Radiance Sydney to Perth 20.10.14

[MicCanberra]

Thanks Gae for the review so far and all the photos. Keep it up.:D

[MicCanberra]

Thanks Megsie for your photo as well, the thumbnail is fine once opened.:D

[Hazydavo]

Thanks Gae and Megsie, really enjoying your posts and photos!

[gaechann]

Hi all

 

Back online as we head into Port Hedland.

 

Just some notes from Bali then photos later when I have more time to download them!

...........

 

Bali 31.10.14

This morning the buffet had a special display for Halloween’s Day. (see photo)

 

Benoa Bali is our second tender port so we lined up for tender tickets then waited for about 1 hour in the Centrum until the announcement that tenders were now available for boarding.

 

The tender we were on was owned by a local company so was a little bigger and faster than the ship’s tender so our journey from ship to port was just a little over 20 minutes. (see photo of port)

 

I texted our pre-arranged driver when we were close to the port and he told me to find him near the right hand side entrance gate once we existed the terminal. Sure enough, there he was with my name card waving madly!

 

Just a few locals “giving away” some cheap goods to avoid before we were settled into his modern, air-conditioned car and were off for our day’s adventure in Bali. Our first stop was the money-changer – our driver was happy to take $AUD40 but suggested that we change some money into the local currency for our purchases later in the day. He also reminded us that credit cards could be used for larger purchases.

 

You really have to visit Bali to experience the amazing way they drive! Cars, buses, trucks, motorbikes all weave in and out with a minimum of fuss. Just a polite little toot of the horn and everyone just gives way to the one that somehow they know has the right of way! For all the vehicles on the road, I only saw one that had a slight dent in the back! They are all very good, courteous drivers!

 

Our first stop was at a Batik Factory were we saw the processes of firstly making the cloth, then stencilling it before colour was added. Then inside to the huge shop attached to check out the finished products. No sales to us.(see photo)

 

Next we visited a Silversmiths where the process of melting down the silver, then beating it fine before it was make into silver wire was explained. Again there was a huge shop attached for us to wander through. Again no sales for us. (see photo)

 

Our third stop was at the Luwak coffee processing place where we saw the civets (in cages) who eat the ripe coffee pods then pass them through as faeces which is gathered, cleaned, roasted then pounded into coffee powder. (see photos)

 

We got to taste the delicious result plus other coffees, teas & chocolates which are sold there in the attached shop. We did purchase some products here. I bought 50g of the Luwak coffee for the equivalent of $AUD17.50 which by my calculation works out at $350 per kilo! Very expensive coffee but renowned as the best in the world! If you saw the movie ‘The Bucket List’ with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman you will remember Jack’s butler serving this coffee to him in hospital.

 

Lunch was at Joni Duck’s a restaurant outside of Ubud overlooking a rice field where women with “coolie” hats on were cutting and threshing the rice. Ducks are introduced into the fields to keep down the pests and help fertilise them ready for the next planting. (see photos)

 

We next visited a wood carvers compound where we were first shown around their traditional house which consists of many small, detached individual rooms / spaces. The head of the family has the largest area then the younger members have their own private spaces. The kitchen/dining room is another separate space with another huge communal area where they play their traditional musical instruments. They had their own rice fields out the back and their own temple off to the side. (see photos)

 

Finally, we were shown into the HUGE wooden warehouse! Of course we weren’t obligated to purchase anything and as we were a bit concerned that Customs would confiscate the wooden items anyway, we just bought one small item each. The owner was delighted that we had enjoyed our visit to his humble place but humble it was not compared to the normal Balinese homes which I had visited before. (see photos)

 

Our final stop was at a local waterfall where we had to pay the equivalent of $AUD1 to visit. (see photos) There was a local shop (barung?) that wanted to sell us goods and children trying to sell us fans etc. but as we had wisely left our wallets in the locked vehicle we just had to keep saying “no thanks” and keep moving past them.

 

If there was any downside to our visit it was these women & children that were practically begging us to purchase worthless goods from them but as our few dollars wouldn’t have helped the national economy one little bit it was just wiser to keep on saying “no thanks” and move on.

 

Next it was about a 20 minute drive back to the Port, a quick goodbye to our driver with our left over Indonesian money as a tip, then we joined the long queue for the tenders back to the ship making it back on board about 5.15pm.

