2014 PNG Discovery cruise on the Pacific Dawn

Reflecting on another cruise, our fourth, this was our 3rd cruise from Brisbane on the Pacific Dawn. This one had a few itinerary changes from the moment we booked in early 2013. Billed as the 3rd (or maybe only the second) cruise to Papua New Guinea, this cruise was full of seasoned cruisers, many who had not traveled with P&O for some time.

When we booked, the itinerary was a 10 night cruise departing and returning to Brisbane. Ports of call were 4 in PNG as well as a scheduled call at Townsville, who had recently opened a new cruise terminal. Many months after booking, Townsville was dropped and Rabaul in PNG substituted. This made it an all PNG cruise which suited us fine.

After the update above, the port order was changed again. The first port was Alotau, followed by Kitava, Rabaul, Kiriwina and Doini Island.

The cruise was great, however there was a cyclone brewing. The wind was really picking up during the visit to Kitava and tendering was troublesome. The captain cancelled staff leave on that day and only passengers went ashore. Rabaul, much further north, was smooth sailing, but by the time we arrived at Kiriwina Island it was clear that we weren't going ashore. We were close enough to see the Kiriwina people waiting for the ship, but the high wind and the ship dragging the anchor caused the captain to make the decision to abandon the port. The worsening weather and strengthening cyclone ended up with us also missing Doini Island and we made a slow 4 sea day cruise back to Brisbane, skirting the high seas and winds.
Even though there were itinerary changes all over the place, it didn't really bother us. We were cruising, somebody else cooked, clean and did the driving. We just had to relax and enjoy ourselves.

So...the 3 ports of the 5 we did get to see.
ALOTAU...

 We bought the bus pass to the Canoe and Kundu festival. This was held in at the education centre on the waterfront quite a long way from the dock.

Wood carved sign. The wood carving are magnificent in Alotau.

Traditional canoes and the Pacific Dawn from the education centre.

Traditional dancing. This was one of many different tribes who performed demonstrations at the festival.

The bus dropped us off at the war memorial after which we were able to browse the markets. Note they prefer their own currency, the PNG Kina.

We were able to pick up the bus back to the ship. The buses were running a continuous loop back and forward between the ship and festival. A fit person could easily walk but do take into account the high humidity and temperature.

KITAVA...

The day was rainy, with a high wind and the promise of a beach day on an island questionable. We decided quite late to catch a tender ashore, purely to take some photos and have a quick look at the beach. By the time we arrived most passengers were waiting for the tenders to go back. The high wind slowed the service giving us a bit of time for a look around the beach.

Traditional sailing boat at Kitava

RABAUL...

The weather was great in Rabaul with just a small amount of rain to wash the sweat off.

We organised a private tour at Rabaul which took in most of the sights including the volcano, museum etc.

Tavurvur volcano

Rabaul hotel where we stopped at their bar for a cold drink.

The Pacific Dawn from the Rabaul Volcano Observatory

Tunnels in East New Britain

 

Japanese barge in tunnel.

Overall, another enjoyable cruise. We saw some of PNG that gives us a better appreciation of our northern neighbours. It was a shame about the cyclone, but that's cruising for you.

The boring stuff...
Ship: Pacific Dawn
Voyage: W414
Cabin: 6175 cat FF, oceanview deck 6
Captain: Salvatore Lupo
Cruise director: Sandy