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Cruise Summary

Sydney – Brisbane 974

Brisbane – Port Douglas 1503

Port Douglas – Darwin 2172

Darwin – Kimberley Coast 757

Kimberley Coast – Broome 567

Broome – Lombok 1252

Lombok – Geraldton 2324

Geraldton – Freemantle 372

Total kilometers 9921

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WEDNESDAY JULY 8 2015. Sydney Today is the start of the cruise that over the last few weeks was so much touch and go. Yesterday we both went to see our respective doctors and were declared o.k. to cruise. We get up at “sevenish”, the breakfast aims to consume the remnants of perishable food. It's a good thing that Jak paid us a visit last night and relieved us of some surplus stuff. The message on my mobile tells me I have a text from Qantas, I download it and we now have the electronic e-ticket, this should simplify the departure process. Our taxi is supposed to pick us up at 8:45 a.m.; at six minutes past nine I pick up the phone to ring them. Aviva stops me just in time. The taxi arrived ten minutes ago and finally decided to enter our driveway. We arrive at Tullamarine and as we are ambling in the Qantas terminal a lady takes us in tow to a standalone console her fingers play on the keyboard and in no time flat she walks us to a set of scale, weighs our luggage tags them and Bobs your uncle! We have never had such a quick check in. On the way to our departure lounge I see a baby about one and

a half year old, he is precariously sitting on a chair and plays with his mothers mobile; no wonder his generation can help mine. I go to visit the washroom and as I turn on the tap it stays in my hand, at this stage I notice that the basin is also cracked! The flight to Sydney is uneventful. On landing we have no difficulty to find the Princess people who are due to provide the coach service to the ship. It's a painfully long process; I guess we are kept waiting for well over an hour. A family group has a senior member affected by Alzheimer's, every

couple minutes he asks what are they waiting for. A lady, I guess his daughter, tells him with infinite patience that the coach will be coming shortly. The Princess people can't tell us what is wrong; eventually we board the bus, we can see our ship; the Dawn Princess. Some passengers start shouting. Luggage has fallen, the diver stops to pick them up. I guess we must be the last coach to arrive; we still have to go through the registration process. I notice that the counter destined to preferential passengers is unmanned and we still need to join the queue, we could not avail ourselves of our just acquired "Platinum" status! We reach our cabin and find that neither of our just issued key-cards can unlock our "state-room" door. Our steward opens the door for us; our small suitcase is waiting for us. The usual evacuation safety training exercise must take place now and we are mustered. Our assembly point is in the casino. We then need to go the reception counter and fresh cards are produced in no time flat. Still no sign of the missing suitcase! We once again familiarise ourselves with the layout of the ship that we have already used a couple of times. The ship departs and everybody is on deck with hundreds of cameras operating. We have a tiny bit to eat. The suitcase has arrived. I think the average age of the passengers has increased since our last cruise! I am sure that both of us also feel older. We enjoy about half an hour of old and contemporary Irish music and singing. We are tired and skip the show tonight. I start writing these notes. It's 10.3pm, time to switch off the light. THURSDAY JULY 9 2015. South Pacific After breakfast in the dining room we study the list of shore excursions and make our selection. It is an exercise that requires balancing available excursions, physical exertion

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and dollars. We manage to make a reasonable selection. The queue for booking is relatively short and we get tickets for all but one excursion, unfortunately it is the one in Broome; the one we most wished to book. We are on the back order list with one person ahead of us! We attend a short presentation on pre-excursion information. Tomorrow our first stop is Brisbane. For lunch we venture in the cafeteria, today half of it is dedicated to Indian cuisine, we give it a miss. Sushi are available to the delight of someone I love dearly. For dinner in the dinning-room we find that two of last night's companions are not with us. One of them did complain about the noise level and ha a hearing problem. The live show tonight is Shimmy, based on the music singing and dancing of the 1970's. Early night 9:40pm. FRIDAY JULY 10 2015. Brisbane

We get up at 7am, the sky is partly overcast and the weather can't seem to make up its mind. We breakfast in the cafeteria. Our excursion is scheduled to start at 11:30. All in all I find it is disappointing; it is divided in two distinct parts; the first one is a coach visit of Brisbane. Usually this sort of visit incorporates some "photo stops", ours does not. Because of the intensity of the traffic it is not possible to slowdown and by the time the description is given by the guide we have well and truly gone. The second part of the excursion last about a couple of hours in a paddle boat on the

