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  • Vander Wonders

Transpasific Cruise

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  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Day 14-timetravel crossing the dateline

    October 21, 2016, South Pacific Ocean

    Time zones are were always will be mind boggling. Where does a day truly begin? Well the International date line zig zags down the middle of the Pacific, along the 180 line of longitude, separating two consecutive calendar days. If you cross the line at midnight from the west, you end up repeating the same day. Well, we travel from East to West so we will skip an entire day. A day we will never get back😩 unless we do this cruise in reverse😳 or travel in the opposite direction. In reality we won't have Saturday October 22nd 2016. We will go to be bed on Friday 11.59pm and wake up on Sunday morning. So we will skip my sisters bday?- we will have to celebrate both the 21st and 23rd then. Bizarre really, time is how we measure space. It's how humans find random purpose in the illusion of time.
    Apparently when Magellan and his crew sailed west to circumnavigate the world, upon their return it was a like an extra day has passed. Imaginary lines regulates our every day time-this remains awe are exactly halfway around the planet from Greenwich England.
    To add some extra spice - Last night at 2am we also sailed over equator and we are now in the Southern Hemisphere .
    Well now we can be considered time travelers!! Next up teleportation?
    #timetravel

    {Issy}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Dag14 @see

    October 21, 2016, South Pacific Ocean

    Die nuwe normaal -eindelose seedae langs die swembad. Die Solarium shape vir ons , daars n goeie kombinasie van son koelte en 'n verskeidenheid stoele. Oja en dis ook nie by die helse kabaal van die band langs die hoofswembad nie.Dis ook vandag Roedolf se kantoor, hy kap n werkie.
    Ek verkyk my aan al die mense, skaamteloos in bikini's, of baie knap speedo's ongeag die vetrolle of tekens van ouderdom wat nie heeltemal saamspeel nie. Dis 'n universele stryd almal doen alles en nog wat vir die illusie van jonkeees. Hier en daar is 'n uitstieker middeljarige tannie met klas, wat darm 'n sarong drapeer. Ek dink ek kan n boek skryf na dese. Hoe om soos n supermodel te voel? Gaan op n cruise waar 1.5 % ( 50 uit 3500) passasiers tussen 25 en 35 is.
    Die oumensies praat graag met ons, en as hulle eers eenkeer n geselsie gemaak het moet jy ligloop, veral as jy saam 'n bewegende standbeeld soos Roedolf ronbeweeg. Ek geniet die wyshede en van die mense se interessante reis en lewensstories, maar party breek my bietjie soos die klae kous tannie by die aandete tafel langs ons of van die siele wat te veel vrae vrae.
    Ons altwee stoei met sinus, ek vermoed dis die lugversorgers in die kamer se filters. Dit was heeltemal weg na die drie dae in Hawaii, maar noudat ns weer lank op see is is dit terug. Ek het vanoggend met guestservices gaan praat, en hulle het die maintenance span gestuur so hopelik is dit iets van die verlede. Ons boer buite langs op die dek met die swembad en dit maak onmiddelik ons sinusse oop, verder kap ons sudafed en antihistamine wat ons gelukkig ingepak het.
    {Issy}    Read more

    See translation
  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Day 10 @sea

    October 22, 2016, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Monday in the middle of the Pacific; we are pretty far from any land. Reading & bronzing @ the pool deck. We signed up for the step challenge on board, hopefully this keep us motivated to hit the gym & track this week. I attended the spa pamper party, I enjoyed the bubbly & short treatments. Royal Caribbean do this on days which they are clearly not booked at full occupancy. The quality of the short treatments are good, today was shoulder massages and anti aging eye treatments. It's amazing to think that with 3500 people on board only about 30 ladies attend this- whats not to love?

    It is formal night at the dining room tonight, the lobster was divine.

    {Issy}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Fitness cruise

    October 23, 2016, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Cruise day 14 & 15

    So far we have trained at least once every sea day and have been very active on port days.

