The first European to see what we now call the Fiji Is. was Abel Janszzon Tasman during his 1642/43 voyage. He had already visited Tasmania, New Zealand, and Tonga. Later Captain Cook passed close to the island during his last voyage in 1774. The islands had been part of the Tongan empire and the local […]
The flag of Tonga. The red cross of the flag indicates Christianity, approximately 97 % of Tongans are Christian, the white is for purity and the red field is in memory of Christ’s blood shed at His crucifixion. The Kingdom of Tonga consists of 176 islands and the largest is Tongatapu and the capital Nuk’alofa […]
Cook Is. sunset Cook Island flag with the union flag which denotes the historical link with the UK, and the fifteen stars represent each of the islands that make up the Cook Islands. The map will give you an idea of the location of the Cook Island – they are three and a half flying […]
Life had become busy busy busy after I settled into working at Head Office in Sydney. The onboard courier system had expanded greatly. Each courier was obliged to collect their courier bags on arrival at the destination airport, and the bags were getting heavier as business expanded. Bags used to be around 10 to 15 […]
The last time I visited the Baltic area was in 1965 when I was a cadet in the BI ship Dunera, which at the time was a school ship. This time Leningrad was no more, and St Petersburg had been resurrected. We considered flying with Garuda International, who had just gained a five star rating, […]
Not long after we arrived home from our South American cruise, we were ‘invaded’ by the family, who wished to celebrate our Golden Wedding. We never turn down a party particularly when we don’t have to prepare anything :- o) During the party we were presented with a voucher for two nights in the city […]
Life had become busy busy busy after I settled into working at Head Office in Sydney. The onboard courier system had expanded greatly. Each courier was obliged to collect their courier bags on arrival at the destination airport, and the bags were getting heavier as business expanded. Bags used to be around 10 to 15 […]
I The Calcutta & Burmah Steam Navigation Company was registered in Glasgow in 1856. One of the first ships of the company was Cape of Good Hope, built in 1853, (420 gross tons). She was a steamer, but also rigged as a brig. At 190 feet long, she still managed ninety days from Southampton to Calcutta to […]
Yokohama, in Tokyo Bay, was our first port of call of our Japanese coastal trip.. If I thought Singapore and Hong Kong were foreign, Yokohama was real ‘foreign’ The people were different from Chinese, very friendly, but different. Fortunately at that time the exchange rate for a British pound note was 1060 Japanese yen. The […]
How things have changed since my first trip to Hong Kong in 1963. Note the clock tower to the left of the picture, right on the waterfront, more about it later. I found this old advert, which also shows Hong Kong of the 60’s. We entered Hong Kong harbour via the Tathong Channel on the […]
Floating Market outside Bangkok. Hire a boat and enjoy the experience. They cater for all tastes. Access to the market can be made from the landward side. We walked through the market to get to the boats. The locals also buy from the boat people. The young girl had just bought a hot meal. Most […]
As we finished the tour of the oyster farm I asked Maureen if she would like a short flight in a helicopter. I’d flown in a helicopter across Sydney harbour some years ago in a traffic spotter helicopter for one of the Sydney radio stations. The weather had been horrible. In Broome the weather was wonderful […]
Floating Market outside Bangkok. Hire a boat and enjoy the experience. They cater for all tastes. Access to the market can be made from the landward side. We walked through the market to get to the boats. The locals also buy from the boat people. The young girl had just bought a hot meal. Most […]
We anchored off Auckland and I could see the lights of the city as I stood my watch from 8.00 pm to midnight. We finally berthed at 6.30 am and worked cargo all day. Everyone on board knew that Maureen was flying out to see me, and they thought that she was from a very […]