Brisbane River; unfortunately this includes lunch. We are sitting at long narrow tables, we are squashed like sardines. The last thing we should have selected is an activity with food. During lunch a guide gives us information but the PA is system is so bad that we can hardly hear the commentary so the passengers start their own discussions this makes it even more in-intelligible. The river is quite wide compared to our tiny Yarra. Quite a number of “Cat” operating regular routes on the river with defined stops; they also have water taxis. Eventually I abandon the dining area and go on the deck. At least the talk is audible, the view much better and the temperature cooler. Nevertheless it gets colder and I appreciate my woollen scarf. It starts raining and we are happy to rejoin the coach. We see a bit more of Brisbane and gladly rejoin the ship. The building industry is booming, the number of high rise buildings staggering. We saw an old historic pub lifted a few meters high on concrete columns to permit building the foundations of the adjacent high rise; eventually it will be lowered to street level. Tonight is Shabbat a very small group is present, about eight or nine, including a three generations group from one English family, they are celebrating the forthcoming 80th birthday of the grandmother. At dinner the numbers at our table has further diminished we are now only four people. The one person show tonight is by

City Drive & River Cruise BNE-200 Approximately 5 hours / From AUD$129.95 Experience the sights and sounds of Brisbane on this half-day excursion. From Eagle Street Pier, you'll board the paddlewheel riverboat Kookaburra Queen for an approximate 90 minute scenic cruise down the Brisbane River. During the ride, enjoy a delicious lunch buffet including hot and cold entrees, salads, fruits, desserts, tea and coffee. Glide past Hamilton Hill and historic Newstead House, Brisbane's oldest surviving residence dates from 1846. View the multimillion-dollar mansions at Norman Park, and cruise through the cultural heart of the city. You'll continue by motorcoach to take in a bird's-eye view of the skyline before heading back to the pier where your ship awaits poised for your next adventure.

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Amber Jade, she is very good, she is a multi musical instrument player who sings and dance. Naturally at the end of the show she is at the door selling her DVD. A light snack a cup of tea and we are in our cabin. SATURDAY 11 JULY 2015. South Pacific We don't seem to be interested to have a sleep-in as we are awake at 7am. After breakfast our first common activity is attending the presentation on Port Douglas and Cairns, I realise that in view of the available time we will have to stick to Port Douglas only. It appears to be quite a small township with tourism as its main activity. The next activity is a quite interesting, a session on digital cameras; I realise that I know precious little about my simple camera. I learn the different setting for optical and digital options, the rule of thirds,... I should really play along with it and read the instructions. The kiwi tutor did a good job, she promised a further two sessions. The photographer team on the ship has 14 members, they attend all functions and a number of excursions. The last activity at 12:30 is quite a bore, the fine art auction. They take far too long to start and are inordinately slow. Lunch outside on the deck, it is still cool but sunny and a number of passengers patronise the swimming pool. Tonight is a "formal" night, all the passengers in the dining rooms are in their Sunday best. We even have a few black ties and a guy in kilt. The menu is more upmarket, with a special chocolate dessert, I have to take a photo of it. We are given a souvenir printed menu. At 7pm the captain officially welcomes all passengers introduces the senior staff, mainly Italians and Scots. Naturally the bubbly flows. The evening closes relatively early after the nightly presentation at the Princess theatre., SUNDAY JULY 12 2015. South Pacific Today we breakfast on the bridge, a pleasant day. The first presentation is a talk about the political manoeuvres of England and Russia during the 19th century; quite interesting but reasonably complex to absorb because of the diversity of action by both countries over many years and the huge geographical area. It is illustrated by maps, drawings, images. The second session is about Thomas Kinkade, the American painter of light. He loved painting happy scenes. A religious person skilled in conveying light, colours, happy scenes, he signed his name and included next to it a number to indicate the number of time the initial of his wife name is hidden in his painting!!! He liked to paint houses with smoking chimneys, indicating the warm homer, open gates indicating access and bridges indicating links. He had four daughters that he frequently included as background people in his paintings. He was born I think in the 1950s, he died young. Apparently he is hugely popular in America. It is claimed that one in four households in the world has a copy of one of his works. I have difficulty in believing this! Silver service afternoon tea. We walk a bit on deck seven and rest much more. All day long we are in sight of the Queensland coast. It is quite sunny but windy and not hot. We give a miss to formal dinner, we are happy with the cafeteria that is not at all congested. The show tonight is by a Maori who draws on sand with his hands on a mirror with the image reflected on a large screen. He is quite extraordinary, he tells you a story and draws an image, modifying it as he tells the story.

