After four jam packed days ashore we have all been looking forward to a break we have all been looking forward to a break while we make our way to our next port of Darwin. Following a south easterly course we have travelled through the Java Sea coming out into the Indian Ocean between Lombok and Bali. Once into the Indian Ocean the seas were very calm, almost carpet like, making wildlife spotting easier. Often large schools of tiny flying fish spring from the water and fly like small birds darting between swells before diving in up to 80 meters from where they took off. Dolphins are also easy to spot in the silky water with huge pods of them sometimes surfing the wake of the ship.The main ships we pass out here are those carrying live animals from Australia for export to Asia and other countries.
During this leg of the voyage we crossed the equator. It is a tradition on ships that those who have not crossed the equator by sea previously, known as ‘pollywogs’, must undergo a ceremony to commemorate the occasion. On our ship this involved some staff dressing up as King Neptune and his servants and then smothering some selected pollywogs in a mixture of jelly, spaghetti, custard, chocolate sauce and flour. This quickly turned into an all in food fight.
The children have been catching up on homework which they do reluctantly but with the promise of the rest of the day at the pool. Along with the regular movies under the stars we have some new entertainers on board including a ventriloquist called Dean Atkinson. He recently came second on the TV show Australia’s got talent along with his dog puppet.
We had a celebratory dinner to mark the news of the safe arrival of Tim & Renata’s new daughter Sasha born 7th October in America thanks to the kindness of the surrogate mother.
Another deck party was held with the theme being ‘wear what you bought’. Simone and Elisabeth dressed up in outfits bought in India and Egypt and entered the fashion parade competition only to be outdone by some guy wearing a latex mask of the Queen.
Luke headed to the on board casino with a friend to take advantage of the free lessons (and gaming chips) in the finer points of some of the games. Three card poker proved to be the most successful but he quickly bailed out when the free gaming chips dried up.
Afternoons are generally spent on the balconies of our rooms with a cold beverage and nibblies watching the sun disappear into the mist over the ocean before heading off to dinner. There is a pizzeria on board and the kid’s favourite nights involve a DVD and home delivered pizza in the room.
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