Day 11 - Farewell MV Victoria Jenna

Today was our last boat day ... well technically our last breakfast and then we had to leave the boat! Last night we packed our bags and dropped them down to reception where they would be transferred for us to this morning’s final destination where we would meet our afternoon guide and driver to take us to Zhangjiajie. 

This morning though we ate our last meal, said a fond farewell to Hilda our dining room attendant and went down to meet up with our tour group for the morning excursion. We had been told that we wouldn't have time to do the "extra" excursion we really wanted to do ... but Britney (the onboard Wendy Wu representative) and Steven the River Guide on the boat made some phone calls on our behalf and so we were able to go!

 

The extra bit of the tour was to go on a tourist boat that would travel on the ship lift to navigate the changing water levels of to the Three Gorges Dam. You have probably all heard of dam locks where boats travel through and the water level changes ... well this is an actual lift!!

It is hard for me to explain how it actually works but rather than water dispersing the entire boat was lowered down within a blocked off area. If you google Ship Lift Yangtze River you will be able to see a video. It was fascinating ... such a feat of engineering. (Ian here - Imagine a tub 4 times the size of an Olympic Swimming Pool, with a ship in it, being lifted up and down approx. 80m by the combination of 4 massive screws, 4 massive cog wheels and 60 steel cables on pulleys. Wow!)

It was on this tour that we met some fellow Aussies  ... Alex and Amy. They were also from the Victoria Jenna. They were the only other English speaking folk in our tour group so we shared the camaraderie of having no idea what was being said by the guide.

After the ship lift we were transferred to a bus that would take us on a tour of the Three Gorges Dam. We were with Alex and Amy and about 24 Chinese (who had also been on the Victoria Jenna). Our guide Kelly was both a Chinese and an English guide ... so as we toured she would first provide information in Mandarin and then she would pull the 4 of us to the side to provide an English version.

The tour was great. The dam is huge - 32 turbine generators. Massive locks, the ship lift, the overflow  ... amazing gardens, wonderful viewing towers ... so much to see. Except for one barge that was in a lock one minute and nowhere to be seen 90 seconds later.

After the tour we all boarded the bus again to travel for an hour to the Sanxia Tourist Centre which acts as a transport hub for everyone leaving a Yangtze River Cruise. Here we met Daniel our guide who would assist us with our transfer to Zhangjiajie. He helped locate our luggage which was then transferred to our car before he took us to lunch.

We had thought we would actually miss lunch because we had opted for the ship lift tour but Daniel had pre arranged our lunch and it was ready when we arrived. Lunch was at a local function centre which is one of the most popular wedding reception venues in Yichang. It was massive and the entrance was lined with exquisite wedding dresses ... heavily beaded and with large skirts or trains.

The meal was spectacular  ... Wendy Wu do the food thing well! We were served 2 mains ... beef with bok choi and chicken with celery plus yummy string beans, a large bowl of rice and a plate of watermelon and orange wedges. We happily ate ... enjoying the flavours of the Hubei province.

Then on the road we went (after a visit to the "happy room") ... with 4+hrs of driving ahead of us. We crossed the Yangtze using the "Golden Gate Bridge". Travelled through both rural areas with crops of tea, oranges, rice and aquaculture, as well as cities. The roads were beautiful, and we were able to travel at 120 km/h ... all the while Ian sat on his iPad trying to deal with a family banking issue back in

Mr Zhou (our driver), using the Chinese version of Google Maps which actually knows the road network here, had us winding down into the Zhangjiajie valley about 5.40pm and dropped at our hotel by 6pm. There was a lovely forested stream by the road with people picking mushrooms. The 5.30 end of the school day with parents collecting young children, and some waiting patiently for the bus. And lots of shops, restaurants and hotels to cater for the post-Covid tourism boost.

Then check into our 4-room suite (pretty sure Daniel pushed them for an upgrade), which includes a spacious (huge) bedroom, sitting room, study area and walk in robe, and a bathroom nearly as big as our lounge room - which doesn't include the separate foyer. We may lose each other in the maze.

After a full breakfast and large lunch all we needed for supper was an ice cream, some nuts and a few biscuits. Time to wind down. Another 7.30 start tomorrow. I’m sending Ian off to bed early with a bit of a cold (sore throat and snuffles) … medicated and needing to sleep!

And a little housekeeping …

Yesterday - 

Steps - 14,026
Kms - 10.75
Photos - 934

Today …
Steps - 9,407
Kms - 7.19
Photos - 609