Indian Ocean Cruise - Fremantle to Singapore.

Indian Ocean & South Africa Odyssey aboard Sun Princess.

Fremantle to Singapore.

On Friday the 8th January 2016, we embarked on the Sun Princess in Fremantle, Western Australia for our 46 day cruise around the Indian Ocean to South Africa and returning to Fremantle. This Cruise will take us right around the Indian Ocean, visiting many exotic ports and experiencing different countries that we have not previously ventured too. The countries we will visit include Singapore, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and several islands.

Before the cruise we have had 2 quiet, but very enjoyable days in Fremantle, staying at the Esplanade Hotel. Because it has been so hot & humid, we have spent most of our time relaxing in our room - which is very pleasant and overlooks the pool - only venturing out for a little sight-seeing around the City of Fremantle and to purchase some necessities for our ocean adventure.

The Esplanade Hotel Fremantle.

The first 5 days of this cruise is spent at sea, sailing north to our first port of call which is Singapore.  It takes no time at all for the Sun Princess to sail away for the port at Fremantle, up the Swan River and out into the Indian Ocean. The weather fine, very warm and a little humid and the seas are extremely calm and for most of the time reasonably flat – nights are very dark with no moonlight. Having 5 days at sea gives us a great opportunity to get to know the layout of the Sun Princess, experience and enjoy the activities and entertainment on board and to get to know our fellow travellers. It also gives us plenty of time to have a good rest in preparation for the many adventures and the new ports we will soon visit.

Sunset Over The Indian Ocean.

Our days are spent swimming in the pools, walking around the decks, watching movies, enjoying enrichment lectures and destination talks, eating the wonderful array of foods on offer and enjoying the special evening performances by the guest artists in both the Princess Theatre and the Vista Lounge. Dinner in the dining room is a definite highlight of the day - great food, wonderful service and really nice people to enjoy our meal with and to chat and to also share a laugh with. It is great fun.

The Pool Area on the Sun Princess.

On Tuesday the 12^th of January I celebrate my birthday. It is really special to be celebrating it at sea and with new friends. At dinner that night, Princess Cruises presented me with a special chocolate birthday cake and the staff in the restaurant sang Happy Birthday.

Allan & Myself On My Birthday.

We wake early on Thursday the 14^th January and head up to deck 14 to enjoy the sunrise and our sail in into busy Singapore Harbour. We see so many different types and sizes of ships – container ships, tugs, ferries, war ships and oil tankers. Approximately 7,000 ships enter this very busy port every month. By 8am we are docked at Marina Bay Cruise Terminal with the Singapore skyline towering above us.

Arriving In Singapore.

We have 13 hours in the port of Singapore and we have decided to spend the day visiting the world famous Jurong Bird Park. Many years ago we visited this park on our first visit to Singapore and enjoyed it immensely. We would like to go back and see the changes and improvements that have been made to the park as well have time to admire and photograph the beautiful birds and in particular the colourful macaws and the elegant and graceful flamingos that this bird park is famous for. Getting there is quite an adventure – purchasing local currency, quite a walk to the closest train station, followed by about a ¾ hour ride to Boon Lay station on the spotlessly clean Singapore MTR and then a ride on the local 194 bus to the park.

Us At the Bird Park.

We spend over 6 hours walking and riding the small tram around the park, enjoying the great varieties of birds in their beautiful surroundings. The park has over 5,000 birds across 400 species which fly, swim and roam freely in their natural habitats – there are 4 large free flight aviaries to visit, feeding sessions and two very special shows to enjoy – the High Flyers Show and the Kings of the Sky Show. The park is set in lush tropical vegetation, with wonderful flowering plants including many different varieties of orchids. It is just a wonderful kaleidoscope of living colour. In one of the very large enclosures called the Waterfall Avery towering over 30mts is the largest man made waterfall in the world – it is just magnificent and the birds in this enclosure are very friendly and are happy to come right up to you.

The Flamingo Pool.

 

The Flamingo Preforms.

 

The Colourful Macaws - Just so Beautiful.

 

This Large Lizard Just Crossed Our Path. He Was Magnificent.

A Very Cleaver Cockatoo.

 The High Flyers Show was fantastic to see – flying macaws, toucans and talking parrots entertain us and a very large audience. But unfortunately it is summer and we are in the tropics and this means that the rains come often. Our day is interrupted a several times with showers but the sun comes out again and we dry off very quickly. The King of the Sky Show is cancelled because the tropical down pour gets very heavy and more persistent- soon after 5pm we depart the Bird Park and because we are very tired we head back to the Sun Princess.

Night View of Singapore.