Horvath Travels: 2026 Australia Part 2

Sydney, Australia

Sailing out of Sydney

It’s rainy and drizzly as Lady Adventurer and Dan embark on the Oceania Riviera. They don’t care; they’re going on a cruise. In fact, most of their worries about this overall trip are now behind them. Clear sailing from here on out.

This is Part 2 of their posts about this trip. Part 1 was about their adventures in other parts of Australia on their own. Now, it will be 35 days on this Sydney to Sydney cruise. Sit back and enjoy.

The Riviera is docked just between the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. During their initial walkabout, Lady A. and Dan almost immediately spot John and Julie Cook, their friends from a previous cruise. The four talk a great deal - there is much to catch up on.

Lady Adventurer at sail-away time in Sydney

Brisbane, Australia

It’s raining once again in Brisbane. Dan and Lady A. are making their way through the busy downtown (mostly covered) sidewalks to get to the Botanical Gardens. The rain stops, but then it gets hot. And humid. The gardens are nice, and they walk along the Brisbane River a little. Despite the heat, it’s a pleasant walk. Then, time to get back to the ship. They’ve heard that there’s food there.

Arlie Beach and Whitsunday Islands, Australia

According to Ms. Google, the 74 Whitsunday Islands lie between the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef. Most of the islands are uninhabited. They're characterized by dense rainforest, hiking trails, and white sand beaches. The town of Airlie Beach on the mainland is the area’s central hub.

You can’t breathe seawater. It’s unfortunate that Dan has to learn this lesson each and every time he snorkels. This time he’s in the Great Barrier Reef. He’s snorkeled the reef before, but not here in the Whitsundays. You see, it’s a pretty big reef. Dan enjoys the experience, except for the parts where he is choking and coughing because he’s trying desperately to breathe the seawater in his mask and snorkel. Unfortunately, that’s a good part of the time. Dan doesn’t recommend doing this coughing/choking thing, but he seems to have a penchant for it. Dan’s Stinger Suit does its job of protecting him from the killer stinger jellyfish. It’s nice to see the pretty fish and coral when he can.

Geared up and ready to snorkel

The Whitsundays are stunningly beautiful

The guy sitting next to Dan on the boat doesn’t take any of the provided lunch offerings. Dan (who truly doesn’t need any more food at this point himself) asks why. “I never eat on a boat,” the man says. Dan figures he’s concerned about seasickness, but instead of sympathy or empathy, he puts on his smarta$$ hat and says, “You eat on a boat every single day.”

Insult is added to injury for Poor Old Dan. He winds up with a sinus infection as a result of his seawater-breathing attempt.

Cairns, Australia

The bus takes Lady A. and Dan up into the hills beyond Cairns, to the Kuranda area. There, they visit a butterfly sanctuary and Raiforestation Nature Park. The parks are fine. They see pretty butterflies and plenty of not-quite-so-wild wildlife in the Nature Park. Dan takes photos of some of the animals, then catches himself. This is sort of like a zoo, so what’s the point, he wonders?

The Riviera

Cooktown, Australia

Cooktown is a tiny village on Queensland’s far Northeast coast. James Cook landed here to repair his ship after it crashed into the nearby Great Barrier Reef. He and his crew spent two months here making repairs. Lady Adventurer and Dan make their way to the Cooktown Museum. It’s quite nice, and more importantly, after that hot walk, it’s air-conditioned. The tropical heat and humidity in town are stifling. But it’s nothing compared to the half-hour tender boat trip back to the ship. It’s a hotbox stuffed with sweaty people. “This is what hell is like,” says Lady A. They are both happy to return to the comfort of their luxurious ship.

Captain Cook Statue in Cooktown

Happy Valentine's Day

Darwin, Australia

The other day, the Riviera had reached Cape York, the northernmost point in Australia, then turned west, leaving the Great Barrier Reef behind. The destination is Darwin, an extremely isolated city in Australia’s Northern Territory. The sea days are nice and relaxing, but now it’s time to see some stuff.

Now in the Top End, the Lady Adventurer and Dan visit Territory Wildlife Park. It’s pretty enjoyable - much more than Raiforestation Nature Park in Cairns. It’s still basically a zoo, but this one’s very nice. The bird show is particularly interesting and fun.

Territory Wildlife Park

A huge pelican in Territory Wildlife Park

The Riviera continues her journey towards Komodo Island in Indonesia. Lady A. and Dan have fun with friends on board.

