At last! It's RADIANCE cruise day!

[gaechann]

We had calm seas most of the way. Here's a photo taken from our favourite spot on Deck 5 as we sail ever closer to the northern tip of Australia - Cape York - Queensland.

 

[gaechann]

CAPE YORK - the top of Australia!

 

As I mentioned earlier I've lost all my notes on my IPhone but I think this is the photo I took of the top of Australia. It was a little hazy but I used the zoom on my little camera to make it a little clearer. Those that were on the cruise will correct me if I have it wrong I'm sure! LOL!

 

[Ned49]

Loving your review and photo's, bringing back good memories of our cruise around the top last Feb, and, making me look forward to our NYE trip on Radiance this year even more. Looking forward to the next instalment;)

[gaechann]

DAY 8 - We are greeted with all sorts of carved heads, monsters, spider-webs etc. in the Windjammer this morning! Most Australians of my vintage just don't get what all the fuss is about! Still some got into the swing of it all that night at the special Monster Ball in the Centrum (not us!!).

 

Today we had our Reef Pilot - Captain Wal Cray give us a little history lesson on Captain William Bligh. If my history teacher had been half as entertaining as Capt Wal Cray I might have remembered a bit more than I have about the history of our country's exploration and settlement.

 

Here's a photo of the Halloween decorations in the Windjammer this morning.

 

[gaechann]

DAY 9 - Darwin City!

 

It had been about 20 years since I last visited Darwin and it's now almost unrecognisable! Many of the older colonial buildings seem to have disappeared and in their place are modern high-rises - just like every other city! I thought it had lost some of it's charm but I guess it's called progress!

 

We would recommend visiting the Fannie Ball Goal, The Cyclone Tracy exhibition and the Museum and Art Gallery to obtain an overview of the history of this multi-national city. We'd been here twice before so opted for the little sight-seeing tour of the city this time.

 

Here's a photo of the wharf as we approached it. This shows all the new development in this area.

 

[gaechann]

Welcome to Darwin says the sign!

 

Mum elected once again NOT to take her walker so we were very slow getting off the ship then finding our tour bus! As it was a bit difficult for her to get on & off the bus, she elected to stay put, except for one stop which I'll talk about shortly.

 

[gaechann]

Here's a waiting ambulance! I guess someone's holiday has come to an end. Hopefully that person is well and truly recovered by now.

 

[gaechann]

Here's a photo of the lovely old stone courthouse! The modern version is all steel & glass if I remember correctly!

 

[gaechann]

Approaching the city centre. Lots of new high-rises and other construction work.

 

[gaechann]

From one of the beachside parks, over the bay towards the city. It was a bit hazy but I thought I'd include this one.

 

[gaechann]

I persuaded Mum to leave the bus here at the Darwin Botanical Gardens. The fountain here at the entrance was just about to shoot right up into the sky!

 

[gaechann]

Our tour bus driver wanted us all to see this very unusual tree in the Botanical Gardens. Common name is the cannonball tree! You can see why! The nuts or seeds that developed after the flowers were about the size of bowling balls!

 

[gaechann]

Here's the flower of the cannonball tree. It was about the size of a bread & butter plate.

 

[gaechann]

Here's the botanical nameplate for the cannonball tree. Anyone who knows a bit more about this amazing tree, please share your knowledge!

 

[gaechann]

Time for a rest and allow someone else to use the air-waves for a bit! I have a few more photos of Darwin to add later on.

 

We were hoping to meet up with one of my nephews who is working in the area but a huge storm hit the city and closed the airport for about an hour.

 

It was 1 November, the very first day of the wet season up in the tropics and boy did we have a fierce old storm with lots of thunder, lightning, strong winds and driving rain!

 

By the time we left the dock, all was calm again.

 

I hope you've been enjoying my review and my photos. My camera is just a little "click & shoot" but it's not too bad especially when I put the zoom lens out. Many of the photos were taken from the window of the bus but even they weren't too bad in the whole.

 

Time for a cuppa! I'll be back again later!

 

Gae

Edited November 26, 2013 by gaechann

[aussielozzie18]

Hi Gae

enjoying your review and photos.

[MicCanberra]

Lovely photos, I am enjoying them.:D

[gaechann]

Hi all - I was interested to hear that many passengers disembarked in Darwin to board the Ghan train back down to Adelaide. Conversely, many passengers who had been on the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin joined us on board in Darwin.

 

Some we spoke to told us that they had used a "shoppers docket" promotion that entailed joining the Ghan in Adelaide, then having 4 days in Darwin before joining the cruise ship to Fremantle (Perth) after which they were spending some days in Perth before flying home.