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MONDAY JULY 13 2015. Port Douglas The wakeup call for 6.10am rings before six. Quick preparation and breakfast, we are at the appointed assembly point by 7:20, it takes one hour to find ourselves in the tender ready for departure and eventually our coach. Port Douglas is a pretty, small township. The coach guide gives her usual welcome spiel. Because of the tardiness of departure we have to skip the visit to the Kuranda railway station. We board the old fashioned carriages. It took about ten years to build the railway track this was finished in 1891 with very rudimentary equipment on a very harsh terrain. No power tools used just hand tools and explosives. The workforce of about 1500, mainly of Irish and Italian descent, they built 37 kilometres of track, including 15 hand carved tunnels of 1.7 kilometres and 55 bridges, 98 curves. The train was extensively used during WWII to move Australian and American troops setting up facilities for the Coral Sea engagement. At the end of our train trip the bus is waiting for us. We are still in the Kuranda township in its commercial centre with many small stalls and eating places.

The coach drops us close to the Skyrail cable car terminal. We are provided with an extraordinary vista over a period of about an hour. The trip starts with a comparatively mild ascent to Barron Falls, then a steeper ascent to Red Peak and finally a steep descent to Smithfield. All in all cables connecting 33 pylons strung over 7.5 kilometres with 114 gondola cabins designed to carry up to six passengers. The pylons have been lifted in position by helicopters; the tallest one is 40 metres high.

Once again we are late to catch the tender and go back to the ship. We wait and wait and eventually a large twin hull catamaran turns up; it has been chartered by the ship, possibly because of a problem associated with the tide and not enough depth for the ships tenders.

Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, Kuranda & Scenic Railway PTI-110 Approximately 8 hours / From AUD$199.95 Explore magnificent scenery and cultural delights by air, train, and motorcoach. Thrill to a soaring flight over the rainforest's canopy on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Spanning 4 1/2 miles over pristine tropical rainforest, you'll glide above the treetops in a 6-person gondola cabin that also descends through the forest's layers. Then, visit the charming village of Kuranda. Stop into the Visitors Information Center to learn more about the region and the many activities and attractions available to you. Peruse the colorful shops, art galleries, and craft displays. Then treat yourself to lunch at one of the cafés. Your next adventure has you riding the rails! The Kuranda Scenic Railway traverses through the Kuranda Mountains, passing waterfalls, crossing 37 bridges, and traveling through 15 tunnels in the Barron Gorge National Park. The views are incredible! Return to port via motorcoach. Special Notes The train is equipped with bench-style seating and is not air-conditioned. Wear comfortable walking shoes and clothing suited to the day's conditions. Bring a hat, adequate sun protection and insect repellent. Local currency is required for additional purchases including lunch and refreshments. Guests with a fear of heights or suffering from vertigo should consider

their ability to participate in this tour

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Tired, we have a brief collation as we are too late to go to the dining room, so tonight it is the cafeteria dinner for us. We are in our cabin very early. Today was a good day. TUESDAY JULY 14 2015 South Pacific The night was o.k. After breakfast we attend the presentation on Darwin, quite interesting. The temperature is much warmer. I knew that initially Darwin was managed by NSW and later on it came under South Australian direction. I could not remember that the Territorians voted strongly (after our arrival in Australia) against becoming an autonomous state! My second activity was a talk on collecting artworks; this was followed an hour later by the quick art auction, sixty works in sixty minutes. They did abide by the time but we had to add another thirty minutes of preamble and post-amble (assuming there is such a word!). Today we lunch separately. In the afternoon we spend some time relaxing on the chaise-longue on the deck. A bit of walking. The temperature is mildly warm. The onboard pilot that has joined us whilst we navigate between the mainland and the reef talks to the passengers on the PA system and describes the small islands and the lifestyle of the population. About half the population in the Torres Straight is indigenous (not aborigines) they are fishing people. They all have small aluminium crafts, mobile phones, etc. The other half includes a good proportion of government people, they provides schools, medical facilities, etc. The onboard television programs broadcast every day about six plus hours of the "Love Boat" TV series as it was filmed on the company's ships and this year they are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the company. The aficionados can purchase a DVD of the series. WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2015. South Pacific It's grey, overcast and windy. Checked incoming e-mails and responded. Deleted a bundle of junk mail and a bundle of non-junk-unimportant e-mails. At 11am I go to the second session of the digital photography course. She is good, this time she is talking about features that my camera does not possess. Still one picks up a few bits and pieces. For lunch we ignore the cafeteria and opt for the pizza restaurant. It is pleasant, quite and uncluttered. One o'clock and we both go the presentation on the life of the Torres islanders. They have a deeply religious life style living more or less at the expense of the government. They do not crave for a materialistic lifestyle. Little work is available but they can easily live of the sea. The population number is stable as a number of them go to the mainland as the area can't sustain a larger population. They are racially different from the aborigines of Australia and the Melanesian from Papua-New Guinea. They unfortunately are afflicted by a very high incidence of diabetes and have an average life span of under fifty years. The diet is terrible as they have moved away from traditional foods to processed food. A child aged 6 or 8 is reputed not to have ever drunk water; he transitioned from breast milk to Coca Cola. The after dinner show is by a Mexican singer-dancer, she is quite good and sang in English, Spanish and French. THURSDAY 16 JULY 2015. Darwin We arrive in Darwin at about 10am, it takes us a fair while to position the gangway in place, this is done by the port authorities, then the crew improves the safety and cleans the handrail. An ambulance is waiting on the pier, somebody must have a problem. Priority is given to the passengers booked on morning excursions so we wait as we have no early booking. Eventually we disembark and take a walk in Darwin. My watch has stopped working and I am lost. It is a pretty town, it has been reconstructed after WWII bombardments and after cyclone Tracey. Some of the more substantial partly destroyed buildings remain as memorials. Since our last visit about twenty years ago a substantial

