Little Lolly's Small Adventures: voyage

Showing posts with label voyage. Show all posts

Arafura Sea, heading towards Darwin

I've enjoyed accompanying Paul on his rounds every now and then - here a few pictures below.

Nuts, bolts, hammers, wrenches ... you name it - they have got it.

Of course the ice cream room is the most important room 😉😉😉 so Paul checked on that. The padlock was stiff and Paul found that the U-shaped shaft was out of shape so 'borrowed' the padlock for a few minutes, taking it to the carpenter's shop where he had it clamped and bent back into its usual place. The padlock worked properly so was put back in its usual place.

Paul writing something in the ice on the roof!

The coffin store is another important place in daily use - for storing and keeping flowers fresh!

Just as a house needs to be maintained and repaired, maintenance must be done on the ship too to keep everything looking nice even whilst at sea. Salt and the weather's elements takes its toll. Here, on the aft lido deck, the railings have been removed for repairs.

The lads are sanding down the railings on the narrow aft deck, deck 9.
Once sanded, the railings will be re-varnished and put back.

Staff cleaning the forward deck, deck 10. Picture was taken by the ship's on-board camera.

Arafura sea, sea days heading towards Darwin.

'Raggie' - the reluctant dummy patient.

So far we have had good sailing weather - little wind and glassy seas. Yesterday I observed a mock emergency with a giant rag doll (patient) which I will name 'Raggie'. Raggie was injured on deck 5 in the main loading area and had possibly broken a leg. All the first-aiders were on hand, rallying around with equipment to help the staff from the infirmary. All 'tests' were done and Raggie's leg secured in a leg splint/traction brace. Once stabilised, Raggie was carefully transferred onto a back board and lifted up onto the trolley stretcher and wheeled to the infirmary.

Funnily enough there was a real emergency today! Just as we were going to breakfast there was a 'brightstar' call-out for all first aiders to the Hudson Room. Someone had collapsed. Paul dashed off but said I could come along because I have a valid first aid & CPR certificate. By the time we got down to the Hudson Room the room had been cleared of guests (congregating for morning devotions) and the guest was already being seen to with all relevant first aid staff working alongside the medical team. The guest was eventually lifted on a stretcher onto the trolley stretcher and taken to the Infirmary. By the sounds of things all will be ok because the guest has had similar non-life threatening symptoms before.

Raggie waiting for the next assignment ...

All in day's work for the teams involved and a slight diversion from their daily duties (housekeeping, etc)..

Anchored off Hamilton Island, Australia

Where we anchored - circled in red.

After a day at sea we anchored ⚓⚓ off Hamilton Island.

I had not been assigned a tour and decided to stay on board even though Paul encouraged me to take a tender to Hamilton Island. Views from the ship across to Hamilton Island and its neighbouring islands were beautiful. The water was a milky blue but looked gorgeous for swimming. Pity one can't swim direct off a platform on the ship or even have a bungy jump system from a platform higher up and down towards the sea. Dream on Lorna! Sigh...

Below are some pictures of Hamilton Island and surrounds that I took from the ship's top deck, going clockwise.

Hamilton Island

⚓

Nouméa, New Caledonia. Excursion: Scenic Train with Cheese & Wine Tasting.

Today's excursion transport - a bright yellow 'train'!

There was a yoga session for crew up in the gym this evening so Paul and I went. Due to the rocking motion of the ship our yoga instructor decided on floor-based session rather than any standing yoga movements. There was quite a bit of stretching involved and we soon realised how stiff we were. Practice, over time, will make us a bit more supple. Unfortunately I started to feel quite seasick during the session but managed to get through it before making a quick exit to the cabin. The horizontal effect of the bed was welcoming and my head could sort itself out. Needless to say I slept rather well - more so after taking meclizine hydrochloride tablet (anti-sea sick).

We arrived in Nouméa, at the container ship pier. The wind was gusty and the current strong. Unfortunately we didn't dock at the passenger pier but the container ship pier turned out to be the safest and best option in the windy conditions.

View from Ouen Toro

Cheese & wine tasting at Chateau Royale

Paul and I joined the captain for an early lunch and then I headed out on to the pier for the tour I was assigned to: 'Scenic Train with Cheese & Wine Tasting'. The bright yellow 'train' was designed as a fun way for tourists to get around and about rather than riding around in a bus. Leaving the pier we followed the road through town past Port Moselle Marina and the yacht club. We stopped at a small viewpoint on the edge of Baie des Citrons and Anse Vata Beach. The beach was busy despite the day being overcast and windy. We had another stop at Ouen Toro Lookout from where we had lovely views of the lagoon below us and we could also see cannons - relics of World War II. Our final stop was at Château Royal, a beautiful seaside resort, where we stopped to taste French wines and cheeses. After the initial wine tasting some of the guests wanted to taste the wines further - and polished off bottles of a red, rose and white wine. It was a hit and left the guests looking rather happy! There was a bit of time left over to explore the resort before we climbed back into the train and headed back to the ship. Frank, our guide, was very knowledgeable and friendly. He also had a great sense of humour and was a hit with the guests as a guide. A guide can make or break a tour and he made our visit enjoyable.

View of Chateau Royale's grounds from the lobby balcony

Back on board I sought Paul out. The kink in the anchor chain had been sorted. The anchor was lowered into the harbour floor with a few chain links so that there was no tension on the anchor. With no tension, the anchor rolled gently to one side on the bottom of the harbour floor and when it was finally lifted, the chain had straightened itself out. So, all is back to normal.

After dinner Paul and I went to the spa and lay on the hot stone beds for a while. It was a bit chilly in the spa area so we went to the steam room to defrost and then soaked in the spa pool for a bit.

The ship is now sailing towards Sydney, a 2 day voyage. Many guests will end their cruise in Sydney, a few are staying on for the circumnavigation of Australia.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Setting off