Travelrite International and Bob Wurth invite you to join us on the 2021 WW2 MILITARY HISTORY CRUISE OF THE PACIFIC aboard Sea Princess

Brisbane, ; Alotau, Conflict Islands, Island, , Rabaul, Papua ; Honiara, Solomon Islands

31 March to 15 April 2021

escape com pletely

escape com pletely WW2 MILITARY HISTORY CRUISE OF THE PACIFIC

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was the impetus for the United States’ entrance into World War II. The United States declared war on Japan the following day, December 8. On December 11, Nazi Germany, Japan’s Axis ally, declared war on the United States. This forced the United States to enter a two-front war. In the first months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan had great military success. A turning point came in June 1942 at the Battle of Midway. It was the first time that Allied forces were able to make headway in the Pacific. This cruise and tour provides the opportunity to visit some of the iconic military sights in the Pacific theatre of war that ultimately led to the surrender of Japan and to the conclusion of the war in the Pacific.

TOUR ITINERARY

DAY 1 Wednesday 31 March, 2021 Departure from Sydney This afternoon board Sea Princess for our fantastic cruise to . Be on deck for our departure, cruising along Sydney Harbour and through the Heads, a spectacular sight alive with sailing vessels of all kinds. DAY 2 Thursday 1 April, 2021 At sea Our first day at sea, this is the perfect opportunity for you to explore and enjoy the fabulous facilities of the ship. This afternoon join Bob for his first discussion on World War Two history. We’ll begin an examination of why Japan made the fatal decision to go to war. We’ll look at the beginnings of war, with emphasis on near regions and Australia’s reaction to what some saw as a possible invasion of Australia. At home, Prime Minister Robert Menzies in August 1941 resigned as Prime Minister after the Labor Party disputed Menzies returning to Britain to represent Australia’s interests. Six weeks Saturday 3 April, 2021 At sea later Arthur Fadden resigned and former unionist advised the DAY 4 Governor-General that he had a majority in the House. On 7 October 1941, A free morning to relax aboard Sea Princess. This afternoon we will discuss Curtin became Prime Minister. In this session we’ll also discuss the first the wartime trail also known as the Track which rises to over 4,000 Japanese bombing attack on Darwin on 19th February 1942, the first raid metres. The track begins 40 kms inland from which is on that killed 250 people. Timor and Darwin were the closest bases from which the Coral Sea. In 1977 Bob led a small team on the track from Moresby to the Allies could launch an air or sea counter-attack. As we visit Brisbane inland Popondetta and down to the coastal villages of Gona, Sanananda and tomorrow, we will examine wartime Australia with Queensland becoming a Buna where the Japanese landed from the Solomon Sea. We hiked back to support base for the war effort in the South West Pacific. Popondetta at the start of the Kokoda Track. There at Kokoda we met at his Mamba plantation the renowned planter and wartime officer, the late DAY 3 Friday 2 April, 2021 Brisbane Bert Kienzle. He talked at length about the Japanese push towards Port We arrive in Brisbane today. With the rapid capture of Singapore by the Moresby. Kienzle was born in Fiji in 1905 of Samoan, English, German Japanese and the bombing of Darwin and Townsville, Queensland felt descent. In the First World War his family were imprisoned because of their especially vulnerable. Brisbane soon became a major training centre for German names. But in World War Two, Kienzle would play a vital role in the Australia’s armed services. We have a Brisbane sightseeing tour of the city Kokoda campaign recruiting and leading thousands of native carriers for the visiting, among other stops, the Shrine of Remembrance and the MacArthur Australians. Museum. DAY 5 Sunday 4 April, 2021 At sea The talk this afternoon will begin with the Battle of Milne Bay on the southeastern tip of Papua, given that we will disembark at Alotau, the capital of the Milne Bay Province tomorrow. Milne Bay was a likely stepping stone for the Japanese towards Port Moresby. The battle took place in August 1942 when the Japanese Navy landed 1,200 men in an all-out assault on the Allies’ base. But Japanese marines couldn’t breach the Allies’ defence line. Bob this day will also talk briefly about the fabulous Conflict Islands, which we visit in two days’ time. There are 21 tropical islands in this chain forming a huge blue lagoon, said to be the only coral atoll in the world under private ownership. Bob will also discuss the beautiful , in the Solomon Sea, off the south eastern most extension of Papua New Guinea which he visited many years ago. The Trobriands are often called the islands of love. We visit Kiriwina on Wednesday 7th and Kitava on Thursday 8th. The Trobriand island of Kiriwina is a raised atoll some 48 km long covered largely with swamp. The chief settlement is Losuia. It was a U.S. air and naval base from where the Allies bombed the Japanese at Bougainville and the Shortland islands in 1943. DAY 6 Monday 5 April, 2021 Alotau (Milne Bay) After cruising the Kawanasausau Strait and Milne Bay, today we visit sites of military interest at Alotau, provincial capital of the Milne Bay Province. BOB WURTH Queensland writer Bob Wurth’s interest in the Asia-Pacific region goes back to 1970-72 when he lived in Port Moresby, travelling on assignment as a journalist throughout Papua New Guinea. He returned to Sydney in 1972, but travelled to Papua New Guinea frequently thereafter. Bob Wurth was a foreign correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation based in Singapore between 1981 and 1985. He reported for ABC radio and television on major events in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan and India. His assignments included the assassination of Benigno Aquino at Manila Airport in 1983 and Indira Gandhi in New Delhi in 1984. He was ABC Manager for Asia in 1984 and 1985 and acted in that position in 1988. He later became Manager for Queensland for ABC radio and television, before taking up writing on a full-time basis in 1999. He had also worked as an ABC broadcast news consultant to the South African Broadcasting Corporation, in the lead up to that country’s first democratic election, undertaking a major review of the SABC public information services. He also worked as a trainer-consultant to the National Broadcasting Corporation in Papua New Guinea. Bob Wurth is the author of five books to date, the most recent The Battle for Australia, published by Pan Macmillan in 2013.

