The beginning of June in Melbourne is generally pretty miserable, so the ticket for our winter blues was to head to Brisbane and jump aboard P&O Pacific Pearl.
The itinerary for our seven night voyage spanned across Noumea, New Caledonia; Lifou, New Caledonia; and Port Vila, Vanuatu. The beloved and I undertook a cruise around 7 years ago, which went to Noumea, and we have been back since then, so I was particularly excited about heading to Vanuatu.
Traveling with a girlfriend, we ensured that our sea days were about being pampered and based on relaxation, and our shore days were adventurous in the morning, and relaxed in the afternoon – generally with a cocktail focus 🙂
We decided to bump up our technology capacity, so were equipped with the iphone for our above water adventures, and a go-pro to be able to take shots of our underwater adventures, and all in all it was an excellent way to travel!
Noumea is always a pleasure to visit, however our time on shore was very limited with us arriving around 3pm, so we decided to cycle around a number of the bays. I will be honest, it definitely required better fitness than what I had, but I managed to haul my carcass up and over some hills, and actually enjoyed it too! I also managed to learn that since my last visit there had been a currency change so my Pacific Franc was no longer legal tender and I couldn’t enjoy a hard earned ice-cream at the end.
While in Lifou we snorkelled Jinek Bay, which has recently been turned into a marine reserve, and it was just amazing! You may hear people suggest that the $15 fee is just a P&O fee scraping service, but the locals are serious about the preservation of their coral reef, so please, stay classy and book in to snorkel around this beautiful bay.
And an opportunity to helmet dive in Port Vila is just phenomenal. You wear a massive helmet (think 20,000 leagues under the sea) and literally walk along the ocean floor – we were the only two that were on the tour on that day, which I really cant understand – its pretty excellent!
Cruising is a great way to relax and just chill, and seven days seems just right. I would not be up for much more, at least on the P&O line – which is a great entry point for cruising, but I think I would be up for a smaller cruise experience in my next cruise.
Feel free to check out my Youtube channel for more videos of my adventures.
Kiwi Roamer, the less intrepid traveler 