- Fremantle and Perth, Western Australia
- On the road to Margaret River, Western Australia
- Rottnest Island, Western Australia
- Back to Broome, Western Australia
- Lacepede Island, Western Australia
- Talbot Bay, Western Australia
- Montgomery Reef and Freshwater Cove, Western Australia
- Hunter River and Mitchell Falls, Western Australia
- Ashmore Reef, Australia
- Vansittart Bay, Western Australia
- King George River, Western Australia
- Darwin, Northern Territory
- Agats, West Papua, Indonesia
- Kokas, West Papua, Indonesia
- Misool, Yapap Lagoon, Indonesia
- Yenwaupnor, Gam Island, Indonesia
- Mansinam Island, West Papua, Indonesia
- Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia
- Cenderwasih Bay, Indonesia Supplemental
- Vanimo, Papua New Guinea
- Garove Island, Papua New Guinea
- Duke of York Island and Rabaul, Papua New Guinea — and the trip takes a turn for the worse
- Ghizo Island, Solomon Islands and my health situation is still uncertain
- Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; a 72-hour pause in our trip; and a triumphant return!
- Dravuni Island, Kadavu, Fiji
- Vulaga, Fiji
- Pangai and Nukupule Island, Ha’Apai Group, Tonga
- Vavau, Tonga
- Apia, Upolo, Samoa
- Aitutaki, Cook Islands
- Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia
- Maroe Bay, Huahine Iti, French Polynesia
- Bora Bora, French Polynesia and end of trip
Today we reached Honiara, Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. This was going to be an important stop for us because of all the WW II history here — battles Deb’s and my Dad fought in. There was to be a full day trip to all the historic sites there — but not for us… The ship’s doctor decided that it was too risky for me to stay onboard after not passing the stone over the previous 3-4 days, especially given that they didn’t have a CT scanner that could help assess the situation. A number of options were considered, but ultimately it was decided that we should fly back to Brisbane, Australia, check into a local hospital, get all necessary tests and scans, and work with the urologist to determine what could be done. The ship’s doctor (Dr. Stephanie Weiss) contacted and worked with a urologist in Brisbane and plans were quickly put in place. We were able to get a flight to Brisbane within three hours of arriving in Honiara. Upon landing in Brisbane, we took an Uber directly to the emergency room of the hospital there. That was at about 8:30 pm. Of course, we had to take all of our bags with us as we didn’t know if we were going to be able to return to the ship. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, I was admitted and the tests began. Meanwhile, Deb was able to get some help with the bags and checked into a nearby hotel. By 3:00 am, I was in a hospital room. At 6:30 am, I met with the urologist. Knowing that we wanted to rejoin the cruise ASAP, she suggested putting in a stent that would hold the stone in place which would then be removed once we returned to Seattle. By 9:30 am, I was in the operating room undergoing the procedure. By 11:00 am I was out of recovery and back in my room for a 24-hour monitoring. By midday the next day I was released and joined Deb at the hotel. While having driven past Brisbane before, we had never spent any time there and we were definitely impressed. In fact, we spent the evening walking around the South Bank section of the city and had a lovely dinner out. By the next day, we were flying to Fiji ahead of the ship’s arrival. Ultimately, we missed Honiara and Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands and Ambrym in Vanuatu, but we were going to be able to finish the cruise.
We actually got to Fiji a couple of days before the ship’s arrival. I had hurriedly booked a resort to stay while we were waiting but, unfortunately, didn’t look at how far the resort was from where we were going to pick up the ship. It turned out to be 3 hours each way (Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island is very big)! We ended up booking a car and driver and he kept up a running dialogue both coming and going. We learned a lot. We stayed at the Nanuku Resort on the south side of the island, close to the capital of Suva. It was a bit over the top in terms of their welcoming and departure ceremonies (I felt like I was in Moana!), but the people were very friendly and it was a pleasant break after the 72-hour whirlwind we had just finished. We ultimately rejoined the ship in Lautoka, Fiji and it was great to be back. They even put a welcome back sign in our stateroom!
So now, let’s get back to the trip!
This entry was posted in Cruising, Solomon Islands, Travel
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