The Allies used Kiriwina in an important island-hopping campaign during the . Kitava is 30 km east of the largest island of the Trobriand group. DAY 10 Friday 9 April, 2021 Rabaul We enter Simpson Harbour and land at Rabaul, close by the twin volcanoes of Tavurvur and Vulcan. They both erupted in 1994 burying much of Rabaulin ash. En route Bob will talk about the catastrophe which he saw that year. Today also we see the serene and moving Bita Paka war cemetery where 1,139 Australians were buried in WW2, with many others missing in action. Bob today discusses his coverage of the murder of District Commissioner Jack Emanuel at a plantation west of Rabaul in 1971. DAY 11 Saturday 10 April, 2021 At sea We will have a shipboard talk today to discuss the Battle for Guadalcanal as we arrive tomorrow at Honiara on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon. The Battle was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theatre. US marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942 The first Japanese landing took place on the north coast of Milne Bay on the and took control of the Japanese air base then under construction. In this night of 25 August 1942 when they were pushed back by Australians. After first major offensive on August 7, 1942, 6,000 US Marines surprised 2,000 the Japanese defeat this backwater was turned into a large Allied base. Japanese. But the fight wasn’t over. Airfields were expanded and miles of roads were constructed. A destroyer repair base and a torpedo and patrol boat base were constructed by DAY 12 Sunday 11 April, 2021 Honiara, Guadalcanal Australian and the American forces. The Army says the Battle of Milne Bay The Guadalcanal story continues en route today. Both sides poured vast is one of the ’s most overshadowed battles with attention numbers of troops into the island. Even with 36,000 troops, the Japanese mostly drawn to the Kokoda campaign fought at the same time. failed to take the vital airfield and in 1943 the Japanese were forced to evacuate 12,000 troops from Guadalcanal. DAY 7 Tuesday 6 April, 2021 Conflict Islands Today we will visit and talk about the stunning Conflict islands forming a DAY 13 Monday 12 April, 2021 At sea beautiful large atoll. (Bring sun cream, snorkels and goggles.) During World This afternoon we will return to our earlier talk about the Japanese War II US troops in these islands cut a swathe through Panasesa island’s ambassador to Australia, Tatsuo Kawai, and the unusual friendship between coconut palms to create an important grass airstrip. Among the 21 islands, the wartime Prime Minister, John Curtin and Kawai. Bob will talk of his apart from Panasesa, there’s another five Conflict islands beginning with discoveries at Kawai’s seaside home at beautiful Manazuru in Japan. ‘Pan’. Paradise can be confusing at times. DAY 14 Tuesday 13 April, 2021 At sea DAY 8 Wednesday 7 April, 2021 Kiriwina, Trobriand Islands This afternoon we have our last get together with discussions on wartime We arrive in Kiriwina this morning, the largest of the Trobriand Islands. We’ll Japan’s midget submarine attack in Sydney Harbour sinking the ferry have a morning tour of the island and market. En route Bob will discuss the Kuttabul, which was being used as a RAN depot ship. Kuttabul sank with 21 vital airstrip built on the island in mid-1943 for U.S. and Australian aircraft. Allied naval ratings, including 19 Australians. Japanese aircraft attacked Kiriwina on five occasions. DAY 15 Wednesday 14 April, 2021 At sea DAY 9 Thursday 8 April, 2021 Kitava, Trobriand Islands A day at Sea to enjoy the fabulous facilities of this magnificent ship. Another history talk on land today as we enjoy the famed and beautiful Trobriand Islands which Bob last visited in the early seventies. We call today DAY 16 Thursday 15 April, 2021 Sydney, Australia at the port of Kitava. With spectacular reefs, this is a snorkeler’s dream. Tour members arrive back in Sydney. The tour concludes.

