In Broome

Getting from the Sun Princess to Geraldton on Monday turned out to be quite a huge task.  Geraldton is a 'tender'  port where we go ashore using the ship's lifeboats to land as the harbour is too shallow for the ship to navigate safely.  Previously this has been a reasonably time consuming task but this time getting to Geraldton took us over an hour on board waiting to be called and then a further 20 minutes for the trip itself.   We wanted to leave the ship around 10 am but by the time things actually happened it was around 11 before we even departed the Sun Princess.

The highlight of the day ashore was visiting the HMAS Australia Memorial as per the photos. In the top photo you can see the ship anchored off shore in the background while the other photo below shows the major section of the Memorial display.

We walked around Geraldton and got a bit of a feel for the place.  It is a lovely clean city with wide streets, numerous historical buildings and a delightful foreshore area.

After the debacle which was getting ashore we made sure we were back on board early for a bite to eat followed by happy hour. Usually a can of beer costs around $6 but the deal was buy one and get the next for $1. That made it around $3:50 a can which is more than reasonable.

I bought 3x2 cans, 3 I drank at the bar and 3 which found their way into the cabin's bar fridge. It was all very pleasant.

Wednesday would be our first full 'day at sea'.  We are not accustomed to a day at sea from our previous cruise so this was to be a new experience for us, one we would need to get used to on this cruise. Our day went eat, explore, drink, eat, explore, rest on our balcony, drink, rest on our balcony and then eat and drink some more and finally enjoy the ship's entertainment.

We caught up with friends Patsy and Eddie throughout the day. More often it was only with Patsy as Eddie  continually found himself 'lost' on the ship.  This is not hard to do.

There is no mobile phone connection out off the coast where we are.

So again on Wednesday it will was eat, explore and rest on our balcony. After another 'happy hour' the small bar fridge in our cabin has enough supplies for any emergency.  There has been a noticeable increase is the daily temperature as we head further north. There are times when our air conditioned cabin becomes quite a haven.

We did find a pleasant spot in the shade above the pool Wednesday afternoon and spent some relaxing time there before Happy Hour.  The temperature was now well over 30 so it was quite warm poolside unlike the chilly water in all the pools.

Thursday we arrived in Broome despite stormy skies and the occasional squall with winds reaching 50 knots. For a time it seemed we wouldn't be able to dock but the squall soon passed and we arrived in town. The port is some way out of Broome so shuttle buses were provided.