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growth has taken place including a good number of high rise apartment buildings. A safe beach has been established with protection from sharks, crocodiles and jellyfish, it is surrounded by a grassed area and children playground facilities. We return to the Dawn Princess for lunch and a rest before our excursion. The coach takes us to visit the city centre, Parliament House, old style homes built on pylons with large louvered windows. Since the Tracy cyclone the buildings are far more substantial with small windows to minimise cyclone impact and consequently they are harder to cool down. We are told about the old Fanny Bay gaol; apparently it was badly managed with some prisoners absconding at night for part time jobs. A prisoner working night shift at a local service station was recognised by one of the wardens! We end our visit at Darwin museum; this is really a miniature gallery with emphasis on Northern Australian works. We board the ship with about 160 new passengers including a large contingent that arrived on the Ghan. On board we are greeted by a P.A. announcement from the captain informing the passengers that a substantial number of people have contracted bouts of gastro infection. Affected people are required to contact the medical centre and remain in their cabin, all passengers are enjoined to take appropriate precautionary steps. In our cabin’s letter box we find the following message.

Scenic City Drive DRW-290 Approximately 2.5 hours / From AUD$69.95 Board your motorcoach and travel down the esplanade, hearing tales of the city's history as you proceed through old Darwin. Your excursion begins at the pier where you'll board your air-conditioned motorcoach and ride down the esplanade while your guide provides a history of the city as you proceed through old Darwin. Your route takes you past Darwin's historic buildings, including the Joss House, Government House, and the former Admiralty House. Continue on your tour, and pass the Botanical Gardens a brief stop at the Northern Territory Museum, and view the Old Fannie Bay Gaol en route to East Point.

Child Price

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DAWN PRINCESS HEALTH ADVISORY

Dear Princess Cruises Passenger, Further to the Captain’s announcement, I would like to advise you that unfortunately today, we have seen an increase in the number of reported cases of gastrointestinal illness which are strongly suggestive of Norovirus. We have been informed that Norovirus is circulating widely throughout Australasia and we suspect that the virus may have been inadvertently introduced on board. Norovirus, as you are now aware is extremely contagious and is easily transferred person-to-person, especially if meticulous attention is not paid to personal hygiene. In order to interrupt the spread of this illness, we have proactively initiated an extensive sanitation program on board which was developed in conjunction with the Australian Health Authorities. You are likely to notice evidence of these additional measures around the ship. It is critical that excellent standards of personal hygiene are maintained by all on board, as the agent is easily spread by touching surfaces such as handrails, door handles and elevator buttons. I once again urge you to follow all of the health precautions described below:

To prevent person to person spread, pleasure ensure that you wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap for at least 20 seconds and rinse them well under running water. Please ensure that you follow this procedure every time you use the toilet, after coughing or sneezing and before eating, drinking, or smoking. Avoid touching your mouth.

Please attempt to always use your own stateroom’s bathroom facilities.

In addition to hand washing, please also use the alcohol hand gels where available and before eating in the buffet.

Should you experience any symptoms of vomiting or diarrhoea, please return to you stateroom and report this immediately contacting the Medical Centre by dialling 911.

The health and safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance to us and we thank you for your continued efforts to help us eradicate this illness. Yours faithfully Dr. Grant Tarling Chief Medical Officer. Naturally this further reminder instils a note of apprehension and we redouble vigilance. After dinner I buy a watch as mine has stopped. I am lucky as I would have paid about the same amount of money in Melbourne for a battery and in this instance I also get a pen and a card holder. A couple of good comedians to close the day. FRIDAY JULY 17 2015 South Pacific Breakfast in the Venetian dining room, the topics of discussion are:

The killing of marines in the USA, apparently by American extremists.

The infection that is still affecting life on our ship.

The charge of thirty five US dollars for the Indonesian visa, for every passenger is being charged a visa fee by the Indonesian authorities; wether they land or remain on board. For our ship this amounts to about US$70,000, that is A$96,000. Not a bad earn but what intrigues me is why don’t we get charged in the local currency?