    12 x Gym sessions, 5 x runs on the track and we are going strong. 💪🏻 It does help that the gym and the track has some of the best views on the ship.

    The gym is full if people fooling themselves spending hours on cardio equipment but nog coming close to the weights. 😜

    I actually weighed the same this morning as I did the day before the cruise. This is unheard of for me as I normally pick up weight in a 7 day cruise.

    {Roedolf}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Remote Fijian island

    October 24, 2016 in Fiji ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    After the shark dive, Clay negotiated to go out again, this time with a bunch of Japanese models who tried snorkeling & diving. What a spectacle!! Roedolf went for a couple more dives but I chose to chill on this beautiful island. The ladies & I cracked ourselves for the athleticism of the models in their " let them eat glitter" tights attempting snorkelling. I snorkeled from the shore, the corals are very close, I spotted a sea snake, nasty yet intriguing!! I must admit I was a bit scared. Blessed to encounter Nemo once again.

    It's evident how the cyclone destroyed the coral, but they are doing a great job to restore it. They use wire triangles & squares to enhance the coral growth.

    The sun disappeared behind the clouds, I walked on the beach with Annie and Nicki to warm up a bit. The guys took longer than planned, but we got a bonus sunset from the water.

    Arrived back in Suva at 8.15pm. It was Great to wash of the saltiness after being out at sea since 8am.

    What an incredible day! I bargained on one afternoon dive given the arrival time of our ship, but we managed to do the 2 shark dives & spent the afternoon on an idyllic location. The day was topped with dinner with our new friends.
    {Issy}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Shark feeding frenzy

    October 24, 2016, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Cruise day 16 in Fiji

    We were blown away by the sheer number of fish at the dive site.

    The site is called "the bistro" for obvious reasons 😜. Just glad we were not on the menu today as they were some big ass sharks, the bull-sharks probably range between 3.5 and 4 meters long.

    We basically witnessed the food chain in action as the guides took out bait which makes the smaller fish folk to one place to grab some of the bait, which brings the larger fish eating fish in to grab a bite of the small fish and the the sharks comes in and just feast on anything and everything in the large schools of different fish.

    You can see from Isabel's facial expression that this was just and amazing adrenaline experience.

    This experience has to go down as my #1 dive experience so far in the 80 plus dives we have done.

    {Roedolf}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Waterfall Fiji

    October 24, 2016 in Vanuatu ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    There are many local tour operators straight off the pier, everyone is storming you to make a sale, clearly their bread & butter. We much rather support the locals, than doing the standard RC ones which is over cautious &very Americanized. In other places in the world you are born with common sense or at least somewhat guided towards it. I am stunned by the safety comments all over the boat!! Sorry got sidetracked there.

    I wanted to see a waterfall as its so subtropical, so we opted for that tour option. I saw the nervousness in the tour guides eye when we said we want to do the entire walk independently, I assured him we are fast walkers & won't get lost as I studied the route before we arrived in Fiji. The oldie crowd went downhill at a snails pace. We ended up waiting for them and we went the long way.

    In Fiji they refer to "Fiji time" this is even slower than Bermuda or Africa time, a set time does not really mean anything to them. We stopped at a park where people train next to the beach, we were not surprised to see the school kids playing with a rugby ball. The tsunami sign caught my eye, it's definitely a reality in their everyday living.

    {Issy}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Aqua trek - Fiji Shark dive

    October 25, 2016 in Fiji ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Bula (Hello) friends!! Another adventure which I can't describe adequately. The french say "incroiable" which means unforgettable. The thrill, emotion and beauty that I experienced today left me teary and overwhelmed. It was one of the best days of my life if not the best. I am so blessed to share this with my "celebrity" rugby husband (Everyone young and old big and small wants take pictures with him - I believe they confuse him with the side angle of Francois Louw LOL)

    I remember what a panicky diver I used to be and now I jump into the middle of the ocean with these giant creatures without thinking about it. We saw white tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, massive bullsharks and I loved the suckerfish. Oh and meeting nemo in the wild was magical.

