A Pacific

Happiness Is

Cruise

• South Pacific cruising is all things tc all men. You can be blase. You can have a fun time, a dull time, a noisy time, a quiet time. Sydney housewife Mrs. Jai Nolan read in "PIM" about the regular voyages of the "MV Polynesie" to Noumea, Vila and Santo, and took a 17 day trip at a cost of $363. It so fascinated her that she wrote us about it here. On the op posite page, our Suva correspondent.

Sue Wendt, puts another point of view about other, larger ships.

By Jai Nolan

We left one day late owing to cargo being loaded but I was able to entertain my husband and two friends to dinner so it didn’t matter so much. Our menu was written in French with no choices available but the food was excellent five courses.

Red and white wine was served free of charge with lunch and dinner and our first lunch was served up

shortly after passing Sydney Heads.

A happy introduction to the holiday was an invitation card from the cap tain for each of us to attend a cock tail party that evening.

After lunch we adjourned for coffee and drinks—the bar hours were from 11 am to two pm and five pm to 11.30 pm—and then had a siesta, a wonderful idea, until after noon tea.

In the evening we met the captain in the lounge and passengers were introduced to each other—first names only.

After dinner were films and this was continued every night with bingo, quizzes and dancing as other forms of entertainment. The passengers were mostly like myself, tired and needing a holiday. There were also some French people travelling to Noumea and a Chinese boy return ing home to Santo with his father after having had a heart operation at St. Vincent’s Hospital.

The crew were French and Mel anesian and most spoke English.

They could not have been more courteous, especially Paul, the head waiter, who looked after us like a Dutch uncle.

Breakfast was Continental-style, with an omelette if desired, and we

could eat in our dressing gowns.

The boat rolled a fair bit and the sea can be rough but passengers were able to protect themselves with sea sickness pills.

Every passenger on board was entertained by the captain for lunch or dinner and we arrived in Noumea five days later ready to visit a native feast.

A delightful French girl acted as guide and a bus took us into the hills through native villages and some lovely scenery. The Melan esians are such happy people—they are always smiling.

The feast was cooked by the Mel anesians and consisted of chicken, papaw, sweet potato, tomatoes, onions and coconut milk, all wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on hot stones in a sand pit. The trip cost us 57.50 each.

After getting back we saw an aquarium but had to wait for a long time as the bus waited for passengers to fill-up before leaving. I did not have a meal ashore but as most food, I believe, is imported from Australia and New Zealand, it would have been expensive anyway. I also discovered anything made in France is much cheaper.

We sailed the next morning for Vila after Paul had checked every one was on board. The crew were the band at sea although at Santo some local people came on board and entertained us.

Vila is a very beautiful place, so peaceful with blue waters and lots of green foliage. We did not go ashore until the afternoon as every thing closes from 11 a.m. to two p.m.

We had a few tropical downpours while ashore, each lasting about 15 minutes. But it didn’t worry any

one as we were quick to dry off.

The next day a picnic, costing two dollars, was arranged on the beach. Ice boxes were filled with drinks and food and we visited a native village on the way. I did not take a swimming costume and so when the others were swimming, I looked for sea-shells with the crew.

As lunch was being served by the crew, a tropical downpour began and as I was already saturated I went swimming in my frock. It was most pleasant in the sea with a mug of wine in my hand and the rain com

ing down.

We were all wet but happy and the captain gave us cognac during lunch to warm us up. We visited the new night-club at Vila and I danced with about six different nationalities.

At Santo we went on another picnic but this time there was no more rain. We stayed there over two days, a very pleasant place. We spent two more days in Noumea on our way back and the sea was quite

rough.

It was a clear day when we passed Middleton Reef and we saw many ships that had been stranded and abandoned for years. Later the ship slowed down and we watched the crew fishing for tuna.

In the evening we sailed by Lord Howe Island and the captain pointed out its main features. Our last meal, after a cocktail party, lasted seven courses and shortly after we came tlhrough Sydney Heads and were seen by the immigration. They could not have been more pleasant.

It was a wonderful, relaxing holi day and the crew were always helpful.

There was no tipping on board ex cept at the end when we tipped the head waiter (Continental-style).

It was a lovely, different-from-the usual style, holiday and all we needed was a smallpox vaccination, a pass port and three weeks’ leave.

• The "MV Polynesie" sets off from Sydney on a round trip to New Caledonia and the New Hebrides.