 

A long but enjoyable day!

[gaechann]

Here's the first photo for today - the Halloween decorations up in the buffet on 31.10.14

 

[gaechann]

Here's the Port of Benoa which you reach by tender from the cruise ship:

 

Making cloth on a loom at the Batik Factory:

 

Stencilling the cloth

 

Inside the Salesroom of the Batik Factory:

Edited November 2, 2014 by gaechann

[gaechann]

Next stop - the Silversmiths:

 

Inside the Salesroom before I was told "No photos Madam".

[gaechann]

Back again after we have a look at what Port Hedland has to offer. So far, lots of HUGE ore ships, tugs, pilot boats, conveyor belts etc.

 

Gae

[Westaussie]

Hi Gae, thanks for your review and the lovely photos. Enjoy your day in Port Hedland and in Geraldton. You have me all excited about boarding on Wednesday! Pity we won't meet this time. Vera

[gaechann]

Hi Gae, thanks for your review and the lovely photos. Enjoy your day in Port Hedland and in Geraldton. You have me all excited about boarding on Wednesday! Pity we won't meet this time. Vera

 

 

Hello Vera

She will be in good condition for you on Wednesday. There are about 300 staying on for the next leg.

Gae xx

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[megsie]

Great photos again Gae. Just back from Port Hedland, now enjoying a lemonade with pizza and fries on the balcony - too good! Being a Sunday, I think the town had more on offer than last year. Met off the shuttle by locals with icy cold bottled water and maps (free). Slight breeze blowing and it didn't seem as hot as previously, although it was supposed to get to 43C. Plenty of whingers about the heat though - as it's far north west Australia, I guess they have not experienced that level of heat before. When ashore we went on a harbour tour by the Seafarers organisation - very informative. Whilst on the launch, Radiance was doing a full drill with their tenders, lifeboats etc. The crew were also alongside spot painting the hull and anchor area. Getting it shipshape for those soon getting on in Perth!

We then did a town tour on a small taxi bus - $15 for almost an hour with ship drop off. Photo stops were along the beach areas, salt pans and mining museum. Also on offer was a $20 return to South Hedland (18kms away) with a drop off at the much larger shopping Centre for an hour then pickup.

Bus driver said there are around 6 cruise ships here a season and if there were more they would need to build a cruise terminal - and that wouldn't happen with the harbour expansions of Gina, Twiggy and BHP.

For those getting on in Perth some of the entertainment as mentioned on theatre tour is supposedly Abba tribute, Queen tribute, Danny Elliott and Jonathon Clarke both on again (very popular). We also did the bridge tour yesterday - fascinating, if you get the opportunity it is well worth doing.

Back to the lemonade.

Edited November 2, 2014 by megsie

[gaechann]

Here's the details of the most expensive coffee in the world:

 

The civet who eats the ripe coffee beans and the droppings underneath:

 

A tray of droppings before being cleaned, roasted & ground into powder:

 

Here we are tasting the finished product. Not a good photo but the best the staff could do with an unfamiliar camera:

[MicCanberra]

Loving the reviews Gae and Megsie, and the photos. Hope the heat was not too draining,(nothing a few cocktails couldn't fix ) and you both enjoyed Port headland.:D

[gaechann]

Hi all

 

Though I'm still to finish downloading the rest of the Bali photos, I though I'd give you some information about our day in Port Hedland first.

 

PORT HEDLAND

 

As we cruised closer to Port Hedland this morning we were amongst many large ore tankers who were waiting their turn to enter the Harbour to be filled with iron ore from the many inland mines found throughout the Kimberley area of WA. Many of them showed Chinese registration.

 

The tugboats were kept very busy guiding all vessels through the narrow channel into the Port. I counted about 15 tugs either waiting for their next job or already working flat out.

 

The sight that greeted us when we docked was lots of gantries, conveyor belts, ore trains & trucks and other associated buildings that you would expect at a busy mining port.

 

There was just the one excursion offered by the ship - to drive through the port works by bus with a BHP worker on board providing commentary. As I had taken this interesting little tour last year, we elected to visit the township by free shuttle.