We listen to the presentation on the Broom township. It is situated ten kilometres from the pier and a free shuttle is available. It has quite a colourful history, initially the activities revolved around the harvesting of shells used for the production of buttons; the discovery of plastic killed this business and it transformed itself into a pearl industry. The labour was

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significantly provided by Malays, Aborigines, Japanese. Women were for a time considered as superior because it was assumed they had greater lung capacity. The divers using heavy and cumbersome gear including metal proved to be a boom for a number of years. After legislation introducing the "white Australia" policy was proclaimed the pearling industry pressured the government to tolerate foreign pearl divers based in Broom. The Japanese community was in an awkward position when Darwin and Broom were bombarded. The latest transformation for Broom is the growth of the tourism industry. Our inability to secure excursion tickets may not be a disaster as the shuttle should drop us in the middle of Broom; if we are lucky we could catch a bus to the famous white sand Cable Beach. The next presentation is on the Kimberly coast, here again I know nothing about it except that the presenter (a ticketed captain) spends more time talking about himself then about the coastal area we are due to sail tomorrow. Both theatres are over filled and we spend some time on deck viewing a simultaneous telecast of three Italian singers. SAT URDAY JULY 18 2015. Kimberley scenic cruising Indian Ocean Our wakeup call rings at 5:45am and in no time we are rugged up and on deck. The coast line is still dark with a faint luminosity behind the cliffs. At the announced time 6:04am the sun peers above the cliff tops. The bridges are crowded. After half an hour or so we are overfilled with scenery and we find our way to the cafeteria together with hundreds of passengers. At 7:30am, teeth brushed, we plan our day; what do we do today? Where do we meet? etc. We have a presentation on the Gallipoli campaign. The 18 members of the Jewish community have a Shabbat lunch appointment. The two of us are from Melbourne, about four from WA, about ten from UK, some from NSW. Once again I am identified as South African. Somehow it was found necessary to have a group photo; more than likely we will never see each other again. The maitre’d, has organised three adjoining tables for us. A plate of herring rollmop and a plate of egg salad together with the leftover “hala” from last night. The blessings for wine and bread are said. Because of us the printed menu offered to all passengers includes latkes! Jewish but inappropriate. All but one at our table feel compelled to order the latkes. Real relaxing day. In the evening we attend a second show by two comedians / singers / harmonica players. They are good. SUNDAY JULY 19 2015. Broome I wake up and the ship is already at anchor. Our plan is to leave the ship early so I go the bathroom, I shave, I am ready to dress and have breakfast; Aviva asks me what am I doing. It is 4:45am, I misread the cluttered dial of my new watch! I go back to bed and

sleep. By the time we wakeup it is still early in the morning. The weather is good, the forecast is for 28 degrees C. A free shuttle coach is provided for the passengers. We are dropped in the centre of Broome. The township is in large part dependant on tourism. All buildings are low, the streets are very wide. The buildings are widespread. The coach ride shows extensive mudflats on the edge of the sea; they will disappear in a few hours as the tide is quite substantial, about nine meters at

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this time of the year. The port handles tens of thousands of heads of cattle each year. Some years ago when this trade was interrupted for political reasons the cattle had to be transported to Victoria for processing. What a waste. Many baobab trees are growing in the gardens and streets. We visit the Sunday market that covers a significant area covered with tents and trade is in jewellery, paintings, printed t-shirts, takeaway food,.. We depart to visit the famous Cable beach with its white sands, it is a beautiful beach with umbrellas and banana lounges available to all and a nice grassed areas. It derived its name in the late nineteenth century as it was the very point were the underwater cable connecting Australia to Great Britain. For a non beach lovers I could have stayed much longer. This visit, Aviva tells me, allows her to tick off an item on her "bucket list". The trip to the beach takes about fifteen minutes and costs the princely amount of two dollars for Seniors, the regular price is four dollars. We both walk on the sand! We have cappuccinos in a lovely restaurant. The township population increases significantly at this time of the year, that is during the winter months. A number of caravan parks are well patronised. The arrival of tourist ships significantly increased the population and consequentially trade. As we leave we see a couple of long columns on camels being marched to the beach for the benefit of tourists. Back in Broome we walk through what used to be the Chinese area; it is now a collection of traditional shops for the local population and also naturally shops for tourist. Many jewellery shops selling the local pearls. A car yard trades under the name “Broome Broom”. On our way back to the coach we receive a call from Karen (after our unsuccessful attempt to ring the three children); she tells us that this morning, in Melbourne the temperature reached zero degrees! We return for lunch on the Dawn Princess. Laundry day. For dinner our table of ten is seriously depleted, tonight we only have four. After dinner we go and listen to a comedian who has just joined us in Broom. Not as good at last night’s comedians. In the course of the show he tells us his mother is French and he says a few sentences in French. On the way out after the show he is promoting his DVD. I ask him in French if he is fluent in the language, we chat for a moment and to my astonishment, he asks if I come from Egypt! It is obvious he must know people from the old country. After the evening show, because of the low tide we are still in port, people on deck are leaning on the handrail, we can see dolphins along the side of the ship; a passenger points at something and tells me it's a small shark; I can't see a thing. MONDAY JULY 20 2015 Indian Ocean Today is a "sea day" but we are still up reasonably early. Breakfast in the dining room, so much more civilised. We attend the Lombok (a bit over 3.2 million people) presentation and its confirmed in my mind that we will be very far from Australia. The recommendations are: if you buy a bottle of water ensure that the seal is intact, if you negotiate a return taxi fare don't pay upfront; it's preferably to pay at the end, or at worst pay a deposit but not more than half. Don't eat food of unknown source. Keep your jewellery on board. If you go to the beach don't leave valuables visible. Ladies beware this island is predominantly Muslim so it is desirable to be adequately covered, perhaps even with a scarf. Definitely do not hire a vehicle if you don't have an international license, you will be stopped and fined (“they have to live” she tells us). Don't be late the ship will not wait for you. Although very close to Bali (predominantly Buddhist) this island is very different, tourism has not yet made a strong presence. In essence be careful, be covered, be hydrated). I attend a session on modern artists. It started with Rembrandt who apparently painted not only the physical appearance of people but the personality; this did not always satisfy the people who commissioned him to paint them. Pablo Picasso was the initiator of this new trend of painting; he was followed by Claude Monet and a string of others.

