Sunday, June 2, 2024
Today, we begin our visit to the Kimberley, which is the trip’s theme.
The seas again became choppy overnight as we crossed the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf west of Darwin. To give us time to complete the trip from Darwin, we spent the morning listening to lectures on birds and the geology of the Kimberley and headed out to visit King George Falls in the afternoon.
After lunch, we boarded one of the Zodiac boats for King George Falls, which was about a 3-hour round-trip ride with some narration stops. The early part of the ride was a bit choppy, but it settled down as we approached the coast. At one of the stops early on, we were fortunate to see a rock wallaby, which is notoriously shy. We also saw a couple of peregrine falcons, which are said to be the fastest animals.
The sides of the canyon on the way to the falls are red sandstone cliffs, with the different layers of sandstone visible. Our Zodiac boat was paired with another carrying Kirt, the geologist, and Goyma, our Indigenous guide, so we had detailed descriptions along the way.
The falls themselves were very picturesque. There was a fork in the canyon with falls on both sides. Our driver took the Zodiac boat right up to the falls, allowing those who wanted to be doused under them (Kenna and I didn’t, but Jan and Dave did). It was fun to watch.
The ride back to the Orion was speedier than the outgoing leg, but we stopped for a few bird sightings.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Early this morning, the ship’s rocking settled down as we approached Darwin, where we were traveling to clear Australian immigration and customs. In preparation for our arrival, we needed to undertake biosecurity measures to ensure we didn’t bring harmful seeds or hoof-and-mouth disease into Australia. We collected clothes with soil (or sand, etc.) in pockets or Velcro fasteners that might hang onto seeds. We vacuumed the Velcro and pockets and also dipped the soles of our shoes in disinfectant.
Upon arrival, we went in groups to the terminal, where we presented our passports and declaration forms. We were quickly processed and able to return to the Orion.
A little while after returning to the ship, we were notified that we could return to the pier for a cultural performance. Our indigenous tour leader, Goyma, had a number of his relatives there to give us a short musical and dance performance, which was an excellent introduction to aboriginal music.
We again returned to the ship, and soon began our journey to tomorrow’s destination, the King George Falls.
By popular request, the staff arranged a tour of the ship’s galley where our many wonderful meals are prepared. The executive chef, Rannie, showed us the facilities and described the workflow when his staff prepares our meals. We were impressed by the close teamwork and by what they are able to accomplish in a relatively small space.
We (and Dave and Jan) were invited to join one of the naturalists, Kirt, for dinner. While primarily a volcanologist, Kirt is also the National Geographic photographic expert for the expedition. We enjoyed getting to know Kirt a little better. Later in the evening, Kurt and Mike, the other photographic expert on the cruise, led a photo feedback session, teaching us how to make the most of our pictures.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Friday, May 31, 2024
Today was our first “sea day” as we traveled southeast from Kupang, Indonesia, to Darwin, Australia. Soon after we left Kupang (and the shelter provided by the Indonesian archipelago), the ship encountered noticeably higher surf as we crossed the Timor Sea. It was enough to make it challenging to walk in a straight line for those of us unaccustomed to the ship’s movement. Some of the travelers whose cabins were further to the front or rear of the ship reported more difficulty. Fortunately, our cabin was close to the ship’s middle. The movement of the ship continued all day.
As is typical, the day was filled with several presentations to give us advance information on the Kimberley and help us understand the region better. I also finally got a chance to take a morning stretch class and spend some time on the elliptical machine in the fitness center. Fortunately, the elliptical machine had good things to hold onto while the ship rocked.
Our passports were also returned to us, and we were given customs declaration cards in preparation for our arrival in Darwin, where we would clear Australian immigration and customs.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Thursday, May 30, 2024
We got to sleep in a bit longer today, which was a welcome change. The plan for after breakfast was to go to a nearby beach for snorkeling, kayaking, and stand-up paddle boarding. We were delayed a bit to let the tide come in, but then we still couldn’t go snorkeling because the water was too shallow. But we happily paddled around in one of the kayaks and tried the paddleboards. Although this was our first try, we both were on our knees on the paddleboards. It seemed like every time I even thought of standing up, the board became a little unstable. In any case, it was fun to try.
