A quick stop in Newcastle

 Newcastle is a small town about an hour from Sydney.

If you have read my posts from my first contract you will remember that the last time I was here my sister was going to school in the town at that time.

This time I wandered the town, eventually finding my way down to the beaches.

The sand was great, and the weather was nice, but the water was very cold, and looking at the waterline, there were a lot of bluebottle jellyfish, also known as Portuguese man-o-war, washed up on the shore.  So swimming was a no go that day.

Knobby Beach is at the end of the town, and is a long beach with pretty good looking waves.   This was my last stop before I had to head back for the ship.

On the was back a paraglider sailed in over my head, and made a easy landing on the beach.  It looked like a fun way to see the town, but I am not sure I would enjoy the ride as much.

I was going to end my day with a chicken burger at my sisters favorite spot, Oporto, but it looked like that was not to be, as the Oporto in Newcastle was closed down.

Sydney Harbour Sail-in From Two Views

Sydney Harbour is one of the most beautiful sail-in's of all the places I have been.  

We arrived in Sydney late in the morning, so waling up for this one was easy.

The last time I sailed into Sydney we were going into drydock at the naval base and arrived at 6am.

This time we were also going to the Naval base but just docking normally.

To enter the harbour there is a narrow opening between cliffs on either sides.
But from a long way out you can see the towers of the city and the Harbour Bridge.

Along the way in you pass many small beaches and many ships and boats going to one place or another.

Our dock was a little way out of the main part of town, but we had a good view of the Opera House and the Bridge.
The Harbour Bridge was built in the 1930's and smartly designed with the future in mind.  It had many lanes for traffic, and up until this year it was still the widest in the world.  Only just passed by the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver.

We overnighted in Sydney, and in the evening we moved to Circular Quay, the dock in the main part of town after the other ship that was there left port.
Because of that I got to witness something very rare for me.
My ship sailing into port and docking without me on it.

A ate dinner in a restaurant with a view of the opera house, and watched as my ship left the naval base and sailed around the bay and into dock.

It was funny to watch all the crew and guests walking around the decks and then be able to call and talk to my co-workers on the ship, and wave to them from land.

How could you not want to live here

 Tauranga, New Zealand.  One of my favorite ports of all the ones I have gone.

"How could you not want to live here" was a phrase often said by friend of mine whom I worked with on my first contract.

Tauranga is the gateway to Rotorua, which I went to many times on tours.  Going whitewater rafting 3 times, zorbing once, and a couple more to Maori villages, and viewing the hot springs of the area.

This time I didn't have the chance to get to Rotorua, but I was still able to walk around town.

Tauranga has an amazing long beach that is capped with a small hill called Mt. Maunganui.

Its a nice spot to climb up, but today I didn't have time so I just walked to the base then along the beach.

The sail away goes out a small inlet between Mt. Maunganui. and another stretch of land meaning that the tides determine when the ship must sail so the currents are not to large.

Bungee Jumping in New Zealand

Having arrived in the country that invented bungee jumping, it was only fitting that my first bungee jump would be there.

I had actually wanted to do this on my first contract 4 years ago, but I was not able to due to our ship having to leave early on the last time I was in Auckland.

This time I booked it far in advance, and a couple of friends were keen to go as well.

They picked us up from the pier by the ship in the morning, and took us to the bridge to get geared up.

The Auckland Bridge Bungee is the worlds first harbour bridge bungee, and it is a 40 meter jump.

Its far from the longest in the world which is in Macau and is 233 meters.

First we walked along the catwalk under the bridge until we got to the pod underneath that was the jumpsite.

There were about 12 people who were jumping, and they went according to weight, from heaviest first.
The first guy to go was not happy about having to jump first and we all got a laugh from that.   Nobody wants to be first for something like that.

There are a bunch of different ways to jump.  Backwards, running start etc.  But for a first jump you usually go traditional frontwards.

But this is also the scariest, because you have to walk to the edge of the platform and then look down to were you are going to jump to.

I made a point to not look down until after the pictures were taken.

They give you a countdown 3...2..1 Bungee!  and you have to jump.
None of our group that day hesitated, which is good because I think if you do it will be a lot harder to jump.  You just need to go for it.

My jump was pretty freaky, and I yelled the whole way down.   The bungee doesnt kick in until near the end so you feel the water coming at you fast the whole way.

I also had a couple on a jetski watching me as I jumped, they were also yelling something to me, but I never heard it over my own yelling.

The whole thing is over very fast, but it is a big rush.

Now that I have bungee jumping out of the way, its on to skydiving.

Total Solar Eclipse Over the South Pacific

A very unique opportunity from last cruise was the seeing a total solar eclipse.

This eclipse was only visible from the north of Australia, and the rest was across the pacific ocean.  So we were among the very few to witness the event.

This was going to be my first eclipse.  On our ship there was a large group of eclipse watchers.  Some of the people in the group had seen over a dozen eclipses before.

The people in the group were very helpful in getting info and tips about what to do during the eclipse.

The ship provided everyone with the special glasses you need to be able to look at the sun during the early phases.
But I was also able to get a special filter made for my cameras so I could take pictures of the sun as well.

The detail I got with my camera was really impressive.

In the early phases you can see the sun spots, the dark spots on the suns surface.

This is the sun just before it is totally covered.  Called the diamond ring effect.

The time of totality (where the sun is totally covered by the moon) lasted about 3 and a half minutes.

