Adam films as Nancy, Justin, Chanda, Todd, and Nick climb aboard Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessel M/V TARAGO for a 5-day sail from Freemantle to Singapore

Journal and photos by Neil Dana

So today is our last day on mainland Australia. We awoke in our oceanfront hostel in Cottlesloe and ate our last Big Brekky!! It was a tasty one too, with crunchy bacon, sausage, eggs, tomato, toast, and hash browns. And of course, I ordered a very rich-tasting cappuccino. It is a good thing it is our last day in Australia so we can stop spending so much money on the food here. Australia has been really expensive.

We then rallied the troops and drove over to ARB to snap a picture with those friendly folks. They have been really helpful to us in Australia, so thanks ARB. And after we visited ARB, we headed back to the hotel to meet Todd, who had met with the Western Australia's Parkinson's Branch. He had a very impacting visit with them.

Now it was time to head over to the shipyard and load our vehicles onto the Wallenius Wilhelmsen ship that is taking us to Singapore. We have all been a bit worried about what to expect on this ship. All our past ferry experiences were rusty ferries with no accommodations or food, so we had reason to be nervous.

However, upon driving up to the ship, which is enormous, we were all pleasantly surprised by how beautiful and big it was!! It is 240 meters long and looked like a huge orange-cream Popsicle. The bottom 3/4 of the entire ship is bright orange, with white on top. The ship is only four years old, as well, so it is in very nice condition.

As we arrived, the captain came to greet us and introduce a few of his crew. They are all extremely friendly people, and I have already begun to have a really good time with them. The captain and a few of his mates are Norwegian, however 80% of the 23-person crew is from the Philippines, and they are really fun to be around. They showed Adam and me the engine room, and that was unbelievable. The piston had broken a ring, so they had just repaired it, along with the cylinder. Now you have to realize that the piston was about two feet wide in diameter and three feet deep!! Enormous!!!!! And there were quite a few of them. And then there is the hydraulics to lift the main cargo entryway, and the engine for the propeller, as well as a plethora of machines that filled up the entire deck of this ship! It is literally mind-boggling!

All the Philippino guys and we are going to play some basketball later, too. They have a gym here with a squash/basketball court and a weight room, and of course, a ping pong table. Our rooms are great, too. Each person has his own room, except Adam and me; we are sharing. The rooms have a bathroom and a couch, a few chairs, closets, windows, and plenty of space. There are also many other recreation rooms filled with sound systems andTV's, and filled with books and DVD's. We are not going to be bored on this ship. They even have karaoke!!!

The chef is from Goa, India, and prepares some delicious curry, mmmn, mmmn.

So after we settled in, since the ship wasn't leaving until 3 a.m., we went to Fremantle and hung out at a few different places. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant that had a special deal for $9.95. They had penne pasta with pumpkin, rosemary, olive oil, garlic, and a few other ingredients. It was delicious, and then afterwards, Nick ordered a cheese plate that came with this very rich bleu cheese and pears and figs. It was quite a meal to mark the last few steps on Australian soil.

And back to the ship we went. I shot some hoops for a while then hit the sack and anxiously awaited waking up the next morning out in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Cheers,

Neil

Logbook for May 17th, Day 199
Start: Perth, Australia
Time: 7:30 a.m.
S: 31* 59.406
E: 115* 45.222
Finish: Freemantle, Australia
Time: 6:00 p.m.
S: 32* 02.378
E: 115* 45.100
Mileage: 25
Notes: Team started with a photo appearance at ARB. After that was completed, some last-minute errands, including picking up a CD of our radio interview with 6PR, were handled. At 2:00 p.m., the team began the loading process on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessel M/V TARAGO, for their 5-day sea voyage to Singapore. Ship sailed just before 5:00 a.m.
(N.O.)

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.