During lunch, the Orion was repositioned for us to disembark at Kupang, the regional capital of Western Timor. A welcoming ceremony was held for us; then we took a bus ride (less festively decorated, but air-conditioned) with police escort (!) east across town to a food market. Many open-air stalls had various vegetables, fruits, and dry goods like rice, spices, etc. When visiting a new country, we always like to see a typical food market, and this was our opportunity. The vendors were very accommodating even though we weren’t buying anything.
We then continued a few miles east to an area where several performing groups representing different areas and islands had gathered. Each was dressed in the traditional attire of their home area and performed music and dance for us. At the end of the performance, we were invited to join them in dancing, which we did. It was fun, joyous, and a nice way to connect more with the people. Many pictures and selfies were taken to commemorate the occasion.
Returning to the Orion (again under police escort), we cleaned up and had our usual debrief over cocktails, followed by dinner. We were told that our clocks were being adjusted to Darwin time, 1 hour 30 minutes ahead of Indonesian time, to give us time to adapt. The following day would be a sea day, our first of the trip.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
This morning’s activity was another opportunity to snorkel from a nearby beach. Kenna had gotten a bit of a sunburn yesterday, and I wanted a little downtime, so we opted to stay back at the Orion, check in with our daughter Celeste and Kenna’s mom, and relax in the very comfortable observation lounge. Of course, we expect to hear that the snorkeling today was the best, but we’ll take that chance.
After lunch, we disembarked the ship to visit a village on Sumba Island that specializes in weaving and other textiles. After a short bus ride on festively decorated (but sparsely upholstered) buses, we arrived at the village and were treated to an elaborate dance program and a welcome from the King. After the program, we were invited to see a demonstration of ikat weaving and dyeing and buy textiles on display all around us. As we walked around, the locals competed furiously for our attention. We were able to find a table runner that we liked and negotiate the price down to the amount of rupiah that we had remaining.
We returned, cleaned up, and attended the “usual” cocktail hour, daily summary, and dinner. After dinner, we enjoyed a talk by one of the naturalists on the state of coral, especially the current problem with coral bleaching.
We realized that we hadn’t gone to look at the stars in the evening, so we went up to the observation deck and could see quite a bit of the sky, although light from the ship didn’t make for ideal viewing conditions. I did get to try out one of the suggestions from yesterday’s class on iPhone photography: I put my phone in night mode and took a long exposure photo of the stars. Despite the ship’s movement, the picture came out sharp, and it is easy to see the Southern Cross in the image.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Another early start today (we are getting used to these) for our outing to Komodo Island. Initially, it was planned that we would land at the pier (a “dry landing” in regular shoes), but the tide was very low, so we had a wet landing (in water shoes or sandals) instead. Komodo Island is, of course, known for the Komodo Dragon, the largest lizard in the world. We didn’t have to look far to see one: one was lying on the pier that we didn’t use.
After changing into shoes for our hike into the national park, we immediately saw more Komodo dragons on the beach. We broke into smaller groups accompanied by a local naturalist and two local guides, each with a big stick to protect us in case one of the dragons decided to attack. We took about a 1.5-mile walk along a park trail and stopped at a watering hole with three or more dragons, some local fowl, and occasional deer. Further along the trail, we saw a nest, a pyramidal pile of dead vegetation (compost), about 3 feet tall. The nests are not made by the dragons but are shared with them by the fowl that constructed the nests.
During lunch, they repositioned the Orion a short distance away for our afternoon activity, snorkeling from a pink sand beach. While the tide was low in the morning, it was very high in the afternoon, leaving little of the beach for our use. We donned snorkel gear and swam out a bit. There was, again, excellent coral but not quite the vast diversity of fish from the previous day. The water also wasn’t quite as clear.
I had a bit of confusion on the return: I had heard that they would be serving afternoon tea, which I assumed would be on the ship, but it turned out that they had set it up in a different area of the beach, behind a tree from where we were standing. Kenna figured that out, but I had already headed toward one of the Zodiac boats, and the staff member loading the boat did not appreciate my hesitancy about getting in. So I finished getting in quickly and then discovered the part of the beach I had not seen before, where afternoon tea was underway. The staff was also disappointed that several of us missed the event and apologetic about the miscommunication.
