Day 8 - humid and sunny We caught the shuttle to the terminal where we caught up with emails because of the free wifi. Walked over to the supermarket to have a look at the goods and their pricing. We confirmed that New Caledonia is expensive. We decided to walk to the NC Museum however it was closed for renovations. We decided to go to a bar near the marina for a rest and a beer. Had another walk through th... read more

Day 6 Walked into town after collecting a map. VERY HUMID. Passed some markets including one person selling BATS . We kept walking and visited the prototype of a WW2 museum with many relics left behind from the US occupation including the very wide road through the centre of town. We gave a donation and walked back towards the boat with the intention of a cold beer at a waterfront cafe that we had seen earlier. We made it just in time for the rain to start. And down it came!!! Great wifi and two beers later it started to relent. We left and caught a taxi back to the boat. Got changed a see were very wet. had lunch and a sleep. The humidity is a killer. We had a shower then and headed to ... read more

Day 1 - Departure from Sydney Harbour We travelled via the bus to Sydney and then a taxi to the Overseas Terminal. Checked in to the boat which was easy and smooth. We had managed to get a suite for this cruise. Our bags took a while to arrive so we went to have lunch at the Windjammer buffet and treated ourselves to a glass of bubbles. That evening we had our first sampling of the Concierge Club which we could access due to our suite booking. It is open 4.30 - 8 for free drinks and hot/cold nibbles. We had dinner in the Cascade restaurant and then returned to the club lounge. Day 2 - At Sea A light breakfast as we had been invited to brunch today. We sat at a table at the ... read more

If you want to catch up there is an entry for the Pyramids. Didn't want to create too many emails. Our tour has taken us to Alexandria where we visited the National Museum, the Catacombs, the New Alexandria Library, before moving to El Alamein to visit the Commonwealth War Cemetery including the grave of the youngest Australian soldier buried there. He was 16. There are 7367 graves here. We returned to Cairo for a visit to the Egyptian museum which deserves it's own post. (if I get time). Then to Luxor. KARNAK TEMPLE AND LUXOR TEMPLE Everything about the Karnak Temple is huge. The site covers 2km and is large enough to contain 10 cathedrals. Karna was the most important place of worship in Egypt during the New Kingdom. Construction began in the 16th century and ... read more

We arrived at Petra with apprehension that it would rain. The walk in from the entry gate took us past many Nabatean monuments built more than 2000 years ago. The Nabateans buried theIr dead in intricate tombs that were cut out of the mountainsides. Petra came under lots of other influences including Roman and Byzantine before being deserted following an earthquake and changing trade routes. The Siq, the narrow gorge that leads visitors into Petra, resulted from a natural splitting of the mountain. Originally there was a triumphal arch spanning the entrance to it. We walked along the cobblestone paths dodging horse drawn carriages, camels and donkeys and many other tourists. The entrance to the Treasury reveals Petra’s most impressive facade. It is 40 metres high and decorated with Corinthian capitals, friezes and figure. It is ... read more