For Heaven's Sake

ocean, adventure & river cruising: all you need to know for your next great escape

Issue 52, winter 2013

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CRUISE COLLECTION

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50 Best of Asia: see pages 42, 46 and 50 for in-depth reports from our cruise experts.

Radio Waves

Glenn Wheeler, host of Radio 2GB’s The Travel Show, shares his colourful travel experiences.

Portside

What’s happening in and around key ports in Australia and New Zealand.

New Ships

We review the Viking Longships, Norwegian Breakaway and MSC Preziosa.

River

Explore the delights of France’s Sâone and Rhône rivers on board Uniworld’s River Royale.

10 of the Best

We report on the latest family-friendly ships, cruises and destinations.

Luxury

A 10-day Silver Shadow cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore reveals a tantalising glimpse into another world.

Special Report

Why you should include a visit to Macau on your next trip to Hong Kong.

Luxury Lite

Experience Azamara Quest’s dazzling north-Asian itinerary, from China to Japan.

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contents

Issue 52, winter 2013 Editor Sally Macmillan cruises@edgecustom.com.au Subeditors Merran White, Amy Tomkys Contributors Sue Bryant, Winsor Dobbin, Toni Eatts, Roderick Eime, Louise Goldsbury, David McGonigal, Maggy Oehlbeck, MT Schwartzman Art Director Amanda Hardwick Creative Director Shane O’Brien Production Coordinator Riley Palmer

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adventure

For

Heaven’s Sake In remote Alaska, peace and quiet eludes our adventure cruise writer – for one night, at least. What’s going on? Words: ROD EIME

This is ridiculous.

I’ve come all the way to the serene wilds of Alaska only to be kept awake by a bunch of rambunctious, unsupervised youngsters cavorting right outside my cabin window.

“It’s way past their bedtime,” I muse grumpily. “Where are their parents? I’ll give them a piece of my mind!”

I throw open my curtains with a huff and gaze across the mirror-still moonlit water towards snow-capped mountains in the distance. A velvety lilac glow embraces the distant peaks of the Fairweather Range while the brightest stars force their way through the bewitching aura.

“Aha! There they are,” I mutter.

The culprits have been located.

Barely 20 metres from my sea-level cabin window, an infant humpback whale rolls over and over on its back, flipper aloft, alternately blowing and squealing

while two or three young Steller sea lion pups dive in and out, leapfrogging the delirious animal while they themselves yelp and caterwaul in delight. What a scene.

Of course, at this my heart softens and I sit on the edge of my bed and watch the children at play for what must be a full hour. I eventually go to bed – they don’t.

Here at Point Adolphus, we’re not the only ones on holiday.

Every year, hundreds of 40-tonne humpback whales make the two-month journey from Hawaii to spend time fattening up and relaxing in the placid waters of Alaska’s Inside Passage.

In the lingering light of the summer solstice, just offshore from the City of Gustavus (population 442), there are a dozen or more of the massive mammals and their offspring, lolling about while we kick back with glasses of wine

and soak in the surroundings.

Sometimes it’s best not to try and process what’s happening and just let it happen.

Earlier in the day, we’d seen the big ships of Holland America Line and Royal Caribbean International pass by in the distance en route to Glacier Bay. How smug we’d felt, just 60 of us (plus crew) aboard the compact National Geographic Sea Bird, dawdling about the glaciers and coves, stopping here and there for a hike or kayak. Compared to cruising aboard these giants of the sea, it’s like being on an eight-day shore excursion – and we’re loving it.

Operated by the long-established Lindblad Expeditions in partnership with the National Geographic Society, our itinerary is the weeklong ‘Exploring Alaska’s Coastal Wilderness’. Beginning in Juneau, we head to Tracy Arm Fjord, Petersburg, Frederick Sound, Chatham Strait,

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Bald eagle

National Geographic Sea Bird, Endicott Arm

“Alaska is a great place for Aussies who love wide open spaces.”.

Point Adolphus and then to Inian Pass.