Upon returning to the ship, we found a note on our door inviting us to have dinner with the Hotel Manager, Fran, who oversees the ship’s accommodations. We were joined at the tables by two other couples, and learned about Fran’s career progression to hotel manager. Fran is one of those rare people who can approach a job of great responsibility with a very fun outlook. Fran also shared stories about some of the challenges they encounter, like Australian customs regulations when a ship full of food arrives there.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Monday, May 27, 2024
Today, we rose early (according to our internal clocks) for breakfast, followed by a Zodiac boat ride to a village on the island of Sumbawa. There we were welcomed by local officials including the mayor and local schoolchildren. We took a short walk through the village and were then seated on the beach for several musical and dance performances. Various different groups, including the men, women, and (very cute) children of the village participated. The last event was a contest where local boys tried to shinny up a greased pole to reach several items and an Indonesian flag at the top of the pole. They predictably failed until they teamed up and the grease wore off the pole. We were struck by the number of cellphones being used by the villagers to take pictures of the event.
After lunch, back at the ship, the first snorkel outing of the trip took place off the island of Satonda. We were in the second group, which gave us a little time to rest. When our turn came up, we rode a Zodiac boat out to a platform between two other Zodiacs, making entering and leaving the water easy. There was a current, which made it challenging for some people to stay in the area where we were snorkeling, but otherwise, conditions were excellent. The water was very clear, and there was a wide diversity of coral and fish, which made it look like a very large well-stocked aquarium.
After getting cleaned up from the snorkeling outing, we dressed up a bit for the Captain’s Welcome Dinner. We sat with Dave, Jan, and one of the other guests and had an empty seat at the table. We were honored to have Captain Alex himself seated with us. He answered the many questions we had and told us quite a bit about his travels as well.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Sunday, May 26, 2024
We packed as scheduled, tagged our bags, and put them outside our room. After another (excellent) buffet-style breakfast, we boarded five buses for our day tour to Ubud. Part of the strategy here was to give Lindblad time to prepare the ship from its previous voyage, which ended just this morning.
Our first stop was for a cultural performance in Betabulong on the way to Ubud. The performance was a classic “good vs. evil” play in five acts involving a tiger, mythical creatures, and the like, and ran for about an hour. We realized that the attendees here included our cruise and those who had just come off the Orion from the previous cruise.
Our next stop was the Puseh Batuan Temple, which we had visited on Friday. There wasn’t anything new to see, but we walked around and pointed out a few things to friends.
We then drove to Ubud, a crowded city with narrow streets, many cars, and many more motorcycles. We had a buffet lunch at Cafe Wayan, a large, primarily open-air buffet restaurant. After lunch, we had a little while to shop.
Kenna recently discovered that her cell phone case was falling apart and hoped to find a new one before getting on the ship. I searched mobile phone stores online and found several, but unfortunately, the Apple-specific stores are closed on Sundays. Undaunted, we set out toward some other listed mobile phone stores. Getting around Ubud on foot proved to be quite a challenge. The sidewalks were blocked, broken, or not passable in many places. We felt like we were risking our lives anytime we stopped off the curb because, unexpectedly, a motorcycle could be zooming up the edge of the roadway. The first couple of stores we tried did not have a case that fit Kenna’s phone. But while searching for one of the stores seen on the internet search, we found a store that wasn’t listed that had the correct case. The price? About $2.25 US.
We rushed back to where the bus would pick us up, intercepting a couple of people going the wrong way looking for the bus stop. We got there in plenty of time to stand in the rain while waiting for the bus. The bus took us to the cruise passenger terminal in Benoa, the port just north of our hotel. We passed through some security and passport checks and then arrived at our ship, the National Geographic Orion, where there was a welcoming and blessing ceremony before we boarded.
Our cabin on the Orion is, as expected, gorgeous. But we weren’t finished with formalities yet, as we had to receive the required safety training and other orientation. This was followed by a buffet dinner, after which we retired following a long and exciting day.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
We decided to stay close to the hotel for our next day. The Grand Hyatt has several pools of different styles that we had walked around but had yet to experience. After breakfast, we pulled on our swimsuits and checked out the “main pool,” which was refreshing. However, we’re not people who sit by the pool for long.
After getting dressed again, we remembered that we had been advised to get a small amount of Indonesian cash, known as rupiah, for the trip. There are about 16,000 rupiah per US dollar, so it’s easy to feel like a millionaire! We tried the ATM at the hotel, and despite being able to operate it in “English,” we couldn’t figure out how to operate it. Part of the problem was that the on-screen labels were offset from the buttons, but also, there wasn’t something that said, “get cash from checking” or something to that effect. We gave up and decided to pursue this elsewhere.
