Monday, August 27th .....

We arrived in New Caledonia this afternoon; the sky was a bit overcast but it was warm and almost everybody went off the ship. We decided that we weren’t tempted by the tourist attractions and Noumea didn’t look much different to other small cities we had seen, so we enjoyed the quietness of a deserted ship. We did see the dancers on the dock; in fact, they were just outside our porthole. There is something to be said for a cabin in the bowels of the ship.

The entertainment this evening was a Game Show where people had to remember the lyrics of a song. I think there was a TV show with the same format. Eight contestants were chosen but eventually only one was left. She had to give the lyrics of three different songs, which she did, and won a three-day cruise, a dinner at Salt restaurant and $150 to spend at the Spa. I had never even heard of the last song she was given.

It’s interesting travelling with an almost exclusively Australian passenger list. Bad manners seem to be acceptable now, or is this just part of our egalitarian nature (Great Australian Myth #6)? What else would make people leave their beer glass on the floor when they had finished drinking it (if someone kicks it over, that’s their problem)? Are five-year olds really as entitled to a seat as the old woman with the walking frame? Is there really nothing wrong with wearing a swimming costume and bare feet to the dining room? Challenging authority is one thing but if you are told that children should not sit in the front row in the theatre (for safety reasons), is it OK to wait until a security person comes to talk to you before you pay attention? Do you not feel embarrassment?

One bad habit I really dislike is the way in which some people pile their plates high at the buffet and then can’t eat it all. They say that Australia is the fifth most obese nation in the world. I had wondered about that, but I’ve noticed quite a few of my fellow-passengers are trying hard to lift us up the table. I know that lifts are only rated to carry a certain weight but this cruise is the first time I’ve heard a lift alarm, and it’s happened three times already in my hearing. The odd thing is that it’s often a skinny bloke who volunteers to get off and not the barrel on legs who has probably caused the problem. I heard a woman being interviewed on radio the other morning; she, apparently, started Oz Harvest which ‘rescues’ food and re-distributes it to the needy. She would have a field day on Pacific Dawn.

Tomorrow, we’re in Lifou and we hope this is a more traditional tropical island paradise so we’ll be tempted to get off the ship.