We glide through Glacier Bay National Park and the Southeast Islands, bays and fjords before winding up in Sitka. We get a sprinkle of rain in Elfin Cove, but otherwise it’s a sunscreen-and-floppy-hat kind of adventure.

Lindblad knows its stuff. After all, it was Lars-Eric Lindblad who kicked off regular commercial Antarctic cruises back in 1966 and launched the first dedicated expedition ship, MS Lindblad Explorer, back in 1969.

Except for myself and a family from the Philippines, the passengers are exclusively US citizens. This is not a bad thing. Most are mature couples, plus there’s one family and their teenage sons. Lindblad encourages families, and the ones on board are embarrassingly well-behaved and surprisingly engaged in the natural history and activities. No-one is bragging about their last round-the-world cruise or their Caribbean jaunt on the world’s largest ship.

This is a cultured crowd more interested in the arts, a bit of politics and world affairs.

Our daily routine is an invigorating mix of treks in the gorgeous Tongass National Forest, paddles in our kayaks on the millpond-flat waters, Zodiac tours around the sea lion haul-outs and visits to the dainty little towns dotted on the islands of the Inside Passage. At one, Elfin Cove, there isn’t a single car or even a road and the wooden buildings are all connected by boardwalks and footbridges.

I’m almost expecting to meet Ewoks.

Let’s not forget the wildlife, perhaps Alaska’s greatest drawcard along with the jaw-dropping scenery. We tick off bald eagles, whales, too many seabirds to list, bears – black and brown, seals and sea lions, plus the biggest slug I’ve ever seen.

Alaska is a great place for Aussies who love wide open spaces, and small-ship cruising is about the best way to see it.

Just don’t complain if the wildlife keeps you up at night.

Meet the crew Doug Gualtieri graduated in conservation biology at Central Michigan University and now lives in Alaska. He is one of our naturalist guides and photographers aboard National Geographic Sea Bird and displays the kind of temperament reserved for quiet, bearded men who spend a lot of time with animals. Doug’s big passion is dogs, sled dogs, so even though he’s a pig in poop when it comes to the sunny summer forest strolls where everything, including the muskeg (bog) holds a riveting fascination, you can see he can’t wait to get mushing again when winter comes around. Thanks, Doug.

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Highs • Superb expedition team, ship and itinerary.

• Wonderful nature and cultural experiences.

lows • Cruisers used to big-ship features may feel out of place with minimal onboard activities.

• Basic shipboard features only.

• No wheelchair access.

BEST SUITED TO Active mature couples, singles or families.

Fact file Cruise line: Lindblad Expeditions Vessel: National Geographic Sea Bird Star rating 1.5 Max passenger capacity: 70

(double occupancy) Total crew: 22 Passenger decks: 4 GRT: 630 Entered service: 1981 Facilities: wellness specialist, singlesitting/non-assigned restaurant, bar/lecture space, sun/viewing deck, library, underwater cameras, kayaks, Zodiacs, hydrophone.

Bookings Lindblad Expeditions’ eight-day Alaska’s Coastal Wilderness itinerary departs Juneau and ends in Sitka, with some trips running in reverse. Fares begin at US$6,290 per person (Cat.1) in 2014. For details, dates and itineraries, visit www.expeditions.com.

To book, call Wild Earth Travel on 1800 107 715 or visit www.wildearth-travel.com.

Michael Nolan

Ralph Lee Hopkins

adventure

special report

Macau A Taste of

If you’re taking an Asian cruise to or from Hong Kong, add a few days in Macau before or afterwards for a colourful extra dimension to your trip.

Words: Sally Macmillan

It takes about an hour to

skim across the water from Hong Kong to Macau on the TurboJET high-speed ferry and, depending on the time of day you arrive, a few more minutes to go through customs and immigration.

We met Joao, our guide from the Macau Government Tourist Office, outside the ferry terminal. As he ushered us past groups of smokers to our comfortable 4WD, he explained that smoking had just

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been banned in public buildings, which has interesting implications because in China (of which Macau is a part, albeit a Special Administrative Region), it is customary to offer cigarettes to someone when you meet them.

