Australia Cruise - from Perth - 115127

The port of Geraldton is located to the North of Perth in Champion Bay. Since the sun shines an average of 8 hours a day here, the city is also known as "Sun City". The Abrolhos Islands lie before the coast of the city; these are banks of coral and islands that until very recently caused many, many ships to sink. The most famous of these was the Batavia, a trading and passenger ship that sank in 1629 with around 300 people on board. The survivors' story is re-told at the Geraldton Museum with finds, photographs and a gripping film. The city with the second-largest port in all of Western Australia also has a number of other interesting sights: St. Francis Xavier cathedral, the Shell Museum and the view point at Mount Scott.

In the middle of the West Australian coast, 1,100 km North of Perth, lies the small town of Exmouth. It was built in 1967 primarily as a communications base for the US marines, who left in the early 1990s. Part of the base has been used by the Australian marines, the other section has been converted into accommodation. Exmouth is first and foremost the starting point for tours to Ningaloo Reef Marine Park, the largest coral reef in Western Australia. From November to March visitors can see the turtles that come to the beach to lay their eggs. A special highlight for visitors is being able to dive with the largest fish in the world, the whale shark, at the fantastic Ningaloo Reef.

Broome, the centre of the pearl industry, lies on the Indian Ocean. The town is surrounded by wide, white sandy beaches with turquoise-blue water and the reddish-orange coloured cliffs along the shoreline. Thanks to the former pearl divers, the town has an Asian touch and still has a Chinatown area. In the 19th century, Broome was one of the most famous pearl harbours in the world. In 1910, 400 boats met 80% of the worldwide demand for mother-of-pearl. Today, the Australian port relies mainly on tourism. Sights include: Cable Beach, the Japanese cemetery, Broome Historical Society Museum, the historic outdoor cinema "Sun Pictures", where you can watch a film from the comfort of your deckchair.

The relaxed atmosphere of the outback dominates in Darwin too. The nearby wilderness of Cockatoo National Park boasts cave paintings and aboriginal art, rock formations that are more than 20,000 years old, and the dense lush Australian rainforest with many many waterfalls.

Benoa is a traditional fishing village in the South of Bali. At the entrance to the port is the Pura Sakenan temple . It is linked with the pilgrimage of the Buddhist saint Dang Hyang Nirartha and is particularly important during the Galungan Festival celebrated every second year.