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We watch a film at night on deck on the big screen " movie under the stars" Women of Gold, with Helen Mirren, quite good except that some of the dialogue is in German and the subtitles far too small to be readable. TUESDAY JULY 21 2015. Lombok

We are up before the scheduled wakeup call. After breakfast the ship having stopped we are on deck and realise that the humidity is quite strong. The boarding process for the tenders is quite long. The passenger queue stops in front of the medical centre for a while whilst waiting for the next craft. We can see that it is a quite busy reception area with nurses and

doctors flitting in and out. The tender takes about twenty minutes. Crew members and port authorities help us to disembark. A local orchestra is sitting on the ground, the welcome music starts; they are all dressed in folk attire, the tune is repetitive. Police is present including a female officer wearing the black headscarf. We board one of the three or four busses all heading to the same destination. Our local guide speaks a broken English that is not a hundred percent understandable but is nevertheless good enough. He gives a running commentary along the way. In no particular order: The population of Lombok island is about 3.4 millions. Lombok is one of the 34 provinces comprising Indonesia, Lombok from an education point of view, is near the bottom in 33rd position. I remember whilst at a Ramset meeting with our main representative from Indonesia; we were told that they have as many educated people in Indonesia as in Australia, with the same qualifications, education, standards, wealth; but they also have a lot of poorer people. Education is not fully funded by the state. Children at a fairly young age start contributing to the family's income. They work in the fields, work at craft items. The number of mosques is unimaginable, he tell us over 1000 in Lombok, many of them appear to be new or in construction, or renovation. They are see-through structures characterised by minarets, columns, roofs and few walls; this facilitates ventilation. Saudi Arabia and the Indonesian government are the major contributors. Religious schools are visible. Many young women wear head scarves; apparently in the bigger cities this is not as prevalent. There is a national language but also many differed regional languages within the one province. Apparently nearly all adults have a motorbike. We can see many motorcycles, each with a couple of adults and as many children. The wearing of helmets is compulsory but nevertheless not widely used! An average monthly salary for a teacher is about $30, this is not enough and everybody also derives some further income from other activities. A good salary is about $70. All the tourism sites we visit are Buddhist or Indian sites, they represent a minority of the population. The Muslims are the significant and visible majority with no attempt for us to visit a mosque! Only five religions are