    The Fiji 🇫🇯 Shark dive is definitely a must do! The very friendly dive crew have a passion for their environment and we learned so much from them & their culture whilst being on the boat.

    I am thankful that all our stars aligned so we experienced the Shark feed. Life works in incredible ways; We met Clay, a fabulous Kiwi guy, all thanks to Roedolf's beyond rugby t-shirt. He has been to Fiji many times before and knows the ropes so he sorted the dives for us, regardless of all the variables out of our control.

    The only thing that can make this better, is to be fortunate enough to have this all over again & visit beautiful Fiji again.

    {Issy}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Fijians love God and Rugby

    October 25, 2016 in Fiji ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    I have never experienced a place where they love rugby as much as they do in Fiji 🇫🇯!

    The country is littered with bill boards with photos of the Fiji sevens team who won the gold medal at the Olympics. As they call them now the "Fiji Heroes".

    To prove how much they love rugby, take a look at the dive shops post on Facebook about me. Clay (Kiwi friend we made on the cruise) mention that I played for the springboks (he did not specifying which level 😜) and immediately I had celebrity status, everyone wanted to take a photo with me and after the dives they asked if the crew can take a photo with me for their Facebook page, i did not think they will really post it but they did, haha.

    They love God slightly more than rugby judging by the number of people you see with "Jesus" arm bands and bill boards with scripture next to the roads. Wonderful to see how a country can be so open about their faith in Christ.

    {Roedolf}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Cultural Village Fiji

    October 25, 2016 in Fiji ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    The pride and sincere friendliness of the Fijians will stay with me forever, we visited a local village where they welcomed us with handmade flower lays and fresh watermelon. The Cava ceremony & fire dancing was an interesting experience.

    We browsed through town, amazed by the way they cut pineapple. I bought fresh Fiji coconut oil from the market to try & save my hair, from all the chlorine and seawater. Must be honest I am looking forward to a shower on land with "normal" fresh water.

    #lovefiji
    {Issy}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Waterfull hike and Fiji tour

    October 25, 2016 in Fiji ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Cruise day 17 in Fiji

    Colo-I-Suva Forest Park provided us with a nice 1.2mile hike alongside a beautiful river stream and plenty of small waterfalls.

    Next was a visit to a traditional local village where I was privileged to be our tour chief, this meant I got the first taste the cava they prepared during the traditional cava ceremony. This is their custom to do when ever they welcome dignitaries to Fiji 🇫🇯.

    Cava is made from some pepper plant root powder mixed with water. To be honest it taste like a muddy water, not really what I will be ordering at the bar tonight. 😜
    They also entertained us with some Fijian fire dancing and food prepared in what they call an earth oven. The food was actually very good and tasteful, not bland like some other local dishes we we have had in places like Cuba and Mexico.

    Again everyone is so interested to know if I play rugby and the minute I say yes they want to take photos with me. They really love the game!

    {Roedolf}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Active day

    October 27, 2016, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Cruise day 18

    Incredibly active day, this after we had a late night with some dancing under the stars ✨.

    We struggled to get out of bed in time for breakfast and just grabbed some oats and fruit from the buffet.
    Then we hit the climbing wall, followed by flowrider till lunch.
    We had a quick nap after lunch before we hit the gym for a good workout. Straight after gym I played dodge ball and Isabel went for a 10km run.
    I did the flowrider one more time after dodgeball before a nice game of volleyball 🏐. If that was not enough Isabel joined me for mini golf to end the active day. Nothing better than sitting in the jacuzzi for a few minutes and relax after all of that action.

    I got to say nothing taste as good as being skinny, fit and active.

