March 11, 2017, Saturday, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

March 11, 2017, Saturday, In the Port of Naha, Okinawa, Japan

Naha is the capital and largest city of Okinawa Island and prefecture (state). The city is located in the southwest of Okinawa, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands, a group of 55 islands. These islands lay southwest of the main Japanese islands. In fact Naha is approximately 965 miles from Tokyo but only 510 miles from the Chinese port of Shanghai and 395 miles from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. At one times, the Ryukyu Islands were a self governing nation with its own language.

Our tour was titled “Ancient Kingdom” and covered two sites. One very old and the other relatively new. Our bus took us on a fifty minute ride north of town. Along the way we passed several military installations including at least one Marine logistic depot and the USAF Kadena Air Base. It was a Japanese air base until after the Battle of Okinawa during World War Two. Since then, it has been the largest US Air Base in the Far East.

Our first stop was to the Okinawa World Cultural Kingdom, a recreation of a Ryukyu village, with workshops featuring crafts such as fabric dyeing, pottery, musical instruments, glass blowing and brewing. A group of local dancers put on a show. There is even Habu Snake Park featuring the poisonous Habu snake.

Our second stop was the very beautiful Shikina-en Gardens. It was former residence of the Ryukyuan royalty. The gardens are a blend of Chinese, Japanese and Ryukyuan styles and centered around a lovely pond. The palace, the largest building in the garden, has the typical Ryukyuan red-tiled roof. The gardens are another of the designated World Heritage Sites in Okinawa.  

On our way back to the ship, we passed by Shuri Castle, the former residence of the Ryukyu royal family set on a hill overlooking the city. This is one of those islands that deserve more than a one day visit.

After dinner, the evening show was Dean Atkinson, a ventriloquist comedian from Australia.

Pictures will be posted when the internet speeds up.

Sandra at the RyuKyu  Village

Musical Instrument Display

Village Scene

Dancers

Drummers

Hungary Carp Fish

Weaving Display

Lake in the garden

Royal House

Cherry Blossoms  

Royal Residence on the hill

Our Guide

March 6 - 10, 2017, At Sea en route to Okinawa, Japan

March 6 - 10, 2017, At Sea en route to Okinawa, Japan

This was a five day run from Papua New Guinea straight to Okinawa, Japan. I am leaving out all the standard details of Chairobics, trivia in the Golden Lion Pub, meals, and etc. Also, during this period, we had three formal night at dinner. This is when the fancy dresses and tuxs are mandatory.

Monday - Insight Lecture, Commander Jeff Tall, “The War in the Pacific - fightback” The islands’ reconquest by US and allied forces at a massive cost.

Insight Lecture, Captain Les Evans, “Flying the Harrier.” From 500 kts to the hover; the excitement of flying one of the world’s most unusual fighters on the front line. A look at the life of a military fighter pilot operating from grass strips in Germany during the Cold War.

Evening Entertainment, Roy Locke, Internationally Acclaimed Vocalist. Played “The Phantom” in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.

Tuesday - Insight Lecture, Judy Hinchliffe, “Forensic: The Danger Beneath our Feet: Christchurch in Crisis.” She describes in some detail the process of identifying disaster victims using dental records and post disaster dental exams. She never did make this topic into a fun event.

Another Crossing the Line Ceremony, crossing the Equator. However, this ceremony got rained out. Too much electrical equipment around an open pool.

Evening Entertainment, The Cunard Singers and Dancers in Hollywood Nights.

Wednesday - Insights Lecture, Commander Jeff Tall, “Allied submarine operations in the Pacific - Japan’s Achilles Heel.”

Evening Entertainment - Lisa Crouch, a powerful vocalist with a touch of humor.

Thursday - Virtual Bridge Tour with Captain Aseem Hashmi. A presentation of how to run a ship as large as the Queen Elizabeth. A very good presentation of how everything works.

Insight Lecture - Commander Jeff Tall, “The Royal Navy Submarine Service (1901 - 1945) - the Pirates.” From the Baltic to the Dardanelles in World War One, and the North cape to the Far East in WWII, Royal Navy submariners earned a fearsome reputation for their skill, daring, and sacrifice - and won 14 Victoria Crosses.

Evening Entertainment - A three part program, Berni Flint, Carl Doy and Roy Locke.
All in forty five minutes.

