A Papua New Guinea Adventure

To celebrate the end of my high school education, my mum, sister and I decided to go on a cruise instead of doing the typical "schoolies" trip to the coast. When Alex graduated we went on a 7 day cruise around the Pacific Islands on a P&O cruise ship so I knew that when it was my turn to graduate, I'd want to do the same thing. A few days after graduation, we dragged carried our over-packed suitcases to the Port of Brisbane and waved good bye to my nan and pop and said hello to our new home for the next 12 days. Instead of going on a P&O cruise ship, we went on a cruise line called Princess Cruises, which was actually quite a nice ship and had a similar layout to the P&O cruise line. However the one main difference is the age group! When Alex and I arrived on the ship, a crew member turned to us and said that we were the youngest passengers on board so far, which wasn't a good sign considering the fact that we were among the final passengers to board. I will admit though that being one of the 11 passengers under the age of 25 (true story, it was proven!) had it's advantages: the crew knew us by name a lot quicker, we were always referred to as the dancers because they were around the same age as us but that's gotta be a compliment right? Anyway, back to the trip.... We stopped at a number of different ports within Papua New Guinea and the first thing that you notice is the heat and humidity! A wall of heat smacked you in the face the moment you stepped foot off of the ship and my golly was it uncomfortable but the scenery and culture made it completely worth all the sweating. Just a quick little side note that I learnt from this trip and some advice that I'd like to pass on to my fellow readers, if you are blonde like myself and decide to head to a part of the world where blonde hair is not common then fully prepare yourself for continuous stares and hair touching from the natives; My sister was the first one to notice but I started to get used to it after an hour or so. The entertainment on this cruise was incredible, whether is be the dancers or musicians; however, there was a questionable banjo player on board but all the older ones loved him so maybe it's just a young thing ;) I think I'm just going to stop rambling now and share some photos instead so if you're not at all interested then I suggest that you either stop now or learn to love it because it's happening regardless haha

Alex and I standing with Kay and Ross a.k.a "Mum and Dad". Al and I hung out with these two more than anyone else. They were such great company and we certainly miss them a lot! 

Us with just Kay. 

Our room steward Jerry and I on the last night. He knew our names by the first day and would always sing when walking down the halls 

Al and I getting "tipsy" with our non-alcoholic cocktails haha what can I say, we like to live life on the wild side ;)

Cheesing away for the billionth time in 12 days 

Al and I with Sue, our other guardian angel. 

Sorry Alex but you're in yet another one (and the next 2). Just be thankful that I didn't pull out the photo of you with a snorkel ;) 

Practicing our cha cha dance moves on the main floor of the ship 

Dressing up in our heels and dresses for a formal night 

One of the islands that we had the privilege of visiting, I believe that this one was one of our favourites

A view of our home away from home.

I'm the worst person when it comes to remembering which island each one was so this was one of those that we holidayed at haha 

There are so many more photos that were taken but they're on another phone so sadly, they won't be making an appearance on this blog. We were supposed to be going on a scenic tour during the last few days at sea before heading home however, one of the passengers on board became incredibly ill resulting in the ship going as fast as possible to get to Australian waters in order for a helicopter to transport her to the hospital; it was at this time that we all saw one of the biggest sharks we've (well I've.. ) seen!!

This was for sure the holiday of a lifetime and there were definitely some struggles that arose (a.k.a sharing a room with someone who snores or rocks their foot to sleep or talks or murmurs in their sleep - all the same person by the way haha) but there were so many incredible memories that were made that will forever be remembered. We met some amazing people (and some who weren't so amazing but that's bound to happen) who gave us a different perspective of life by sharing their story with us. I highly recommend this cruise for anyone that's looking for a unique holiday and if I were you, I'd go as soon as possible before the culture is ruined by tourism.

P.S. I finally finished my bedroom, well almost! There are a few little design-y bits and bobs still missing but stay tuned for a little before and after post

Lots of love,

Jordyn xx