A trip on the Ponant ship Le Laperouse with my old NZ friend and travel companion Elspeth Leer más
  • Spydah
  • Elspeth Preddey

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  • Australia Australia
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Crucero, Amistad, Naturaleza, Fotografía, Viaje corto, Visita turísticas, Desierto, Fauna
  • 5,6kkilómetros recorridos
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  • 14huellas
  • 17días
  • 102fotos
  • 10Me gusta
  • The Captain's Gala Dinner, our last night on board
    Introducing the kitchen staffOne of the Lacepede islands - and that's a croc lying on the beachA boobySearching for foodBrian with shipboard friend AndreaElspeth with shipboard friend Carol

    Our last full day

    12 de junio de 2024, Australia ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    A leisurely program was planned for our last full day at sea, the highlight being what was expected to be the best among all the places we had visited. This is the Lacapede Islands, famous for its proliferation of wildlife, Not only was Elspeth able to attend her morning gym class but could follow it up shortly after with a relaxation class. She even managed to squeeze in a swim before lunch.
    Both of us attended a nature talk entitled Migration which dealt not only with the well-known species of birds and whales but covered a lot of other ground as well (pun intended).
    We were scheduled to head off at 2pm for a 1.5 hour tour covering two of the four Lacapede islands. Unfortunately Brian was feeling slightly off and chose not to risk doing this tour. Most disappointing and frustrating as he recovered very quickly and probably would have been fine. Elspeth did the tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. As expected she saw huge numbers of turtles, though they were difficult to photograph as they would stick their heads above the water for just a few moments. This is the top place in the world for boobies and they were there in vast numbers, along with a myriad of other birds including many squawking pelicans. To add to the excitement a stingray floated under Elspeth's zodiac.
    There was a bit of tension as a 3.5m crocodile swam rather too closely alongside the zodiac. Earlier they had spotted a smaller croc sunning itself on the beach.
    Elspeth’s group returned just in time to attend our final daily briefing where we were somewhat put out to learn that we will have to have our luggage packed and outside our rooms by 6am the next morning.
    This last night was also the night of the captain’s Gala Dinner where again we were asked to dress in more formal attire. As before, it was mainly the women who complied, with many of the men still looking very casual. It was, nevertheless, quite a grand affair beginning with champagne all round. Then, in a highly choreographed but entertaining manner almost the entire crew of the ship were presented to us. Chefs, waiters, stewards, engineers, naturalists and so on came running in their respective groups on to the deck and were greeted with enthusiastic cheers and applause by the assembled passengers. It appears that the former are almost equal in number to the latter. There is no doubt that the service they provided over the entire voyage was impressive.
    Then followed the dinner itself, something like eight courses. The main course was duck and certainly none of the four of us at our table were able to finish their food. For Brian not to finish a duck dish is totally unprecedented, but coming after the previous nine days of over-indulgence it was just too much. The food certainly was spectacularly good. A great finale to a wonderful trip.
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  • Mangrove Resort, the perfect way to wind down.
    Mangrove Resort, BroomeThe view from Mangrove Resort

    Halfway house

    13 de junio de 2024, Australia ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    It is truly fantastic to be treated to an environment where one is waited on hand and foot and has access to unlimited food and drink. This is in total contrast to the reality of the home environment where there is nobody on hand to undertake the menial chores of cooking and cleaning, and one is struggling to prepare even the most basic meal. Surely it is unreasonable to expect anyone to make this traumatic change overnight. We were fortunate in that we had wisely planned for two nights at the Mangrove Resort in Broome which has proved to be very comfortable but with nowhere near the offerings and service aboard Le Laperouse. Our strategy is to make the transition from luxury ship to home as painless as possible.
    Disembarkation from the ship was handled very smoothly and methodically using a system which clearly has been refined over many voyages. We were instructed to have our bags packed and outside our cabins by the disgustingly early time of 6am. Fortunately we still had access to the cabins until 8am. Colour-coded labels were provided according to whether people would be flying out immediately or, like us, were going to various hotels. The system ran like clockwork and disembarking passengers together with their luggage got loaded on the appropriate buses.
    As planned we, along with quite a few others, were deposited at the Mangrove Resort, though our room wasn’t going to be ready until some time later. After exploring what looks like a rather magnificent resort with two swimming pools and many other great facilities we decided to kill time by exploring the town itself.
    The ‘five minutes’ walk up the road’ directions from the hotel receptionist clashed slightly with the reality of a 10-minute walk in the blazing sun, but we got there. Central Broome is actually quite large with many shops. Clearly the place is orientated towards the tourist trade because a large proportion of the places are either cafes or gift and souvenir shops. We used our time productively in finding a replacement for Elspeth’s almost-new lost sunglasses, having a light lunch (while recovering from the excesses of the previous night’s Gala Dinner) and booking a guided tour of Broome for the following day.
    We then wended our way back to the resort, unpacked and spent a totally lazy afternoon by the pool.
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  • The famous Cable Beach camels
    The much-loved Lord McAlpine who put Cable Beach on the mapSome of the amazing rock formations at Gantheaume PointA few of the 4Wds at Cable Beach - to see the sunset but not the camelsElspeth in her element at Cable BeachThe Japanese cemeteryCable Beach just before sunsetCable BeachCamel ridersThe famous Cable Beach camels