 

It was a Sunday here and the local community had gone all out to make us feel welcome to their little town. They had erected canvas shelters with seats underneath for those wanting a rest and for those waiting to take the shuttles back to the ship.

 

They also handed out bottles of water and town maps to all new arrivals. There was quite a few market stalls and coffee shops and their visitor centre and art gallery were also open for visitors.

 

We were pleasantly surprised by the town centre (see photos) so spent about an hour poking around the area before lining up for a shuttle bus back to the ship via the more modern alternative shopping centre. Big W, Woolworths, Harvey Norman, Jetset Travel were some of the stores there.

 

The poinciana trees and bougainvillea bushes were in full bloom, offering some relief from the bare red dusty areas. Most homes were very basic comprised mostly of corrugated iron though there were newer areas were the homes were a little more modern. Some even had green lawns, a rarity in the area.

 

Waterside parks were very well maintained with lots of shady trees, BBQ’s and play areas.(see photos)

 

It was hot but not unpleasant as the humidity was relatively low. Similar to what we experienced in both Darwin and Bali.

[MicCanberra]

Thanks Gae, I take it that it was quite hot.:D

[gaechann]

Hi all

 

We are now in Geraldton, our 3rd tender port. The seas were too rough to launch the tenders but the local pilot was able to bring us in VERY close to shore so that we could use the tenders.

 

We were a bit astounded to see weeds from the sea-bed floating on top of the water from the stern but guess all is well ???

 

Anyway, back to Bali - here are photos of the restaurant outside of Ubud where we had lunch overlooking the rice fields:

 

 

Ducks in the rice fields:

 

Women working in the fields:

 

Dining pavilions at the back of the restaurant:

 

Here we are - Chris, Gae & Pat:

[MicCanberra]

Good that you could still get close and use the tenders. I am enjoying the review and photos.:D

[gaechann]

After lunch our driver took us to a woodcarvers compound, a VERY rich woodcarvers compound I should imagine judging by the size of it!

 

Here are some young people at work:

 

Temple area of the woodcarvers compound:

 

Kitchen & dining pavilion:

 

One living pavilion - all members of the family have their own separate living / sleeping pavilions. The head of the family with the largest:

[gaechann]

The woodcarver playing his instrument. I did have a video of this but it doesn't seem to have downloaded properly. I'll try again later:

 

Rice fields at the back of the compound owned by the woodcarver:

 

Walking through the grounds of the compound:

 

Yellow coconuts!:

 

Inside his HUGE warehouse:

[gaechann]

Lastly our driver took us to a jungle waterfall. Well it was jungle one side and a little village on the other. It cost us the equivalent of $AUD1 each to enter the private property to view the waterfall:

 

Here we are again in front of the waterfall:

 

Off to the side we saw these school boys who according to our driver had skipped out of school early. We were shocked to see them all smoking - some appeared to only be 8-10 years old!

 

Well, that's it from Bali - next photos will be from Port Hedland when I get to them!

[gaechann]

We had a nice few hours in Geraldton today! Took the $20 shuttle organised by the ship. Visited the HMAS Sydney Memorial, the Cathedral and finally the Maritime Museum.

 

Now sitting in the Champagne Bar sipping a cocktail or two before 6.00 dinner - out LAST night! Boo Hoo!

 

Photos later!

[Hazydavo]

Thanks so much for posting Gae, enjoying!! :D

Enjoy dinner!

Edited November 4, 2014 by Hazydavo

[dizzy1948]

Absolutely fabulous "diary" such a joy to read & see - excellent presentation - new slant on "wish you were here" oh whoops - must rush to the shower - turned a terrible shade of green :D:D:D enjoy your last night - and welcome to Perth - again :)

[MicCanberra]

Absolutely fabulous "diary" such a joy to read & see - excellent presentation - new slant on "wish you were here" oh whoops - must rush to the shower - turned a terrible shade of green :D:D:D enjoy your last night - and welcome to Perth - again :)

 

Yes, we are all enjoying cruising through someone else's trip.;)

[Kate333]

Hi Gae, this is fabulous, DH and I as 1st timers are doing this cruise reversed ie Perth To Sydney, in Feb 2015, it's such a joy to get a preview of what we will experience, got the long flight from London to endure first tho, I'm so excited more so after seeing details of your holiday. Thank You.