SEA PRINCESS The Sea Princess, is a premium quality cruise ship with every convenience and comfort built-in. There are eight restaurants and cafes, four pools, five whirlpool spas, seven bars and lounges. There is plenty of space to relax on this big ship with a small ship feel, as it is so spacious. There are waterfront tables where you can dine and a huge selection of choices including traditional fine dining, 24-hour room service, a delicious Pizzeria, sumptuous buffet selections and the specialty restaurant – The Sterling Steakhouse. Enjoy Broadway-style productions in the evenings, the scholarship at sea lectures during the day, or just relax in your luxurious stateroom. A voyage on the Sea Princess is an experience to be savoured and remembered. WW2 MILITARY HISTORY CRUISE RABAUL HONIARA KIRIWINA GUADALCANAL OF THE PACIFIC ALOTAU CONFLICT ISLANDS

with Bob Wurth PACIFIC aboard Sea Princess BRISBANE OCEAN

31 March to 15 April 2021 SYDNEY

INCLUDED IN THE CRUISE PRICE: PRICES PER PERSON IN AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS • Travel on Sea Princess in the selected cabin category Twin-share Single Cabin Grade Deck • All meals, entertainment and gratuities on Sea Princess Fare (PP) Fare • Sightseeing tours as listed in the itinerary ID Inside 9,10 $ 3695 $ 5795 • Entry to museums and attractions as detailed in itinerary IC Inside 5,6,8,11,12 $ 3745 $ 5845 • Hosted by esteemed author and historian, Bob Wurth, IB Inside 9,10,11 $ 3795 $ 5895 including Military History lectures at sea IA Inside 9,10 $ 3895 $ 5995 • Port & Handling charges and cruise taxes OW Outside Obstructed 8 $ 4295 $ 6595 • Tour management by Travelrite International Pty. Ltd OE Outside 8 $ 4495 $ 6995 • A Travelrite travel bag OC Outside 5,6 $ 4595 $ 7195 O5 Outside 9,10 $ 4795 $ 7795 NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE: BD Balcony 9,10 $ 5095 $ 8195 • Passport and visa fees BC Balcony 11,12 $ 5195 $ 8295 BB Balcony 9,10,11 $ 5295 $ 8495 • Travel insurance ME Suite 10 $ 6495 $ 10795 • Meals unless specified in the itinerary MB Suite 10 $ 6895 $ 11595 • Sightseeing and general expenses unless specified in the itinerary • Additional travel arrangements not in the detailed itinerary. Included port & handling charges and cruise taxes $ 805 $ 1180 These will be quoted for separately General Information and Booking Conditions Touring can involve a considerable amount of walking and stair climbing in the places visited and it is important that all tour participants have a level of physical fitness that allows them to take part in this tour without the need of assistance from others. 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