country of choice calls it.  Holland America gave us each a poesy pin to wear in honor of those who have served in the military.  We also had a service at 7:30 this morning to honor Veterans (I wasn’t out of bed yet, but my parents attended) and we were invited by the city of Brisbane to their 11:00 service of remembrance (which we didn’t attend). 

      Our port was about 40 miles up river from the ocean inlet.  After docking, we left the ship mid-morning and hopped on the shuttle bus that dropped us in town center.  There, we walked to the visitor information center and located the stop and time schedule for the city sightseeing hop-on-hop-off bus.  We took the loop around the beautiful city with commentary from our driver.  Something to note is that it is Springtime here, and the trees are in full blooms with splashes of red, orange, blue, purple, and yellow.  It’s actually be fun to go from Fall up north in Russia to Spring down here in Australia in less than two months.  

     Anyway, after finishing that tour, we located the post office, purchased some stamps, and mailed some postcards. We then took a city bus to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary all the way to the southern end of the city.  This was one of my favorite places that we have visited on this trip.  We were not only able to see koalas, but we had the opportunity to hold one of the critters long enough to get some photos with them.  You see Brisbane is located in the province of Queensland where, although there are strict rules, koala holding is permitted.  When we get to New South Wales, koala petting is permitted but not koala holding.  The rules in Queensland are that each koala can only be held for a maximum of 30 minutes a day and must have at least every third day off from being held.  This wasn’t a problem at Lone Pine as they had over 130 koalas. 

     We learned a lot about koalas and the other Australian native animals at the sanctuary.  Just for the record, koalas are not bears at all.  Instead, they are a marsupial that is most closely related to the Wombat, also similar to the kangaroo and wallaby (all of which are marsupials).  When koalas are born (as well as kangaroos), they are the size of a jellybean.  This little jellybean size creature makes its way up to its mother’s pouch on its own (which is quite a distance for such a tiny thing), and attaches itself to one of mama’s nipples, where it spends a few more months developing, growing, and maturing until it is ready to emerge from the pouch.  Pretty crazy, but amazing stuff.  Another interesting fact is that shortly before a koala is ready to be weaned off its mother’s milk, he will start eating his mother’s pooh.  Now, this instinctively happens for the sole purpose of “safely” (but, I agree, grossly) introducing bacteria from the eucalyptus plant to the young koala’s system that would otherwise be toxic if he were to just go ahead and start munching on the tree.  Weird, eh?

     Anyway, at the wildlife sanctuary we learned that koalas.  Like people, each has his own unique look and personality.  It is a requirement of each staff member to be able to identify each koala by his or her physical appearance.  They name the koalas and are actually quite easily able to distinguish each by his or her facial features and/or butt markings.  This may seem to be a daunting task for a new staff member, but it ends up being quite a bit easier than one would think.  As I mentioned, there are over 130 koalas at Lone Pine and the staff knows them each by name.  I found it fun that they had koalas to observe of all types and ages, including a nursery, bachelor pad, kindergarten, and a retirement home.  The male koalas all have a brown patch on their chest that is produced by a scent gland that emits a smell that apparently the lady koalas are quite attracted to.  

     The koala diet consists solely of the eucalyptus plant (of which there are many varieties).  They rarely drink water, as the eucalyptus leaf is 50% water, which is where they find hydration as well as nutrition.  The thing koalas do best is sleep, an activity that they participate in for about 22 hours of the day.  The majority of the koalas we saw were sound asleep in a tree.  I found the koalas to be very cute, but smelly.  To me, the fragrance was a combination between poop and a cough drop (from the eucalyptus plant).  The oil from the plant moves out to the tips of their fun, and after holding one, you smell like cough medicine (more so than pooh) for the rest of the day.  But, it’s all worth it as they are quite darling.  The koala’s name that we held was a female named Kat (yep, just like niece’s name…and just as cute too).  She was so darling and definitely worth the $15 extra that we paid to be able to hold her.

     Now, keep in mind these critters truly are native to southern Australia, and can be readily found in the people’s eucalyptus trees in their backyard.  However, their population is diminishing and there are efforts to “save the koala.”  Supposedly, the locals are urged to stay away from them as many carry disease and people are afraid of their sharp claws.  Which, I guess I can understand; it might be similar to us wanting to pet a raccoon.  Anyway, I did enjoy the koalas at Lone Pine.  They also had a free-range area that you could enter with kangaroos roaming about, which can be commonly found throughout the country.  There were over a hundred, I’m sure.  We had the opportunity to feed them, pet them, and play with them.  However, the staff didn’t take too well to the middle school boys group running after and chasing them.  But secretly I let you know that it was pretty exciting to see 100 kangaroos fleeing together for a brief moment. 