“We want to be a healthy city,” says Joao, who was born and bred in Macau and whose heritage is a mix of Macanese (Chinese and Portuguese) and Russian. His ethnic background reflects, in part, that of

the former Portuguese colony, which was returned to China in 1999 after more than 400 years of Portuguese administration.

Today, Macau is a fascinating mix of East and West, old and new, dense urban development and open green countryside.

We visited on Easter Sunday, so it was fitting that we should start our tour at the 17th-century Ruins of St Paul’s, the façade of the first church built in China by Jesuits. Reinforcing Macau’s assimilation

Patagonia: glacial beauty

Level 11, 99 Bathurst Street Sydney NSW 2000 T: (02) 9264 1488

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special report

of disparate cultures is the Na Tcha Buddhist temple, built within the walls of the original church.

Our walk through the narrow cobbled streets in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Historic Centre revealed picturesque piazzas flanked by European buildings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Joao entertained and educated us with his extensive local and cultural knowledge – if you don’t have the luxury of a personal guide, I would recommend hiring self-tour headphones from the tourist office.

As you can’t investigate everything in one day, we looked around the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt, then stopped at Ou Mun, a classic Portuguese coffee house that was serving Easter buns with its excellent strong coffee.

Looming over the entire city is the 58-floor Grand Lisboa Macau, a hotelentertainment complex built to represent a lotus flower. It’s loathed by many but impossible to ignore and houses three Michelin-starred restaurants as well as

Famous facade of St Paul’s

the world’s biggest entertainment centre in its glittering globe.

We crossed to Taipa on one of three massive bridges that link Macau to the ‘islands’ of Taipa and Coloane, which are now joined by Cotai, a strip of reclaimed land. On the way, we passed Macau Tower, which boasts the highest bungee jump in the world at 338 metres above the ground, and the historic former Hotel Bela Vista, one of the few buildings that I recall from a fleeting visit some 20 years ago.

Cranes dominate the skyline and are visible signs of the wave of construction

“Taipa village on the island’s east side retains its old-world charm.”

Portuguese tart

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overtaking the region – high-rise public housing and a series of massive hotelcasino resorts catering to the seemingly insatiable influx of gamblers from mainland China.

However, Taipa village on the island’s east side retains its old-world charm. Rua do Cunha is a food street where you can eat at little Chinese, Portuguese, Macanese and Thai restaurants, and in the colonial promenade, Avenida da Praia, you’ll see a row of five grand, green-painted, 19thcentury houses that now form the Taipa House Museum.

Heading south to Coloane, we drove past the championship golf course that hosts the annual Macau Open, and the 20-hectare Seac Pai Van Park, where two giant pandas, Kai Kai and Xin Xin, live in

a purpose-built high-tech pavilion. For years, Coloane’s countryside and beaches have offered a relaxing escape to frazzled Hong Kong city-dwellers, and the former fishing village still attracts weekend visitors in search of a leisurely Portuguese lunch.

The yellow-and-white chapel of St Francis Xavier dominates the mosaic village square, which is flanked by arcades of open-air restaurants shaded by banyan trees. There’s a history of piracy here as well as fishing, but the local farmers have decamped to mainland China, where they allegedly make an excellent living exporting produce back to their homeland.

Joao took us to lunch at Restaurante Espaço Lisboa, a traditional fisherman’s house in a tiny backstreet of Coloane village. The two Portuguese owners stopped at our table for a chat but were too busy fixing a leak in the fridge to sit down and have a drink with us – which was a shame, as we had a bottle of deliciously light vinho verde on the go.

Lunch included a platter of ham and olives; garlic prawns served with garlicinfused oil; bacalhau (cod) and potato; clams and pork sausage and, to finish, a freshly baked Portuguese egg tart.

On our way back to the ferry terminal, we made a whistlestop tour of The Venetian Macao, the world’s biggest casino.

The experience was quite mind-boggling (shades of The Truman Show) and I wish we could have stayed to see Macau’s spectacular night-time shows, particularly The House of Dancing Water. Make sure you make time to see a bit more of Macau!

For more details, call (02) 9264 1488 or visit www.macautourism.gov.mo.

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