By Rick Cooper
Tropical haven: Thursday Island.
Keen expedition cruiser Rick Cooper, of Noosa, steps through Australian history in the north of Queensland.
WHAT
Half-day tour of Thursday Island.
Rick Cooper at the fort on Thursday Island
WHERE
Thursday Island is 39 kilometres north of Cape York Peninsula. It is the administrative centre of the Torres Strait Islands.
THE SHIP
Rick cruised with his wife Helen on Orion (orionexpeditions.com.au). They cruised for nine nights from Bali to Cairns.
THE EXPERIENCE
"The island is very lush - the poincianas were out and there were frangipanis everywhere - and it is full of history.
"We started at the Green Hill Fort, which was originally built to protect Australia against invasion by the Russians and was later used as a signals station during World War II.
"There's a small museum there, most of it housed in the tunnels where they once stored the ammunition for the huge guns that sit on top of the hill.
"We also visited the cemetery where hundreds of Japanese pearl divers are buried.
"The pearling industry started on the island in 1885 and it was very dangerous work, so a lot of the people who came looking for their fortunes died.
"The island's Gab Titui Cultural Centre was also worthwhile, with displays about various island groups and their traditions, and we had time to wander around the town itself.
"The island is only 3.5 square kilometres so it's a small and very real township; it's not there for tourists.
"There's a church that displays relics salvaged from a shipwreck off the island and we heard some wonderful singing by a church group in a public park.
"We'd heard that the town bakery makes crayfish pies in the crayfish season but when we got there we discovered the season hadn't started.
"That was my only disappointment of Thursday Island: not being able to taste a crayfish pie."
VALUE FOR MONEY
All shore excursions are included on Orion cruises. Rick says the quality of the shore tours and the lecturers on board the ship make the cruises excellent value for money. "We've done a number of their cruises and are planning to do more," he says.
As told to Jane E. Fraser
Have you done an interesting shore excursion? Drop us a line at jane.fraser@fairfaxmedia.com.au
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