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authorised, Muslim, Catholics, Protestants, Hinduism, Buddhism. Garbage collection is minimal and the population does not seem to care. Lots of Saudi people are moving in but do not mingle with the locals as they are not considered orthodox enough. First Stop the temple of Lingsar built in 1744 it is in poor condition with broken paths and tiles. Hordes of children descend on us offering trinkets. What misery! Buddhists and Hindus attend but also some Muslims. Second Stop the Majura Water Palace. It is built on a platform in the middle of a large basin, it has a roof, columns and no walls. Access is by a stone/concrete path barely over the water and guarded by two small old Dutch canons. Because of the low access path hardly visible from a distance it gives the impression of gliding over the water. Third Stop lunch at the Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort. It is a lovely resort, a very large grassed area has been set aside for us with a huge white tent, white covered chairs and tables and two long buffets. A few musicians play. It looks like if the place has been prepared for a wedding. It reminds me of the Fiji resort we visited a few years ago. The lunch comfortably satisfies the needs of all the passengers from our 4 or 5 busses. They have even provided bathrooms in two of the hotel suites with non-indigenous toilets; however this number is totally inadequate. Fourth Stop a craft village. We arrive and the rain increases from marginal to significant. Aviva gets a good soaking. The women villagers weave, at home beautiful cotton sarongs and other items. They are sold by a the village at the cooperative we visit. They make beautiful and colourful work on primitive equipment. A few of them are working in the showroom to demonstrate how it is done, they do not use patterns. The guide tells us he is Muslim, I ask him if the prayers are written in Indonesian, no they must be written in Arabic. I ask him if he can read it, he assures me he can. I scrawl in Arabic on a scrap of paper the traditional words:

.In the name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم He is astonished that I can write it; he asks me if I am Muslim, no, Arab, no. It is easier to say I am French, so I say it. It is his turn to astonish me as he responds in broken French. He tells me there are no French teachers in Lombok; he is self thought following discussions with French guides. By the time we arrive at the dock to board the Dawn Princess the rain has stopped but the humidity is still high. We are lucky as both of us are the last to board the departing tender. After dinner whilst we are in the theatre, the captain makes an announcement that a swell has hit the ship and corrective action has taken place, things are now in order and officers are checking the ship to ensure that everybody is o.k. At the time we did not think that this was such a strong event shock however when we open our cabin we instantly see that the double bedside table has tipped over and a number of drawers are emptied and have fallen on the floor. Lucky that the steward is still in the corridor and he helps us to fix the mess.

Lingsar Temple, Mayura Water Palace & Craft Village AMI-100 Approximately 8 hours / From AUD$119.95 A full day of Lombok highlights makes this a favorite among tourists. Your first stop is Sayang Sayang Market. Here, you'll witness everyday life as locals haggle for fresh fish, meats, fruit and produce. Next is Lingsar Temple, an important symbol of unity among the island's faiths. Lingsar is famous for a pool of water in the Wektu Telu area, sacred to the deity Vishnu. The pool is home to eels that feed on hard-boiled eggs tossed to them by worshippers. Your next destination is Mayura Water Palace, an open-sided hall that sits in the middle artificial lake. You will stop at a hotel in a peaceful resort area for a delicious buffet, then drive to Sukarare, a craft village renowned for its songket, a colorful, hand-woven silk or cotton brocade often embellished with metallic fabrics. After free time to shop, you'll call it a day and return to the pier. Special Notes Bring local currency for purchases. Wear comfortable tropical clothing and walking shoes. Bring a

hat, sunglasses and adequate sun protection.

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WEDNESDAY JULY 22 2015. Indian Ocean At breakfast we learn that the list that occurred last night created some problems in the dining room with piles of plates, bottles and glasses tumbling down and soaked tablecloths.

The chief engineer gave a talk at 10am. The budget annual fuel bill for the Dawn Princess is $17 million dollars. The fuel consumption of the ship is about 55 feet to the gallon! He estimated that the tilt of the ship last night would be about ten degrees. He was pleased to answer a

question about this event because it meant that he won a $50 bet that there would be a question on the subject. He explains that the tilt would have been caused by the rush of water in an underwater narrow channel. At 12:30 we lodge our custom declaration for our re-entry in Australia; this should speed up the process. The Australian authorities would have boarded in Lombok at about the same time as the Indonesian departed after having boarded in Broome. A quiet day at sea. Tonight the third and final formal evening, a jacket and shoes are essential accoutrement this evening. The captain thanks all the passengers and again apologises for last night incident. I wonder if there is some guilt that could be attributed to the shipping line. Complimentary drinks are handed out by waiters. The show tonight is a husband and wife team, instrumentalists, singers, dancers. She is the leading member. THURSDAY JULY 23 2015. Indian Ocean It's grey it's cold it's windy, the deck is moving! We attend the presentation for tomorrow's Geraldton excursion, it seems to be a one horse town. On the screen the views of the surrounding area of Greenough township that we are due to visit are magnificent; we are likely to only see the renovated remnants. The daily newsletter has announced sales in the onboard shops. We have to buy a few things. As usual a substantial amount of clothing promoting Princess Cruise various ports of call.