    {Roedolf}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Hideaway Island Vanuatu

    October 27, 2016 in Vanuatu ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    Cruise day 19

    As the photo shows it day 27 of our trip, its unbelievable to think we have been on holiday for almost a month. We really had so much fun it feels like a week. I can do this permanently no problem. 😜

    We had another great tour with our tour guide Clay Westwood who just happen to have been to all the places Isabel's research showed as must do's. Also he knows all the tricks like not having to pay to go to the Island 🌴 if you dive instead of just snorkeling.

    Beautiful dive site called the "Bronzer", with a wreck that's intact and the biggest clown fish colony we have every seen.

    We were lucky enough to see a seahorse for the second time in a couple of days of diving.

    We even saw a cleaning shrimp, who's job it is to clean the teeth of fish eating fish, like sharks. As this little guy does the sharks a favor they won't eat him. I even tried it as I opened my mouth he swam into it& no doubt getting some of last nights rack of lamb leftovers. 😜

    The clown fish was quite a treat, as I get to see the same facial expression on Isabel's face every-time she sees them, as she had when she saw her favorite Disney character in Disney world. She just loves those small clown fish or as she calls them Nemo's.

    The dive site was so close to shore that we literally got back on the boat and dropped our dive gear and snorkeled back to the island. Even the snorkeling was a treat with the amount of fish we saw.

    Just before we got to shore we passed the famous underwater post office of Vanuatu 🇻🇺 . Seems like too much effort to get you mail watertight or waterproof before posting it 😜.

    {Roedolf}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Vanuatu- Hideaway

    October 27, 2016 in Vanuatu ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

    My love for islands are growing rapidly!! We spend majority of our day on a tiny island, called Hideaway, it took me 12 min to walk around it. The beach is full of washed out corral. This island is also home to the only underwater post office in the world.We dived the wreck& reef closeby, the boat dropped us off halfway so we snorkeled back to shore. A Beautiful mix of soft and hard corral& loads of fish. Today I was in clown fish (Nemo) heaven.

    We walked through the market in town, I loved the gorgeous flowers. We spend our last Vatu's on an icelolly & then headed back with a water taxi. We enjoyed the pristine views from the water. Vanuatu is a third world country but without a doubt a paradise.

    {Issy}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler
    1

    Mystery Island Vanuatu

    October 28, 2016 in Vanuatu ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Cruise day 20

    A day on a deserted island 🏝in the Pacific. What more do you want.

    The island is 2.3km around, yes Isabel and I walked around the Island with our GPS watches to know exactly how big the island is. But it came at a price for me walking around and island in wet shorts = rash.

    This is really an island like you see in the movies with coconut 🌴 trees, never ending beaches and natures beauty everywhere.

    We spent most of the day snorkeling and sunbathing on the beach.

    {Roedolf}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Prentjiemooi eiland

    October 28, 2016 in Vanuatu ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    'n Kaleidoskoop van kleure en die reuk van sondbrandolie het ons betower op die Mysterieuse mooi Vanuata eiland. Terwyl ek en Roedolf so om die eilandjie stap, het ek gedink my Afrikaanse en Engelse byvoeglike naamwoorde mag dalk opdroog voor ons in Sydney aankom.

    Wie sou kon raai dat mens met n bikini oor n landingstrook kan loop en gou n spring kan inwerk? -ook n eerste.

    Die snorkel was weereens eersteklas. Dit was absoluut die moeite werd om ons snorkel en paddavoete saam te karwei.

    N.S.
    Ek werk aan my Afrikaans, ek besef ons praat n mengelmoes na ek 'n Afrikaanse storieboek gelees het

    {Issy}    Read more

    See translation
  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Isle de Canard

    October 29, 2016 in New Caledonia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We got "randomly" selected for a passport check Yeah right- I used a bit of french & mentioned we have a "tour" organized to expedite the process😛.

    Rushed of the boat for another fab Westwood adventure. We got on the water taxi for some snorkeling on Isle de Canard. Spotted a turtle again and there were lots of fish and colorful coral. I got a bit worked up over the stupid tourists stepping on the corral, I yelled at them ( to Roedolf's embarrassment) but felt I did my part to save planet. The volunteers and staff also had their hands full to try and educate the ignorant.