    We sweep through Broome

    14 de junio de 2024, Australia ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    The Mangrove Resort proved to be so tempting and comfortable that we could easily have stayed there and done nothing. It would however have done Broome a great injustice as there is quite a bit there to see and do. We were collected at 0830 for a 2.5 hour orientation tour which we had booked the previous day to explore Broome and immediate surroundings .
    Our starting point was the famous Cable Beach and the statue of Lord McAlpine, a true supporter of WA and the creator of Cable Beach out of nothingness. He is very much a local hero. Next stop was Gantheaume (pronounced ‘Gantam’) Point with its interesting rock formations and from where one can get spectacular views over the bay. Many dinosaur footprints have been discovered in the area. We then travelled to Roebuck Bay and from there to the impressive Japanese cemetery, With 900 headstones it is the biggest in Australia. Many of those buried there died very young from the effects of free-diving for pearls. Next stop was Town Beach and the World War II commemorative artwork. We finished at Chinatown (previously known as Japtown until WWII) , where we were dropped off. This is the town centre. After a light lunch we endured the heat for a ten minute walk in the blazing sun back to our resort and a very pleasant afternoon relaxing by the pool.
    Our sightseeing wasn’t over, and in the late afternoon we caught the local bus to Cable Beach, intending to see the famous camels. We were there strictly as spectators, neither of us having the slightest desire to ride one of these creatures. Crowds of people were heading down to the beach while there was also a massive procession of 4WDs heading there as well. In the end there must have been at least a couple of hundred vehicles lined up along the water’s edge. However there no more camels to be seen than there are on Waikanae or Surfers Paradise beach. After quizzing a couple of the locals we established that everyone was there to see the sunset. Mindil Beach all over again. It seems that people can’t get enough of sunsets, though admittedly, they are spectacular in that part of the world. On further enquiry we were told that the camels had left already and were heading northwards along the beach. They were well and truly out of sight, though a local told us that they would return eventually.
    The sun sank below the horizon on schedule (it usually does), and delivered us a beautiful sunset. At that stage most of the locals, both on foot snd in endless lines of 4WDs started to head off. It was at that time, just on dusk, when the long-awaited camels, two groups each of 14 animals, finally appeared. And what was the crowd’s level of excitement? Zero. A seagull landing on the sand would have received as much attention. We were among the very few people who bothered to take any notice. It seems mighty strange that a sunset, which happens in some form or other every single day and can be seen from many vantage points in Australia, can get people more excited than can the unusual spectacle of 28 camels walking in single file along a beach.
    All round it was an exciting and interesting day, and our last full day before we head back to reality.
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  • Beautiful WellingtonBrisbaneWaikanae Beach with Kapiti in the background

    All good things must come to an end

    15 de junio de 2024, Indian Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Our flight out of Broome was scheduled for 2pm, so we were delighted when Mangrove Resort extended our checkout time to midday. Not only that but they offered us their courtesy bus for the trip to the airport. Hence, we could enjoy much of the morning, when we weren’t packing, lazing by the pool.
    Not much to report about the trip home. Broome airport subjected everyone to the most rigorous security scans that we’d ever experienced. The flight was only about 1/3 full so we were able to spread ourselves out.
    Perth airport was a bit of a challenge. Brian’s flight was due to leave from the same domestic terminal, so that was fine, but trying to work out the departure arrangements for Elspeth’s Auckland flight was more difficult, with Qantas ground staff nowhere to be seen. In desperation Brian even tried to ask the girl behind the newsagent counter, but she knew even less than we did. Eventually we established that Elspeth had to catch a transfer bus to Terminal 1, but even the bus stop was well hidden. Eventually we made our fond farewells as Elspeth boarded the bus.
    Brian scored a points upgrade to Business Class for his flight to Brisbane, which was nice - again easing the transition from absolute luxury to everyday life. A short time luxuriating in the Business Lounge followed by a seat at the pointy end of the plane made for a comfortable trip home. Julie and Helen were there in the middle of the night to greet their father and drive him home.
    Even though everything went to plan the solo part of Elspeth’s homeward journey was more challenging, starting with the long overnight flight from Perth to Auckland. A bonus was breakfasting with daughter and son-in-law Jeannie and Simon who greeted her at Auckland airport before she boarded the flight to Wellington. She then endured a bus to the railway station, a train trip to Waikanae station and a bus home.
    Looking back, we agreed that it had been a great couple of weeks, and that our travel companion arrangement had worked well. Even in the confines of a small twin cabin we were able to accommodate each other’s habits and foibles without too much effort. Here’s to the next trip, wherever and whenever that may be!
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