Friday - Not too much happened. The crew had a scheduled Crew Boat and Raft Drill that included just about all the crew. A lot of the passengers just stayed out in the sun. Just like every other day at sea.

There was just one Insight Lecture but after four lectures on victim identification, Sandra and I passed on a fifth lecture.

Evening Entertainment - Singer Peter Howarth.

Tomorrow we see land.

March 5, 2017, Alotau, Papua New Guinea

March 5, 2017, Sunday, Alotau, Papua New Guinea

Alotau is the capital of Milne Bay Province in the southeast of Papua New Guinea. It is located on the northern shore of Milne Bay. During World War II, The bay was the site of a battle between Japan on one side and a joint force of Australian and American forces on the other side. At the conclusion of the fight, the Japanese Army suffered their first land defeat in the Pacific War in 1942. A few months later, the Japanese suffered further defeats at the hands of the Australians on the Kokoda Trail battles.

Our ship tied up at the local pier, a plus since we do not have to tender ashore. We booked a ship’s tour to a local Cultural Festival. The bus took us through the town to a local school right by the shore. The school had been transformed into a major entertainment and vendor event for the day bringing in people from all the villages. Two stages had been set up, one with dancers doing local dances in full native dress. The second stage was in the second story of the school and featured native solo singers and groups. All around the school yard, vendors had set out their wares. Several groups had fires burning and were selling local food items. By the shore, a couple of boatloads of men were taking people out onto the water in dugout canoes. It was interesting to view the continuum from the primitive dugouts to our 2000 passenger ship.
 
We took the bus back to the ship, cooled off a bit and had lunch. Alotau has turned out to be hot and muggy, to be expected being so close to the equator. After lunch, we left the ship and walked back toward the center of town. There is a monument by the shore to men who fought in the war. There are also a number of plaques with additional explanations and details of the battle. I understand that further up the coast near the airport there is another memorial.

After wandering around the stalls and vendors for another hour, we headed back to the ship and a cool shower. This is the second time we have been to a Papua New Guinea port. Ten years ago we visited Rabaul on New Britain Island. We had to tender into that town and there was an active volcano at the edge of town. Rabaul was also recovering from some extremely heavy rains. This stop was to a much more prosperous community with much more to offer.

Our evening entertainment was Berni Flint, a guitar playing singer songwriter from the 1970s. It ended up being an interesting show.

The old and the new

New Guinea Dugout

A Dancing Stage

A Young Singer

Open Fire Cooking

Another Group of Singers

Lone Fisherman

A view from out ship

Memorial for the Battle of Milne Bay

March 4, 2017, Saturday, At sea en route to Alotau, Papua New Guinea

March 4, 2017, Saturday, At Sea en route to Alotau, Papua New Guinea

This was a full day at sea with a very full schedule. The usual breakfast, Chairobics with Laura, and morning trivia. Next came an Insights Lecture; Captain Warwick Conlin speaking on “Pilotage in The Great Barrier Reef.” He joined the ship in Brisbane. He will provide reef pilotage along the coast until we reach Papua New Guinea.

The second Insights Lecture; Commander Jeff Tall speaking on “The Day of Infamy - 7 December 1941.” This was an overview of the events leading to and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The third Insights Lecture; Captain Les Evans speaking on “Disaster At Paris.” This was about the events leading to the Air France Concorde crash in Paris in the year 2000.

The schedule was so full.  We missed the Ice Carving Demonstration in the Lido Pool Area. We did make afternoon trivia and all three meals. The evening show was Peter Howarth, a singer and instrumentalist from London’s West End. He played Roy Orbison in the biographical hit musical “Only the Lonely.”

March 3, 2017, Friday, At Anchor in Yorkey's Knob, Australia

March 3, 2017, At Anchor off Yorkey’s Knob, Australia

This morning we were anchored several miles off of Yorkey’s Knob, Australia, the “port” for Cairns, Australia. We had a ship’s tour scheduled for the day and since we were officially within Australia territory, there were no immigration problems or lines. We took the ship’s tender into the dock and found our bus without difficulty.

 The bus and our guide took us to the first terminal of the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. The cable way is an amazing ride on three different cable car links that cover a total of seven and a half kilometers. All of this is over eucalypt woodlands and rainforest. At the first stop between cables one and two, there is a self guided walk through forest trees, ferns, banyan trees, palms and cycads. The second cable took us through even higher forests.  We were in the clouds for much of the time. Between cables two and three, another self-guided walk to a river overlook. We have been going parallel with the Barron River. At the viewing point, we could see the Barron Falls and parts of the local hydroelectric installation. During construction of the dam and pipes for the plant, there was a rail line down into the valley. Cable three took us to the small town of Kuranda and the end of our cable journey. After getting off the cable car, we walked through the gift shop and back on our bus.