Here is a picture of the ocean at totality.  It looks like a sunset in the middle of the day.

The whole event took about 3 hours, from first contact to last.   It was an amazing experience, I was very lucky to be able to see it.

Fire Walkers of Fiji

Our final island stop of the on Pacific crossing was in Fiji.  

I wish we had more time in this port but we only were docked until 1pm.

I was able to get onto a tour so I was able to see some of the island on the drive to a spot where we saw a cultural show and fire walking.

The fire walkers were supposed to be from a special tribe that a spirit gave the power over fire.

They walked upon white hot stones that were heated under a fire.

Afterwards they performed a war dance, similar to a Haka.

In one of the shops I saw a Engine Order Telegraph,  an original in nice condition.  I have been trying to buy a similar copy on ebay for a while, and I was surprised to see one in Fiji

During our sail-away there were 2 of these ships in port.
I looked them up afterwards.  It turns out they are Chinese Military, used to track satellites, and missiles.

I got some pictures of the crew, none were wearing military uniforms.  I wonder what they were doing in Fiji.

The sail away always uses a local pilot to guide the ship out of port.  In this port there were very few navigational buoys,  and there was a large shallow reef far out of the port,  so it was a tricky sail out I would bet.

 There were signs of ships that didn't do so well.   But we made it out and were on our way south, in 2 days we were going to see a total solar eclipse.

We'll be skipping that day

Another interesting part of this cruise is the crossing of the international date line.

We went from November 10 to November 12.   The 11 was a skipped day.

It works out well going west, we get paid for a day we didnt have.  Going the other day not so good.  Unless your birthday is on that day, then you get it twice.

Nothing like being a time traveler

Pago Pago, American Samoa

Land Ho!!!

After 5 days at sea, we finally returned to land. With a one day stop in American Samoa.

A few of us took a taxi around the island, stopping along the way to take picutres, and then stopping at a beach bar restaurant.

The island was really beautiful, with cool rocks and big waves.

The bar we stopped at was in a beautiful spot right on a small seculded beach

A great spot to enjoy a beer, watch the waves and then go for a swim.

Too bad we could only stay for such a short lengh of time.

Crossing the equator

Earlier in this cruise we crossed the equator heading south.

While I am not a "pollywog"  (naval term for a person who has not sailed over the equator), as I have crossed now 3 times. I still find the experience interesting.

The tradition is that Shellbacks (sailors who have crossed the equator) are to put the pollywogs through an ordeal or punishment of some sort to initiate them as Sons of Neptune.

On our ship this was done to some of the Officers, and managers, by King Neptune.  Mostly covering them in food (pie in the face etc) and then throwing them into the pool.

Quatchi looking for the red line of the equator.

When I first crossed the equator in 2008 I had my GPS with me and was able to tag a very close 00.00.00 location.

This time I did not, but my new camera does have a GPS and was able to get a picture pretty close to the equator.

Surfing Waikiki beach.

Waikiki beach is probably the most famous beach in Hawaii.

It is also a popular surfing beach, because it is good for beginners but also gives a good ride due to the way the waves break on the beach.

2 friends and I went to the beach and got a 1 hour lesson.

I had surfed before in Mexico, but the others had not.

I did quite well, and was standing and catching waves very quickly.

The beach is very busy with surfers, and you need to be careful of where you are so that you dont get in another surfer's way when they are on a wave.
I even saw a lady with a dog riding the front of the surfboard.


It was really fun to be out there on the surf, I wish I had more time, and had just rented a board, so I didnt feel like I needed to catch every good wave, so I could relax and rest more in between each wave.

On my last wave I saw a big sea turtle swim under my board and in between the person next to me.

Sunset over Waikiki after I finished surfing.

Another great day in Hawaii.

Halloween in Lahaina

For my second day in Maui I just walked around town a bit.

This day happened to be Halloween.

Halloween in Lahaina is a big deal with a big parade and party that attracts 20,000+ people to the town.

During the day I did a bit of shopping, and just about every person working in the shops was wearing a cool costume.

As the day went on I started to see many other people in costumes.

At around 3pm they close the main street for the parade, which starts at 5pm.  And then at night the whole street becomes a big party.

Unfortunatly we had to be back to the ship to sail at 5pm so I didnt get to see the parade.

A funny shirt I saw, those T-shirt makers work fast

 There was just time for a quick stop at the beach before I had to be back to the ship.

A return to memories from yesterday

We were in Maui for 2 days.

Maui was the first Hawaiian Island I visited a long time ago.

I have many great memories from Maui, and one of them was from a beach called Big Beach.  Also called Makena Beach.

This was the first place I tried boogie boarding, and even after getting thrown around by the very large waves of that beach, I loved it from the start.

The first day our ship docked in Maui I was all set to take a big group down to Big Beach.

Unfortunately we had a bit of a setback at first, as there were no cars to rent to get us there.

The beach is a bit far from where the ship was.  But after a bit of scrambling around we found a taxi van, and driver willing to stuff 8 of us into the taxi, and we were on our way.

We all had great fun playing in the waves. Body surfing, and all that stuff.

I even brought back an old favorite of building a sandcastle near the water and watching it get destroyed by the waves.

I also did some snorkeling and saw a large sea turtle, which I was able to follow for a few mintues before he went around the point near the rocks so I had to let him go.

The day was really fun, everyone enjoyed the beach, and it lived up to my memories from 15 years ago.