Dan, Lady A., John Cook, John Scott, Rosemary Scott, Julia Cook

Komodo, Indonesia

Lady Adventurer and Dan are walking through a primeval forest, hunting for primeval beasts: Komodo Dragons. Their guide stops everyone, then draws a line in the sand around a watering hole that’s populated by several of the cute creatures. “Do NOT cross the line,” he says. We all obey. Weighing up to 200 pounds, Komodo Dragons are the largest of the lizard family. With strong muscles, a powerful bite, and poisonous saliva, they’re quite deadly. Dan and Lady A. stay close to the guide throughout the walk.

Dan's new friend

About to pet the cute lizards

Komodo Island, the first stop in Indonesia, is otherwise scenic. It’s even more enjoyable when one avoids being eaten.

Bali, Indonesia

The Riviera spends three days in Bali: one on the north side (Celukan Bawang), and two in the South (Benoa). Bali is Indonesia’s vacation spot, with over 16 million annual visitors, many of them from Australia. Whereas Indonesia as a whole is mostly Muslim, Bali itself is predominantly Hindu. With its history and culture, nice beaches, and low prices, there is a lot to like. Best of all are the friendly and gracious people of Bali.

Dan and Lady A. explore exotic scenery in the mountains on the north side. Lakes, rivers, and terraced rice patties look great from up above, until the rain moves in. Our two explorers enjoy it all anyway. Some gardens are wonderful as well.

High above the rice patties

Rice patties

In the South, the roads are a little less narrow and winding, but there are even more people and traffic. There is a temple, a lavish government palace, and a memorable but somewhat confusing folkloric dance. At the temple, Lady A. and Dan don sarongs. When they leave the site, they say so long to the sarongs.

At the temple with a friend who also appeared in the dance show

At the temple

Around Bali

Government Palace in Bali

Bali is the turnaround point for the Riviera. She will now head back to the East, stop at mostly new ports, and end up back in Sydney. Sadly, friends and trivia teammates John and Rosemary Scott are departing here. We will miss them. Happily, John and Julia Cook are staying on.

Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia

Lady Adventurer and Dan are taking this cultural immersion thing too far. Much too far. After traveling for over an hour through mountains and jungles, with a police escort, they arrive at a tiny, isolated village, complete with a king, a prince, and many young people, barefoot and dressed in native garb. They put on quite a cultural show for everyone, even those who felt they couldn’t be any more immersed. After the show, our intrepid adventurers don’t quite know what to do. They’re probably supposed to meet with the king and the kids, but they only snap a few photos.

Village girls in West Timor

“At what point does a ‘developing’ country become ‘developed’?” asks Lady A. Dan doesn’t know. But Dan does know that West Timor has a whole lot of developing yet to go; more than the other parts of Indonesia that he has seen, and that’s saying something. West Timor occupies half the island. The other half (see if you can guess its name) is an independent country. Dan has heard that half is even more destitute. But with the squalor here, it’s hard to believe that this is the garden spot.

Earlier, Dan and Lady A. had the honor of being the eleventh and twelfth people to board a van with eleven seats. They patiently waited for ten minutes whilst the twelve-year-old driver and the tour director expertly installed a jump seat in the far rear of the vehicle for Lady A.’s comfort. Unfortunately, standing in the driving downpour for that time was anything but comfortable. Dan became worried about getting trench foot from wearing soaking-wet shoes for the rest of the day.

The rest of the day isn’t quite so immersive. Dan and Lady A. observe pork being smoked (something they’ve seen at home), and artisan handweaving of ikat fabrics.

West Timor is the final port in Indonesia; now it’s time to go further east.

West Timor Sail-away sunset

Darwin, Australia (again)

This is the second stop in Darwin during this voyage. Last time, Dan and Lady A. went to Territory Wildlife Park. This time, they are exploring the City of Darwin itself. Their little walking tour is being led by their friends John and Julia. It’s quite nice until the rain starts. They duck into a local pub. Some pubs are labeled as hotels. John explains that some of these hotels are associated with overnight-stay type hotels, and others are only pubs.

Dan, John, Julia, Lady A.

Papua New Guinea

“And we haven’t even seen a single bird!” In spite of that, Lady Adventurer is living up to her name. She and her faithful companion, Dan, are on a “birdwatching excursion” in Varirata National Park. The Riviera is in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; the park is located in the mountains, an hour and a half away. It’s stunningly beautiful, but ankle-deep mud has made this trail nearly impassible. And she is correct about the birds. Not a single one has been spotted. They may well be up in the trees, but when one has to keep one’s eyes on the mud for every baby-step footfall, it’s hard to look up.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is an island country that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and some offshore islands. New Guinea is the second-largest island in the world, after Greenland. The western half is part of Indonesia. Port Moresby is the capital and largest city. New Guinea played a major role in World War II, as the Allies, led by Australian forces, repelled a Japanese offensive. The island appears to have wonderfully beautiful mountain scenery, and the people are exceedingly friendly towards us visitors. But poverty is everywhere, and the vast majority of people appear quite poor.

