24th - 1st MARCH AT SEA
So we eventually left Sydney in the early hours of the 24th after spending 4 days there. Had the most wonderful times exploring on the ferries, buses and on foot. By the time we left there I was absolutely shattered!
We spent a beautiful 3 days at sea in glorious weather ( though a bit windy) recovering on our way to our next stop Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. We sailed past Brisbane and Airlie Beach where we were supposed to have stopped, watching the Whitsunday Islands in the distance as we entered The Great Barrier Reef. Then, on the 3rd day in the afternoon the Captain suddenly announced that due the the sea improving a great deal we are going to attempt to get into Yorkies k*** ( which is the port for Cairns) !! Everybody was so pleased ( well, most of them, you can’t please everyone! ), and we will then miss Papua New Guinea and sail straight to Japan.

27th February
Yorkies Knob, Cairns, Australia
Whoop whoop! We got in! You have to anchor there and get the tenders in and we had to use the big Australian catamarans to ferry us back and forth as we were anchored quite a distance from the shore and it was quite bumpy! All there is where we land is a very lovely Yacht Club and a few houses dotted in the trees.
All the tours were reinstated and we were all set again for our White Water Rafting trip in the afternoon. Got the first tender over and jumped on the shuttle bus that took us 15 minutes into Cairns centre. Never been there before as last time we docked here we went straight out to the GBR.
We loved Cairns, it was so laid back and quiet compared to Sydney with it having trees and flowers everywhere. We wandered along the front and through the gardens, then up through the single storey shops on tree lined roads. The sun was hot with just a few whisky white clouds. Lots of sugar cane fields here and big wide rivers where rather large crocodiles live!
Hopped on the shuttle bus back to the dock as that’s where we had to meet for our trip at 1pm. There wasn’t many of us going, just 15 from the whole ship, but we met some more that had booked in Cairns so in the end there was about 28 of us. We drove out to the Barron River in the rain forest which only took 15 minutes then donned our life jackets, helmets and collected our paddles. We had to help carry our rafts down to the river ( which was a feat in itself!) down a really rocky path and we met our guides who were all young, fit Aussie men and our guide was called Jordan. With the safety procedures over and instructions on paddling and actually staying in the raft we climbed in with 6 people in each and our guide at the back. To say I was a little apprehensive was an understatement as I had seen the river from the road above on our way there and my words were “ Oh my god! I’m going to die!” Sitting on the blown up edge of the raft we paddled out to catch the current to take us down the river. It was then all systems go as we rushed towards the first rapids with our guide shouting instructions to us. The second before we went down we had to bring our paddles in and sit in the base of the raft so as not to fall out... then pop right back up again to frantically paddle ! Easier said than done with water flying over your head and being bounced everywhere. At one rapid we had to have a guide at the front as well as the back as it was quite difficult to get through as they’d had some heavy rain but it was just SO exhilarating and exciting I absolutely loved it! At one point I was stuck in the bottom of the raft with Peter fallen on top of me and couldn’t get up as I got a fit of the giggles!
We went down 4 lots of fast rapids through rocks and boulders and even had a tropical downpour for a few minutes! At the bottom we paddled along a very calm stretch where Jordan told us more about the wildlife and the river and it was just so peaceful and relaxing after the rapids.
Once over we had to get our rafts back up to the trailer and had our photos taken as a group. I can honestly say I had such a brilliant time doing something I’ve had on my wish list for years. The scenery around us was amazing as we were in a deep, tree covered gorge covered in rainforest. I can’t wait to see the photos which were taken by a photographer at various stages all the way down and will be sent to me in a couple of days.
Returned back to the ship and was in bed by 10pm as absolutely shattered!

28th Feb
At sea today but lo and behold... another announcement from our Captain in the afternoon stating we are now going to stop at Rabaul! It will only be for 4 hours in the late afternoon and there will be no ships tours operating just a quick stop for you to have a look round. As there isn’t hardly anything there anyway it won’t take you long! We really don’t know what’s happening from one day to the next on this cruise but it makes it very interesting !!!!!

1st March
AT SEA AND RABAUL, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Opened the curtains to light grey skies and a very wet balcony. Obviously had some heavy rain over night and I could see islands around us. It’s very hot and humid again now as we’re near the equator again. Had our refresher safety drill at 10am then sat out on deck watching out as we cruised through the islands with the sun coming through. Nearly all the islands are uninhabited and covered with jungle and trees. Not that many beaches as they’re mostly volcanic and a few houses dotted here and there on the towering hills but it’s mostly thick jungle everywhere. You can’t actually see many of the houses, just a fine plume of smoke rising up through the trees.
Our pilot boarded at 3.00pm to bring us in and hopefully be ready to disembark at 4pm. Covered ourselves in insect repellent and I wore my long trousers and long sleeved shirt and trainers even though it was extremely hot as this is the only place where we could catch Malaria from.
Once on shore we walked through the small port out onto the main road of Rabaul which us t actually a road but a pot hold track. Lots of ladies with children were sitting by the road side selling bits and pieces, mainly sarongs and hand carved animals and handmade jewellery. Everyone was so friendly and most said hello. A lot of people were giving chocolates and pencils etc to the children as they don’t have much and I had saved up all my packets of cabin biscuits for them. As the adults chewed a nut which grows here they all had red teeth and gums which made them look a bit gruesome! Even though it was 5pm by this time it was still very hot and so humid and we were sweating like mad! Looked in the local supermarket ( which was not only baking but airless too) and walked through the little market before heading back to the air conditioning of the ship. No WiFi anywhere today but not surprising really.
Watched the sail-away as the sun set and next stop is Japan so 5 days at sea.

4th March
So, another day, another unexpected episode for Arcadia! Last night at about 10pm we were informed by the Captain that there was yet another medical emergency and this time a helicopter is coming out to meet us to take the patient off. We rerouted toward Guam as that was the nearest island and at 7 am this morning the helicopter arrived and took the man and his wife off. All the decks were sealed off, swimming pool and jacuzzi emptied and all sun beds and tables removed from the back decks. All the people in the rear facing cabins and the back side cabins had their balcony furniture put in their cabins and at 5 am they had to leave and go to one of the lounges in the centre of the ship until it had left. We’re now back on course and we’re told it shouldn’t impact our arrival time in Japan. Fingers crossed once again that they’re ok.
Weather is still hot and sunny but should start cooling down now as we go up to Japan.