 

Others where spending time in Perth before catching the Indian Pacific train back east. Very nice if you have both the time and the money!

 

Our Cruise Director changed from Gordon, the assistanct director who had done a great job, to Bobby Brown who had flown home from Sydney for a family emergency. He joined the ship in Darwin, thanking Gordon for taking over on very short notice.

 

I hadn't realised it before but Bobby was the Cruise Director on our very first cruise on the Legend of the Seas back in October 2010. I spoke with him the next day and confirmed that yes indeed, he was there and remembered our "rescue at sea" during a typhoon in the South China Sea.

 

Tonight we were able to have our Sales Tax Refunded by Customs as this was the last port of call before we docked in a foreign port (Bali). Unfortunately for many, you had to show your passport along with your invoice to have the Sales Tax reimbursed.

 

Our passports had been collected many days prior for our Indonesian Visas and weren't returned until after we left Bali so I was pleased that I had a COPY OF MY PASSPORT to show the Customs Officers who duly took all my information and completed a form to have $75 refunded to my credit card.

 

NOTE: Always have a copy of your passport (and all other forms of ID including credit cards) on hand. The Customs officials said that in most cases the cruiseline provides copies of passports to the passengers if they need to hold them for an extended time. In this case, the cruiseline had not done that, or even offered to do it for passengers.

 

We were told to turn our clocks back another 1.5 hours tonight (already turned back 1 hour on Day 2 to prepare for Qld time the next day and another 0.5 hours before Darwin as Northern Territory is behind Queensland) as Bali & Western Australia are 3 hours behind Sydney time.

 

Time for breakfast. More Darwin photos to come.

[gaechann]

I heard that many people were less than happy with some of the on-board tours offered from Darwin, especially those offering crocodiles in the wild!

 

Once again, the time taken to drive out to the Wildlife Parks took many hours so once they had arrived, there was little time to spend there and certainly hardly any time to spot any crocodiles.

 

We had enquired of the Darwin Tourist Information Office prior to our cruise to find out the easiest and closest place to view crocodiles, especially considering the extreme heat experienced in the Top End of Australia during November. Their answer put us off the idea altogether.

 

Many passengers were disappointed that they'd paid for a tour that promised crocodiles in the wild but they didn't get to see any though the Tour Desk on-board had apparantly assured them that they would!

 

Probably best to do your own research from the LOCAL tourist centres if you're wanting to see something specific to the area.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I heard that many people were less than happy with some of the on-board tours offered from Darwin, especially those offering crocodiles in the wild!

 

just another thought re,,,, crodiles in the wild tours.....

In Port Douglas we took an afternoon River cruise to see crocs....saw zilch, however those who took the tour in the morning saw plenty .

Why?

They went at low tide and the crocs were on the banks , our tour was at high tide and the crocs were all under water..:D

[gaechann]

just another thought re,,,, crodiles in the wild tours.....

In Port Douglas we took an afternoon River cruise to see crocs....saw zilch, however those who took the tour in the morning saw plenty .

Why?

They went at low tide and the crocs were on the banks , our tour was at high tide and the crocs were all under water..:D

 

Yes, that's a point! I spent 3 weeks holiday in Port Douglas 2 years ago and the locals know where to find the crocodiles. There was a certain spot near a bridge just south of the town where we'd always see a large croc on the mudbanks if the tide was low.

 

I think the problem with the Darwin tour was that there just wasn't enough time as the drive out to the wilderness parks takes so long!

 

There is a Crocodylus Park near the city where crocodiles can be seen being fed. That was quite popular for those who haven't seen crocodiles before!

[gaechann]

I posted this photo in a new thread - by mistake!

 

As I mentioned there, these gorgeous orange-red flowering trees follow the blue-purple flowering jacaranda trees!

 

They are found across much of Australia. I know we have them in our home town. Depending on the weather conditions, some years they are more spectucular than others!

 

[gaechann]

Because Darwin is situated so close to Indonesia it suffered lots of damage during the second World War with many aerial bomb attacks from the Japanese!

 

Here's a photo of the entrance to an underground storage tunnel system.

 

[gaechann]

Here's the beautiful Radiance waiting for us to return!

 

[gaechann]

Our Captain told us that the Radiance and one of her sister ships use gas-fired turbines to power the ship. Apparantly at the time they were built, gas was the cheapest option!

 

Here's a photo of the re-fueling still going on before we leave Darwin Harbour, on our way to Bali.