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This cruise appears to have a larger proportion of passengers with mobility issues. We can see a large number of passengers with walking sticks, walking frames, wheelchairs and even motorised scooters. I attend the last art auction. The entertainment tonight is provided by a singer/comedian; not bad. FRIDAY JULY 24 2015 Geraldton Today we are having our last excursion from the port of Geraldton. The process of disembarking from the lounge were we are mustered to the tender is atrociously managed. A large number of passengers is queuing in the staircase for far too long before being allowed to board the craft. We should have been allowed to wait comfortably in the lounge instead of standing on the stairs. The ideal solution from my uninitiated perspective is that we should have more tenders operating from both sides of the ship. Finally we board the coach and our guide describes the township in glowing terms; it is quite pretty and although comparatively old by Australian standard housing is modern. The first stop is at the Greenough Wildlife and Bird Park. Our guide lives and works there. She is obviously dedicated to her work. She walks around the park with an albino baby kangaroo that would not be able to live in the wild. She is dedicated to rescuing animals that are hurt. The park has a collection of goats, sheep, snakes, crocodiles, etc.... Even a camel. After awhile we rejoin the coach and drive to the Central Greenough Historical Settlement; a collection of old buildings that are now classified, they include two churches (Catholic and Protestant) a school, police station,.... We are offered tea/coffee and scones, much better then what the ship provides. It is obvious that a lot more money is needed to enhance the attractiveness of the place. In the school classroom we can take a copy of the test paper for students in the “1898 elementary school bursary examination”. An extract of some of the questions asked in the two page paper. We now change our guide and are on our way back to Geraldton. A photo stop to view the trees that grow parallel to the ground, a variety of reasons are offered for this phenomenon. The guide offers us an unscheduled stop at the HMAS Sydney Memorial;

Penmanship and English

Write in large hand: The everlasting hills.

Write in small hand: The flora of Western Australia is beautiful.

Give the past tense and past participle of the following verbs: Write Talk Cut Sing Have

Arithmetic

If 450 people wanted to travel a journey of 250 miles at three-farthing a money, what

would all the fares amount to?

How many hours from 9 o’clock am on the 1st June to 7 o’clock on the 30

th June?

History

What countries were engaged in the Crimean war? Name any battles that took polace

during the war. How did Miss Nightingale come in to prominence?

Whom did Queen Victoria marry? Give a short sketch of hid character,

Geography

Draw a map of Africa indicating the chief rivers and the portions of the continent

forming part of the British Empire

Greenough & Wildlife GET-220 Approximately 3 hours / From AUD$139.95 Special Notes Wear warm-weather clothing and comfortable flat-soled shoes. Bring a hat, sunglasses and adequate sun protection. Tour prices reflect the need to reposition

motorcoaches from Perth.

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the ship was sunk by the German ship Cormorant with the loss of the whole crew, 645 members. This was during WWII, the memorial is stunning. The German ship was also destroyed later. It is only fairly recently that the wrecks of the two ships were discovered and following that the memorial was constructed. We are again lucky, as soon as we arrive at the wharf we board the tender and the trip seems to be much shorter than in the morning. On board after a brief rest we start packing the suitcases. Tonight is our last Shabbat and we are joined by the small Jewish contingent. At the last dinner we are surprised that we only have one passenger at our table! After dinner the final show "Save the last dance". A good standard. After the show a cup of tea and a very small desert. Final packing and it's bedtime. SATURDAY JULY 25 2015 Fremantle That's it, the cruise is completed, when we wake up we are docked in Fremantle. Within minutes we are ready for breakfast. On our way to the cafeteria our steward asks if he can start working on our cabin, this is well before the official exit time. Not a problem. When we return we realise that the configuration has changed; it now has a double bed and the side drawers are quite difficult to access. For me breakfast is far less substantial than usual. The lifts are full. We are at our appointed assembly area for a few minutes and we are directed to the exit point, we have our ship card scanned for the last time. The luggage retrieval and customs formalities are expeditious. I am always amazed by the logistic off handling large numbers of people. The shipping line can rapidly disgorge a couple of thousand people with luggage; 33 different baggage tags, 33 different groups of people, coming from three meeting sites, must connect to the baggage and go at different times in

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different places (Perth city, airports, hotels, taxis, and some people rejoin the ship for another cruise) and this is but the beginning in a few short hours they clean the ship, load fuel and supplies and be ready to smilingly greet another load of passengers. Our coach is taking us to the airport, it's Saturday morning with little traffic. At the airport we successfully generate luggage tags and boarding passes without help. The flight back home is long and I can't be bothered to check what's on the movies program. I browse the Qantas in-flight publication, it's amazing the publicity for watches: Cartier, IWC Schaffhaussen, A Lance & Sohne, Hublot, Patek Philippe, Mont Blanc, Oris, Raymond Weil, Baume & Mercier, Seiko, Rolex. I am getting bored and start reviewing these lines in the plane. Finally we land at Tullamarine, we are a bit early; we ring David. It is cold and windy, a couple of minutes later David and Adam arrive and we are soon back home. Thanks David. The first thing I do at home is switch on the heater.

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