Looking down at Port Moresby from the mountain park

view from the mountain park

The 2000-meter (1 1/4 mile) trek proves treacherous the entire way. It takes over two hours of slipping and sliding and pulling their feet out of the mud. Only one of our intrepid pair manages to remain vertical for the entire hike. They do finally see a couple of birds from the van on the way back down from the mountain.

2,000 meters of mud

Lady Adventurer, immersed in a whole new way at her finest

The next day, the Riviera has moved to Alotau, PNG. And Dan and Lady A. are busy immersing themselves once again. Not in mud; this time it’s native island culture. They travel about 50 kilometers from Milne Bay (where, in World War II, the Japanese originally landed and were fought off) to two very remote coastal villages near the eastern tip of the island. The villagers provide a warm welcome, accompanied by a threatening war dance. Dan comments that they are probably preparing the huge soup pots as they’ll be serving tourists for dinner. The villages have set up stations where Dan and Lady A. watch demonstrations of tasks such as clay pot-making, hut-building with sago palms, basket-weaving, and various food preparations that do not involve cannibalism. The children are adorable.

Children from the village

Lady A. with some villagers, just before they cooked and ate her

Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

Honiara is the capital and largest city on the island of Guadalcanal, the largest of the Solomon Islands. A major World War II battle was fought here between the United States and Japan. It raged on for six months in 1942 and 1943 before American forces finally achieved victory. As a result, an air strip known as Henderson Field, originally built by the Japanese, was then controlled by the Allies. It provided them with air superiority over a vast area of the Pacific.

Dan and Lady A. pay somber homage to the soldiers who died here. They visit Henderson Field, various battle sites, and several memorials. The hills are grassy and very pretty. It’s hard to imagine such savage fighting in such a peaceful place.

Solomon Islander welcome

Henderson Field airstrip

The Thin Red Line was filmed here

Vanuatu

Vanuatu is another Pacific island nation. It served as a staging area for U.S. forces during World War II, especially for the Battle of Guadalcanal. At the time, it was known as the New Hebrides Islands; it gained independence in 1980. The Riviera makes a stop at Luganville on Espiritu Santo Island, and Lady A. and Dan walk through the village to a nice little park on the opposite side of town. It's a long, hot walk, but a nice one.

Lady A. on Espiritu Santo Island

Once again, Dan and Lady A. have reached maximum levels of cultural immersion. You could say that they couldn't possibly be any more immersed than they are now. They are in the remote Vanuatu village of Ekasup, where, once again, villagers demonstrate their way of life. This takes place on Efate Island, not too far from the city of Port Vila.

Children in the village of Ekasup

Vanuatu has much going for it. Although the people are not rich by any means, they are friendly and appear to be interested in keeping their islands environmentally clean and also preserving their culture.

Fiji

Bula! Bula is a Fijian greeting, sort of like Aloha in Hawaii. Lady A. and Dan are in the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, and they are careful not to wake him. Such an event would signal the end of the world, so they're hoping today isn't that day. The Sleeping Giant is the name of the nearby mountain range. The verdant valley and garden below are lovely. They also visit a remote village and view much of the island from a scenic lookout.

Walking in the Garden of the Sleeping Giant

Island lookout

Fiji Island flowers and lookout

This island is Viti Levu, Fiji's largest and most populous island. The first port city is Lautoka, on the western coast. Next, the Riviera moves around to the eastern side to dock at Suva. Lady A. and Dan go for a nice, easy walk along the shore.

Walking in Suva, Fiji

Fiji now looks more like the idyllic paradise Dan had anticipated. Last time, the weather wasn't as good, but this time, it is marvelous.

New Caledonia

Looking down at Noumea, New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a French territory that includes one large island and dozens of smaller ones. Lady A. and Dan find it to be lovely. They visit the Botanical Garden and Bird Sanctuary in Nouméa, where they have a nice walk.

Sydney, Australia (again)

Dan and Lady A. sail back into Sydney Harbor early in the morning. The city is as spectacular as ever. It sparkles.

Return to Sydney; The Opera House is on the right, the Harbor Bridge is unseen to the right

Since there was time, Lady A. and Dan take a short tour of the city before getting over to the airport.

Sydney is glittery, gleaming, glistening, glimmering, glitzy, and glamorous, as usual. On an absolutely perfect day, Lady A. and Dan explore this great city. They visit a few spots they haven't been to during previous visits. The best is, of course, Bondi Beach. It's a beaut.