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Published: October 29th 2007
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Theodor Storm
Our vessel to take us across the seas between Singapore and Australia. On our final day in Singapore started when we got picked up at 12.30pm by the port agent. We stopped by a hotel in the city centre to pick up one of the other passengers, John, and made our way to the main port office to collect our passes. We were feeling quite nervous and excited about the trip ahead and didn't really know what to expect. After a long wait at the office we were finally issued with our passes and were driven through the security gates and into the port itself.
The first thing that struck was the sheer scale of the place - it was massive. There were thousands of containers lined up on the portside and hundreds of lorries driving back and forth. We rounded a corner and saw our ship, MV Theodor Storm, and parked up alongside. It was quite a surreal moment to finally see the freighter after all of our months of planning. It was a moment mixed with excitement and sadness as this felt like the end of the trip but excitement as we were about to hit the land down under.
We clambered up the stairs and went to the
crew office where we signed a couple of papers and were then shown up to our quarters. We hadn't really known what to expect but were pleasantly surprised. We had a living area complete with DVD player, TV, stereo, fridge, desk area, sofa and two windows, so it was quite nice, probably the nicest accommodation we had had since leaving the UK! There was a separate bedroom area with en-suite so we were pretty well set for the next ten days at sea.
On the first day we were still in port ( we would be for another 36 hours) so we were confined to our quarters. It was surprisingly easy to pass time and we soon fell into a routine of reading, playing Sudoku and watching DVD's. We were provided with three meals a day in the officers mess and they were were very tasty. We were now joined on the ship by Kate, our final passenger and it wasn't long until we set sail from Singapore at 3pm local time.
The first hour of the journey was interesting with Singapore disappearing in the background and the open seas ahead of us. For the first while there
Keppel Port, Singapore
View from our cabin at night. You can see the cityscape of Singapore in the distance. were lots of other ships ahead but eventually we were on our own, heading into Indonesian waters and the adventures ahead.
A routine soon developed: wake up around 9am and potter around the cabin until 11.30am when we had lunch (the lunch hour was from 11.30am to 12.30pm to fit in with the watches). After lunch we would head out to the deck and take in the view. This was swiftly followed by our afternoon DVD, some time reading, playing on the laptop then a quick bottle of Tiger beer before dinner. Back up to the cabin for another drink, game of Uno and then our four episodes of 24 (we are addicted!). We were tucked up in bed around midnight ready for the next day.
The sea was calm most days and we didn't really have any seasickness (it was quite rough on the last night though), which was a relief. We even went onto the bridge one afternoon and got shown around by the Second Officer. All in all, the freighter trip was one of the highlights of the trip and we would recommend it to anyone.
On our last day we got packed up
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Theodor Storm being loaded with containers for her next leg to Australia. and had some lunch. We then went down to the ship office again and saw the Australian immigration officers who were quite friendly and seemed interested in our route and story. They wished us well in Australia, as did the quarantine officer who checked our bags on the table-tennis table. We left the ship and got on a shuttle bus to a small town railway station near Brisbane, caught the train to the main transport terminal and promptly found it all closed. There was no-one on duty, no signs, all of the travel offices were closed and no-one to ask. It was a strange welcome to Australia! After a while we found our way up to the third floor where the coach offices were and secured a seat on the overnight bus to Sydney, which was leaving in twenty minutes. So, after checking emails quickly we left Brisbane after about an hour and headed south on the 1000km trip to Sydney and our final destination.
The trip was quite uncomfortable and long and we finally got off to sleep 3am. We were both fast asleep as the driver came on the speaker at 6am to announce that we were
View from our cabin at sea
Even through the seas of Indonesia, Chimp sat watching patiently for site of Australian land. about to cross the Harbour Bridge. We both woke up at the same time, looked at each other, wiped the sleep from our eyes and looked out of the window. Just at that moment we rounded a corner and the Harbour Bridge soared into view, the Opera House visible in the background, both catching the early morning sun. 171 days after leaving Canterbury, on a rainy Thursday night, we had arrived.
Jenny and Jay xxx
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Kath/Mum
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Arrival in Australia
Well done Jay and Jenny! What a brilliant journey. Thank you for all the blogs and pictures, I have really enjoyed them all. All my best wishes, thinking of you, Dad and I are really looking forward to seeing you both in Sydney in January. Take care, lots of love Mum/Kath xxx