    We wandered around, got a decent coffee and I sprinted down the local bus. I enjoyed speaking some french in the French Riviera of Micronesia.

    {issy}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Noumea New Caledonia

    October 29, 2016 in New Caledonia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Cruise day 21

    This was the forth island we had the privilege to visit on this trip. Similar to Bermuda this Island is an overseas territory of a European nation, in this case France 🇫🇷.

    The interesting observation we made, is that this Island New Caledonia 🇳🇨, Bermuda 🇧🇲and other Islands with European or US influence have a first world feel to it and is clean and public transport etc works well.
    On the flip side of the coin is Islands such as Vanuatu 🇻🇺, Fiji 🇫🇯, Bahamas 🇧🇸 etc. seem to be left to the natives to run. To be honest for the most part these resembled African poverty and hardship. They are mostly shantytown and dirty.

    New Caledonia reminds me a lot of the French riviera and Marseille to be exact.

    {Roedolf}    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Lazy day after 5 very busy port days

    October 31, 2016, Coral Sea ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Cruise day 22:

    We did not get up to much, other than sleeping in, going through Australian 🇦🇺 passport control, afternoon nap and gym.

    I realized again today how much Isabel stresses about passport control. From the minute we received to notice that we had to be in the dining room to go through passport control at a certain time with our Australian immigration forms filled out, she started to worry that we are going to fill in the forms incorrectly . Then on the way there she wanted to make sure we have our story straight on what we are going to do in Aus, as if we are going to do something illegal.
    The joke of it all was when we went to the customs official they did not even ask for our visa as its electronically on their system as soon as they swipe your passport (the world can learn from the Aussies about visas). They stamped our passports and off we went without answering any questions. All the stress for nothing.    Read more

  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler
    1

    Last taste of America

    November 1, 2016, Coral Sea ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Cruise day 23:

    After weighing half a kilo less this morning than the day we got on the ship I decided it was time to let the old fat Roedolf out to play

    So we made our way to Jonny Rockets, the iconic old American dinner for an all you can eat burgers 🍔and fries 🍟.

    I just had to taste all the burgers (excluding the plain burger and the meet free burger) on the menu so I had 4 of the 6 on the menu. The fries and onion rings was real good. To top it off they brought me a chocolate sundae that will bring my dad to tears of joy 😂.

    Fast food heaven!

    Ek kon nie help om na my pa te verlang nie, want ek weet hy sou dit ongelooflik geniet het en hy sal so teleurgesteld wees dat ons dit nie vorige kere wat hulle saam ons op skepe was gedoen het nie.

    {Roedolf}    Read more

    See translation
  • Vander WondersTranspasific CruiseTraveler

    Just like that the cruise is over

    November 1, 2016, Tasman Sea ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Cruise day 24:

    The best decision was to take this cruise, it beats fly everyday of the week.
    The ports of call along the way was absolutely awesome and I don't think we would have ever made our way to these places without taking this cruise 🚢. Having said that I have to say one of the highlights of this trip was the days at sea on the ship, there are so many things to enjoy on the ship and just relax and rest.
    We are so thankful for this opportunity to sail on the Explorer of the Seas, especially thankful to Jaison (waiter in the dining room), Komang (assistant waiter in the dining room) and Iputu (our stateroom attendant). The three of them really made this a wonderful experience.
    Jaison is always so happy 😁 to see us and does not take "no" for an answer for a little dessert. He always knew when to spoil us with a dish we didn't order that he knows we would love.
    Komang trying his best to feed us little dinner bread roles, mostly so disappointed when we say no, but the nights we said yes, it really looked like it made his day.
    Iputu quietly goes about his business which meant our room was always in great condition, i am sure going to miss not having to make my own bed.
    If a cruise like this is not already on your bucket list, make sure you get it on the list.
    {Roedolf}    Read more

    Trip end
    November 1, 2016
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