Day 6/7 Singapore

Day 6 of holiday was spent pretty much in transit.  We boarded our Air Nuigini flight from Port Moresby to Singapore at about 2pm and arrived into Singapore at 6.30pm.  None of us wanted to do anything tonight so we settled for a few drinks in the lobby at the Marina Mandarin Hotel where we were staying.  We had been well and truly feed on our flight so nobody was very hungry.  We were in bed quite early for a day of sightseeing the following day.
We woke quite early the following morning.  Excitement I guess, and this is the view we had from our hotel room on the 18th floor.  It is a magnificent golden hour photo with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel with the "ship sitting atop" the three buildings, really dominating the skyline.

We had pre-arranged to meet the rest of the crew for a 7am buffet breakfast.  My goodness, what a magnificent buffet.  There were at least five "stations" loaded with food and absolutely everybody's taste was catered for.  We discussed what we each wanted to do today and it was decided that Kate, Mike, Philip and I would do the hop-on, hop-off bus and as Linda and Tony had jobs to do we decided that we would all meet back at the hotel and walk the short distance to Marina Sands for lunch. Tonight was also going to be special with reservations having been made at Jumbo Seafood for a feed of chilli crab!

Our tour around this lovely city on the bus was fantastic.  It is certainly the best way to see a place and get your bearings, so to speak.  We didn't get off as we were happy to complete two of the four routes back to back.  Our tour took us through the city where the Marina Sands Hotel now dominates the skyline, past the legendary Raffles Hotel, out to little India, back to China Town, down Orchard Road where the likes of Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton have numerous stores.  We also visited the well known Botanical Gardens that looked very inviting but unfortunately not enough time to explore this trip.  What a great morning it was travelling down the tree lined streets, and always looking upwards. We watched window cleaners hanging precariously off the sides of buildings with no safety harnesses.  Workplace health and safety is apparently an unknown here.

Botanical Gardens

Washing fluttering in the wind...

So much beautiful greenery on just about every building

Those little "ants" climbing up the side of the building are window cleaners!

We finally ended our tour at midday and meet up with Linda and Tony.  They had walked a massive 10km around the city this morning....mostly underground where there is a zillion shops!  Honestly the island is so small that every available space is used and underground shopping malls are commonplace.

We walked over to the Marina Sands Shopping Complex and ate lunch in the food hall.  What an amazing choice of food.  It's hard to know where to start but as we were going to be "pigging" out on Chilli Crab tonight we held back slightly!

Lunch at the Marina Sands food hall

After walking off lunch, we headed back to our hotel room for a rest before dinner.  Our reservation was for 6pm so we were all to meet in the lobby at 5.30pm.

Jumbo Seafood Restaurant was amazing..... and the food.....well it certainly lived up to its name.  The restaurant was packed with diners....always a good sign!  The Chilli Crab was so delicious and tender.  I was lucky enough to score a big fat juicy claw and it was truly the best I have ever eaten.  We all sat around the lazy suzan and made complete pigs of ourselves, washing down the crab with the local beer.  Such a nice combination.

Jumbo Seafood.  The best Chilli Crab in town!

Too busy eating to get a photo.  Did get the remains though :-)

The sky was threatening rain all night and we were a little concerned that we had an outside table and would be drenched but as luck would have it,  it only started to rain as we stepped into our cab.  

It was a very memorable night.

Day 5 Tufi Resort

Today, the threatening clouds of yesterday, turned into light rain and then heavy showers.  Sunday at Tufi Resort is Beach BBQ day.  All the guests are taken by boat out of the Fjord and around the point to a lovely little beach area where can swim, snorkel, fish and then enjoy the BBQ lunch.  However with the weather the way it was, the decision was made to have the BBQ lunch back at the resort and after lunch we would board our plane and head back to Port Moresby.
Philip and I had booked ourselves on the morning "Cultural Tour" so that went ahead as planned because we would be back in plenty of time for lunch and our flight.
The tour starts at the Dive Centre below the resort where we boarded the boat that takes us out to sea and then back in to the next Fjord.

Our boat is waiting for us

but first we had to wait for the divers to leave the water.  There is a fantastic wreck, right at the jetty, that divers enjoy exploring.

We passed many villagers on our way along the magnificent Fjord

At our destination we were meet by the locals in their canoes who take us two or three at a time further into the jungle along a narrow stream.  As it was low tide we had to leave the canoe and wade quite some distance through the shallow water to our destination.

Philip and I and one other boarded this canoe for our journey upstream

 As we left the water and walked along the narrow path we were met by two "fierce" warriors who wanted to know whether we were friend or foe.  We assured them that we were indeed friends!

The path that leads to the village

We then walked through an archway where we were showered with flower petals as a welcome to the village.

As we walked along the path there were displays of fire lighting, face tattooing (not real!) and then the elaborately decorated warriors and maidens gave a dance display.  On or way back to the boat the locals had set out their wares for sale.  We bought a bark painting that I will frame as a momento.

By the time we had boarded the boat for our return journey we had become well acquainted with our fellow passengers and chatted amicably on the way home.
We arrived back at the Resort just in time for a delicious BBQ lunch and then it was time to pack our suitcases in readiness for our return flight to Port Moresby. Saying goodbye to Tufi was very hard.  I just loved the place and would return in a heartbeat.

The gang!