Next stop was Kuranda on the Barron River where we were given a quick bus tour of the village. The village is the jumping off spot for a railway through the forest, a river cruise through the forest, the cable way, and any number of forest trails. However, our next visit was to the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, a large screened aviary with over two hundred types of butterflies. We spent more than 45 minutes just looking at and photographing butterflies.

We were given free time to explore the village, do some shopping, a get a snack. Our first task was to find a Post Office, a bit hard since the Post Office had recently moved from a store front to the old library. Not identified on the maps and half the people in town did not know about the move. We found what we were looking for behind the old church. Sandra bought some stamps and mailed off several post cards. We then found the shopping area and an ice cream parlor.

At the appointed time, we got back on the bus for our trip back to port. This area is renowned at a place where a World Heritage Rainforest meets a World Heritage Barrier Reef. It is a very special place on this planet of ours. This is worth a special visit, not a six hours visit.

Cable Car in Action

Rain Forest

The Large Tree is 3 Feet in Diameter

High Above the Rainforest

Butterflys

One of the Star Attractions

Another Star

Evening entertainment was Carl Doy, a very fine pianist with a very easy manner.

March 1 & 2, 2017, En Route to Yorkey's Knob

March 1& 2, 2017, Wednesday and Thursday, en route to Yorkey’s Knob, Australia

There are two sea days as we make our way from Brisbane to Yorkey’s Knob. Yes, there is a place named Yorkey’s Knob. It is named after a one armed Yorkshire man who lived on a hill (knob) by the seashore about fifteen miles from Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

Ship board life can get a bit dull if you let it become dull. Luckily, we have been provided things to do. Wednesday, breakfast in the Lido, Sandra went to Chairobics with Laura, Morning Trivia at 10:15. Speaker at 11:00, Farrah Storr, speaking on “The re-setting of Cosmopolitan.” 4:15 PM Afternoon Trivia, Dinner and the evening show, The Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers show of “Palladium Nights.

Thursday Same as above except the morning speaker was Judy Hinchliffe speaking on “Forensic: “From Arson to Ashes: the Australian Bushfires.”  Afternoon lecture: Captain Les Evans “My Day in the Office at 60,000 Feet.” The evening show was Jeff Green, a very good comedian.

Tomorrow is Yorkey’s Knob.

February 28, 2017, Brisbane, Australia

February 28, 2017, Tuesday, Brisbane, Australia

Early this morning, the Queen Elizabeth docked at the container port on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia. The river flowing through Brisbane is very winding. Way too difficult to back into the city and too narrow to turn around.

We have a ship’s tour today, a busman’s holiday. We are taking a cruise on the river on a paddle-wheel boat much like a Mississippi River steamer of old, but with a hydraulic drive paddle wheel. We have a live narration of the sights as we cruise down the river. He also includes some instrumental and vocal music along the way. This cruise also includes a luncheon meal served by a staff of waiters and drinks for an additional charge. The sights along the river include some very expensive homes of local politicians, national entertainers and the rich and famous. There were any number of old wool warehouses that had been turned into expensive condos. A great places to live since there is a fleet of river catamarans that make frequent stops along the river. From any stop on the river, you can take one of these ferries to the center of town or beyond to the universities further up stream.

Both before and after the cruise, we did sightseeing tours of various parts of the city and the neighborhoods leading out to the docks and the industrial areas. The local airport was just across the river from where we were tied up. From the top deck, we could see aircraft taking off and landing.

The channel leading into Brisbane is very long, more than fifty miles. The channel starts outside of the Great Barrier Reef and winds through the reef, and then behind some barrier island before getting to the Brisbane River. However, those parts of the trip are done in the early morning before sunrise or after sunset. I did look out from the balcony to see the lights of some small towns on the barrier islands.

Brisbane from across the river

Another view of Brisbane

Paddle Wheel to move our boat along

One of the local ferries in the colors of the local Rugby team

The Captain and Pilot in full command

Our River Boat

Dinner was at the Britannia and the evening show was a tribute group doing the music of one of the most popular and iconic rock acts of all time, Queen.