     After the Lone Pine Sanctuary, we took a city bus back to a shopping mall.  We grabbed some dinner in the food court and bought a few necessity items. It was interesting seeing the teens hanging out in the mall after school, just like they do in the U.S., with the exception of both public and private students being in school uniforms. This is the norm though; in fact, some colleges require uniforms as well.  After the mall, we hopped on the City Cat ferry, near the southern end of the route, and took the 90-minute trip right through downtown to our ship.  It was a nice sunset cruise through the city of Brisbane, and an excellent way to end a good day.  Now, it’s one day at sea and then Sydney.  I am quite excited about Sydney because I am going to have the opportunity to see a friend who I worked with at a summer camp 9 years ago.  So, not only will we have a personal local guide there, but I will also have the opportunity to catch up with an old friend.  What fun!

My folks with the river and the city of Brisbane in the background

A koala doing what they do best...sleep

A cute little lady with fluffy ears just hanging out in a tree

Mama and baby

I think she's a little frightened that I'm so close...whoops, didn't mean to do that.

A male koala - notice the brown patch on his chest.

Also, notice the different unique facial features of each of these koalas pictured

Me holding Kat, the cuted koala ever

My folks with Kat

(as she lunges for a eucalyptus leaf held by the staff member)

The only koala that my mother was able to hold without paying the extra $15

My new friend and pet kangaroo

My folks and a kangaroo

Also notice the beautiful, purple, jackaranda tree in full bloom in the background

The roos just chilaxin

The Brisbane City Cat public transport boat that we rode back to our ship

Brisbane coming alive just after sunset

11/8/10 - Cairns, Queensland, Australia - The Great Barrier Reef

     This morning we docked in Cairns, Australia.  We boarded a large catamaran, with 200 other people from the ship, and headed our to a large pontoon that is Anchored on Moore Reef about 30 miles off the coast.  Here we found ourselves at one of the world's wonders, the Great Barrier Reef.  It was amazing!  We first took a ride around the reef in a semi-submersible boat.  We then boarded a glass bottom boat and took another tour around.  Next was a bar-b-q lunch.  After lunch, my dad and I went snorkeling in the swim area just off the pontoon.  Later, around 3 p.m, we (me and my dad) went on a guided snorkel safari out at "the drop off" outer shelf of the reef.  This is where all of the big predator fish hang out.  Our guide pointed out a reef shark.  My dad saw it, but unfortunately I wasn't able to find it.  However, I did see lots of other fish and the beautiful varieties of coral...pretty impressive.  So, I can now say I've been to the Great Barrier Reef.  Not to be a downer, but honestly I feel like the snorkeling was comparable to that which I've done in the Caribbean. Both are equally impressive, in my opinion.  However, the thing that stands out about the Great Barrier Reef is its size.  It stretches over 1000 miles, which is actually an interconnected system of about 3000 smaller reefs.  It's big!  Anyway, I enjoyed visiting this amazing underwater world.  I am always amazed at how much of God's beautiful creation we miss out on by being land animals.  There's a whole other world under the sea's surface to be explored.  I was definitely reminded today of how huge and amazingly beautiful our God truly is. 

     After our time at Moore Reef, we once again boarded the catamaran for the 90 minute ride back to our ship.  We then relaxed, showered, and grabbed some dinner before heading out into the town of Cairns about 8:00 p.m.  We walked about 8 blocks down to the town's night market, shopped, spent some money on cheap Australian souvenirs and then back to the ship for some Internet time.  (I don't get much sleep when we have unlimited Internet for the night.)   We don't leave port until 9:30 in the morning because we have to wait for high tide to get this big ship back out into the ocean from this city.  Then, it's two days at sea before our next stop at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia where I get to hold a koala bear.  :)

Me snokeling at the Great Barrier Reef



The semi-submersible boat

We actually sat below the water level and observed

Our catamaran (on left) docked to the anchored pontoon (right) at Moore Reef off of Cairns, Australia

A variety of the diverse corals found on the ocean floor

The staff have named this fish Wally

He hangs around the snorkeling platform and loves people

He lets you pet him and take pictures with him

The glass bottom boat

Can you find Nemo?

Being my favorite color, I liked the blue coral the best

Plus, I don't think that I had ever seen blue coral in my previous snorkeling endevours

My dad and snorkeling partner