We then walked across the street to the Bali Collection, an open-air shopping mall. We were disappointed—there were many spas and more restaurants than necessary. We had lunch there at a place that was fine but didn’t deserve its high Google rating. We purchased some chocolate bars and decided to exchange a few US dollars for rupiah rather than fight with another ATM.
Our friends Dave and Jan showed up at the hotel in the afternoon and told us that a cruise desk had been set up. We checked in at the desk and found out about the group dinner in the evening that was mentioned on the tour schedule. We also found out, to our surprise, that we should have our bags packed to be picked up by 7 am (!), have breakfast at 7, and prepare for a bus tour to Ubud (!!) on Sunday.
We returned to our rooms, dressed, and walked out to the beach for dinner to meet some of our fellow cruise passengers and some staff. We quickly found Dave and Jan at a relatively empty table and were joined by a few other couples. The buffet-style dinner was entirely in keeping with Lindblad’s high standards.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Friday, May 24, 2024
Our plan for the day is to visit Ubud, the cultural heart of Bali. A friend at home had recommended Wayan, a driver she has used in the past. I had arranged with him to pick us up at our hotel.
After leaving the Nusa Dua resort area, we crossed a long toll bridge to the north. Once off the bridge, traffic was terrible! Some of the traffic was destined for Sanur, a port to the north, but once past there, traffic was only a little better. We had expected that we would emerge from the city into a more rural area, but while we did encounter some farming areas, it never got to be what we would consider rural.
We asked to see some of the local crafts. Our first stop was at the Sari Amerta batik collection. We were shown demonstration of batik making, which involves the precise application of beeswax to control the spread of dyes added to the fabric. We were then invited into their store. As expected, we received quite a sales pitch there. Kenna found a lovely scarf and some fabric she plans to use to make a dress.
Our next stop was to a jewelry maker, again showing us the painstaking work of their craft. The shop here had a wide variety of jewelry, from which we chose a small set of earrings for our daughter, Celeste.
Along the way, we contacted our friends Dave and Jan, who are staying in Ubud, to see if they wanted to meet for lunch. It turned out they were considerably further north: Ubud is shown on the map as a city, but it’s actually a district, and they were some distance away. So we did our separate things for the day.
Our third stop was the Muji Family Art Gallery, where, again, artists were showing their craft, in this case, painting pictures, at the front entrance. I thought some of the artwork was nice, but I hesitated to comment because I didn’t want to get a sales pitch from the salesman trailing us. Although there were many lovely works, we didn’t have a place for most of the art, so we thanked them but didn’t purchase.
Wayan next took us to a local Hindu temple, the Puseh Batuan Temple, one of the “tourist-friendly” temples in the area. Upon arrival, we were issued sarongs to wear in the temple and crossed the street to the temple itself.
Wayan was very helpful in explaining a bit of the meaning of the various parts of the temple grounds. The stone and woodwork were intricately carved, and we looked closely at some recently replaced roof trim. Wayan also showed himself as a skilled photographer, borrowing my camera to take several pictures of us at various places in the temple area.
After returning our sarongs, it was time for us to eat lunch. Wayan took us to Samar Kuning Restaurant, situated on the edge of an expansive rice field. It is a large, open-air restaurant that services the tourist trade. Prices were quite reasonable by our standards but pricey by local standards. Wayan ate separately from us despite my invitation to join us and buy his lunch. I had one of the house specialties, the crispy duck, which was enjoyable but less tasty than classic Peking Duck.
After lunch, we went around the corner to Teba Sari Bali, which was introduced as a coffee plantation with a wide variety of teas, cocoa, and other spices such as vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger. It was my first time seeing a cinnamon tree and a vanilla (orchid) plant growing outside. We got a sampler of their teas and coffees. The Bali Coffee is prepared similarly to Turkish Coffee (ground to a fine powder, mixed with hot water, and left at the bottom of your cup). It was delicious and reminded me of the coffee I had tasted in Brazil many years ago.
The final thing on our wish list for the day was to visit a waterfall we had seen in various brochures. Wayan drove us to the Tegenungan Blangsinga waterfall nearby, where we descended several flights of very steep steps to get close. This was a favorite of the locals and tourists; many were swimming in the stream below. We got our exercise climbing back up those steep steps to the van where Wayan was waiting.
We were tired when we returned to the hotel after all that activity. We opted for a light sushi dinner at the hotel’s Japanese restaurant.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Indonesia and Australia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Altmode 