On the Pursuit - The Kimberley Coast, Indonesia & PNG - and a really keen choo-choo train!

[highplanesdrifters]

Up close sea snake. Sweet

[shark b8]

Doncha just love the zodiacs?!   I want one.   😉

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

Sailing away from Montgomery Reef at sunset.  Where shall we go for dinner?

 

[shark b8]

Our first croc sighting.  He seemed to be checking out the ship.

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

It was “Earth & Ocean” night at the Colonnade.  which means…gotta go for that slow-cooked lamb shank, over polenta.  Mmmmmm.

 

[shark b8]

Posting this pic only to highlight the amazing tidal range here.  Obvs all the darker stuff, many meters high up onto the rock above the zodiac, is the water level at high tide.  The tides do weird things in these parts!

 

[shark b8]

Case in point, the “Horizontal Falls”.  At low tide the water rushes through a channel in the rock, to seek an equal level, much like the Montgomery Reef thing.  The zodiacs in these clips look like they’re just floating, but make no mistake, they were bouncing and sliding all over the place, and pretty much at full throttle forward, even though they look virtually stationary.  Just a riot of currents and eddies and whirlpools, with just awesome power.  (First pic is an internet shot, to give you a better overall idea of how it works)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

Several cruises ago, I remember posting first wastebasket photo below, and musing on the design…..other than dramatically lowering the odds that something you throw will actually land inside, what’s the point of the smaller opening?  Well, second pic is the wastebasket in our loo this time.  

 

“Cruisecritic.com - Making The World A Better Place, One Wastebasket at a Time”.      🤭

 

 

 

Edited August 6 by shark b8

[shark b8]

*sigh*

 

 

 

[shark b8]

This was somewhere in mid-Australian outback, but I forgot where.  

 

Edited August 6 by shark b8

[shark b8]

At Kuri Bay we boarded a Grumman Mallard for a short flightseeing trip over the ocean & coast.

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

[shark b8]

Dinner in the Club.

 

 

 

[shark b8]

In the last few days I was going to ask the boss-man in the Colonnade whether there was an Indian Market Dinner in our future.

 

Tonight…..woohoooo!

 

[highplanesdrifters]

Hey @shark b8 - quick question....

Are they still offering  discounts for onboard expedition bookings?

Thanks.

[shark b8]

13 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

….still offering  discounts for onboard expedition bookings?

 

Thought I saw something about that on the Source app but can’t find it now.  I’ll pop by the Sales desk and get an answer.

[highplanesdrifters]

11 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 

Thought I saw something about that on the Source app but can’t find it now.  I’ll pop by the Sales desk and get an answer.

 

You're the jams!  Working on something for my sister who is a solo.  Those discounts make the trips doable when single supplement are 175%.  Thanks. 

 

Good to know they are still doing Indian Market.😃

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

That reef would have been a nice place to go diving.

[BioInfoLib]

In Darwin and so excited to join on Sunday. Shark b8, do you know what’s happening IRT embarkation? My boarding pass says 12:30, but received email saying port won’t let us on until 4:00, but then a number of disappearing alerts that say to get on at assigned time (on boarding pass?) Super confused and don’t want t miss the boat.

[shark b8]

highplanesdrifter….

 

 

[shark b8]

2 hours ago, BioInfoLib said:

In Darwin and so excited to join on Sunday. Shark b8, do you know what’s happening IRT embarkation? My boarding pass says 12:30, but received email saying port won’t let us on until 4:00, but then a number of disappearing alerts that say to get on at assigned time (on boarding pass?) Super confused and don’t want t miss the boat.

 

So here’s the deal.  We received a letter yesterday that stated that all passengers (even if they stay onboard) must disembark the ship in Darwin and go through Customs again, and will be able to re-board the ship between 4:00p and 6:00p.  Wrinkled brows all around, as we’ve never left Australia since sailing, so unsure why there would be a need for another Customs experience.  Anyway, I’m aware that some people want to just go into town for lunch, and some people have a shore excursion that ends around 2:00p, so if that letter is accurate, then those folks are going to have to wait around until 4:00p to re-board.  That's undoubtedly the explanation for the email you got.  I’m assuming that the Customs folks have the upper hand here and will do what they wish.  Presumably that letter supersedes the pre-assigned boarding times….I’ll go by the Square and see if they can clarify things.

[shark b8]

The rep at the Square confirms that everyone, passengers currently onboard and those who will board tomorrow, will only be able to board (or re-board) after 4:00p.  Seems like that might make things a little messy but we shall see.  And I mentioned Customs as the reason, the letter (below) actually says it’s Immigration.  Still think it’s curious to require an Immigration appearance for current passengers when the ship has only sailed within Australia, but what do I know.  🤷‍♂️

 

 

Edited August 10 by shark b8

[shark b8]

Also, for those keeping score, the rep at the Square said there are 80-some folks boarding tomorrow, and 120-some leaving.  So the next leg will not quite be at capacity, as the current one was.

[BasandSyb]

That's not so bad if those who want to remain on board only need debark for 30 minutes for a face to face. However, not fun for newbie who only want to unpack and relax before evening.

 

Perhaps triple time only starts at 4pm 😇

[shark b8]

From the Indian Market Dinner the other night….pretty sure they meant “pakora”.   😂