Flight check

We had two pilots for our return journey and a different plane but the 45 minute flight was very good despite the cloudy skies.  Back in Moresby at Tony and Linda's lovely apartment we sat around over and few drinks and talked the afternoon away.  That night everyone (apart from Kate and I) went out to dinner at a Thai Restaurant that Philip reported was very good.  In the meantime Kate and I tucked in for an early night in readiness for our flight to Singapore tomorrow morning.

Day 4 Tufi Resort

We woke to a slightly cloudy day but that did not stop our plans of doing the 7km round trip trek to Suicide Point.  Our guide asked us all to meet him at 9 am and assured us it was not a hard walk.  As our guide was a PNG national I should have been a little wary.  Actually the walk was very pleasant and there were only a couple of places that tested my knee.

A well worn, albeit narrow, path to follow

The first place we visited was the local village where the villagers had set out their wares to sell.  The village was lovely and very clean unlike a lot of the villages we have seen around the world and even in our own country.

The hut with the table and chairs is used by passing visitors to rest and quench their thirst

I don't know whether you pick it up in this photo but the lady has a tattooed face.  Years ago it was compulsory but these days it is by choice.  The men don't have it done because "it hurts too much"

Passed this fella on the path

We stopped and purchased a mother of pearl shell.  It's pretty much expected that we should purchase something, after all, this was the villagers only income.  I think the shell cost 10 Kina that is about $4 AUD.
We walked on towards the point of the Fjord where somebody had committed suicide, so consequently it was called Suicide Point.  It was a long drop down to the water and I admit I could not get too close to the edge.

Suicide Point

After here we went to another viewing area that the villagers have planted with lots of butterfly attracting plants and shaded seating that is very much appreciated on a hot day.  The view of the Fjord was spectacular from here.

The Butterfly Garden

The walk back to the resort didn't seem to take very long and we were back in time to enjoy another delicious lunch, this time pizza and salad.  Some of our group decided to walk down to the dive shop after lunch to do a spot of snorkelling in the Fjord.  I declined as I needed to rest and the hammock looked very inviting. The group that snorkelled said that it was fantastic and I did regret my decision.... momentarily. 😏

Looking from our balcony to the group below who decided to go snorkelling.  It's quite a long way down!

That evening after another wonderful meal we were treated to a song and dance by some of the locals.  They sang some traditional songs but I really loved their version of "Cecilia" however, I don't think they understood the words of the song that they were singing 😂.........

"Making love in the afternoon with Cecilia

Up in my bedroom (making love)

I got up to wash my face

When I come back to bed someone's taken my place"

Day 3 Bulolo - Tufi

Our day began with a delicious breakfast with many choices of either hot or cold dishes.  The plan today was to head high into the mountains to inspect the hydro systems and then later in the afternoon we would board our plane for Tufi on the east coast of PNG.
I loved the drive up through the highlands.  We passed many villages where everyone enjoyed the simple life.  I was at first taken aback by the big betel nut stained smiles that we received, but as it is so commonplace, after awhile it just seemed natural.  Wherever you go in PNG there are stalls set up along the roads, selling the betel nuts.

We visited two hydro systems.  The first is smaller and older than the second one but both generate an enormous amount of power.  It is such a simple system and with so much rain in the highlands it is a brilliant scheme utilising natural resources.  I have to wonder why we don't see more Hydro Schemes in Australia, particularly in the north of the country where we experience high rainfall.

Loved this sign.  (Look out big fella power)

Water comes into the hydro station via two large pipes 

Inside the second power station (panoramic photo)

The water leaving the hydro station.  The roar and power from this water was quite amazing

Our tour took us into the highlands and at every turn in the road was another phenomenal view of this lovely area.  Our driver was probably very tired of us stopping him for a photo!

When we arrived back at Bulolo it was lunch. Today we feasted on crumbed fish, chips and salad that was once again very delicious!  At lunch Tony told us that we would be boarding the plane about 2 pm for our 45 minute flight to Tuffi, so after lunch it was a quick re-pack of the suitcase and a nanny nap before boarding our plane.
The flight from Bulolo to Tufi was once again, thanks to Pilot Matthew, a bump free experience, although landing on the Tufi runway is for "experienced pilots only" as the cross winds are extreme.
I loved the Tufi International Airport sign!

Kate was invited to sit up the front with the Pilot

Banking in readiness for landing at Tufi.  The runway is that strip of green right at the waters edge! The volcanic Tufi Fjords are easy to see from the air

The manager from Tufi Dive Resort was there to greet us and we were quickly loaded into two vehicles and driven to the resort.  What a lovely place!  It has a Balinese feel with lots of wide open verandahs for sitting, sipping and eating. A very inviting swimming pool sits between the rooms and main building.

Pool on the left of the photo and the main building on the right.

Standing on the balcony where we ate our meals looking out over one of the incredible Fjords

The resort mascot

The rooms are fabulous with their reed lined walls, four poster bed and deck (including hammock!) looking out over the Fjord.  This is a place I can recommend to everyone.  It caters specifically for diving and fishing but we were neither and thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

I forgot to get a photo of our room so I copied this one from the Tufi Resort website .  I'm sure they won't mind!

Later in the afternoon the commercial flight from Moresby arrived.  Linda was aboard this flight and it was great to see her and then to sit down over numerous glasses of champagne and shoot the breeze until dinner.
The meals here are delicious.  All meals are smorgasbord and a huge variety of food caters to everyones taste.  Hubby and I along with a few more from our party of seven made our way to the bar area after dinner and stayed up longer than we really should have.  Those Espresso Martinis where so delicious!