Queen Mary 2 Cruise 2020: Circumnavigating Australia

[Lynda Bradford]

Worldwide we are currently experiencing lockdown, travel has been restricted,  which is something most of us have never experienced in our lifetime.  So I hope you will join me as I share my amazing experience of cruising Australia:

I had always wanted to visit Australia, so last year when I saw QM2 was sailing from Hong Kong to Darwin then sailing round Australia for 25 nights to Fremantle I thought this is for me.  After some discussion with my financial adviser (husband Tom), the cruise was booked. 

Because of the Coronavirus situation there were times when I thought my dream cruise would not come to fruition.  However, because of Cunard making the decision not to visit Asian ports the epicentre of the virus in January/February, the cruise did go ahead with a changed itinerary to circumnavigate Australia.

PS: if you see a blue square with a question mark you may need to refresh the page to see the photo or just click on the blue square

On 18 February we stepped onboard QM2 for the start of an amazing experience. 

Day 1 - Fremantle, Western Australia: a port city with a population of 24,835 situated 19 Kilometres South West of Perth

In complete contrast to the cold February Scottish climate, when we stepped off the ship to explore Fremantle, we saw that the expected temperature high was 31 degrees, which would take a bit of getting used to, but we would try. 

Friendly Tourist Information staff provided a map with some suggestions of  what to see and do.  There was a limited shuttle bus service, but as we are reasonably fit we decided to walk into town, following the road to the beach. 

Photo 1:  View of harbour from balcony
Photo 2: QM2 and me
Photo 3: Port Authority Building

We stopped at The Round House, which had been completed in 1831 to be used as a prison.  Under the Round House was The 57 metres long Whalers Tunnel, built by prisoners, on the request of the Fremantle Whaling Company, to link Bathers Beach Whaling Station to the High Street.  This link is still used today.

Photo 4: taken from the High street where you can see the round house and the tunnel underneath. 

More photos in next post.....

[Lynda Bradford]

Photos 5, 6 and 7:  views of Bathers Beach and the sculpture of the sea birds

[Lynda Bradford]

Photo 8: Monument to Fishermen

Photo 9:  Shipwreck Museum

The shipwreck museum was on my list to see as I had read about shipwrecks in this area.  The museum was very interesting with information on the history of ships that had been wrecks along the Western Australia coast.  It was also a bit of respite from the Australian heat, to be in the air conditioned museum! The reconstructed remains of the Batavia that had been excavated in the 1970’s is a permanent display worth seeing.  But with only one day in Fremantle we could not spend us much time as I would have liked at the museum.   

Photo 10 and 11: High Street Heritage Buildings. 

We would have loved to have spent more time in Fremantle as there was so much more to see and do.  We did not visit the prison, or the maritime museum, because of limited time but we did enjoy our day in Fremantle, even though we were a bit jet lagged. 

Join me tomorrow for our next port of call. 

[June Ingram]

Hi Lynda -

Many thanks for the great photos and the commentary !  I am very much looking forward to the next installment !

It was very good that Cunard took the proper precautions which allowed your cruise to take place albeit with some itinerary changes.

June. 

[Lynda Bradford]

Four days at sea before reaching the next port of call: Plenty of time to relax, go to lectures and films, walk around the deck and explore the ship. 

Day 7 and 8: Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia 32 degrees 100% humidity

Day 7: The ship was docked at Darwin for two days, which gave us the opportunity take a tour on the first day and the shuttle bus into town on the second day. 

I first became interested in Darwin when I was researching information on the role of  RMS Queen Elizabeth as a troop ship in Australia in 1940/41.  It was from doing this research that I became aware of the bombing of Darwin in 1941, so the Defence of Darwin tour was my choice.  I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the tour as not only did we learn a lot about Darwin and the WW2 bombing, but we also saw some of the outskirts of the town.  The tour guide’s father gave a lot of first hand information on the journey about the history of the town and his family's war experience.  It was also a bit special to see a dingo and wallabies (where is your camera when you need it - in your bag of course)

The museum exhibits centred on stories of local people's experiences of the bombing.  There was also a very informative and moving film. In the grounds of the museum was military vehicles with information boards to for visitors to read.

Photo 1: Defence of Darwin Museum
Photo 2 and 3: Exhibits of Gun and ambulance

[Lynda Bradford]

We then went to the Charles Darwin National Park to see the ammumition storage bunkers, which now house exhibits and information boards about the bombing of Darwin and the storing and transport of bombs. The park had walking and cycling paths and picnic areas but no time for such leisure pursuits on the tour, plus it was too hot to walk.  There was a photo opportunity of the view of Darwin Bay plus information about the wetlands, where crocodiles can be found, but I didn’t wait around to see one.   

Photo 5: Bomb Trolley at Ammunition Bunker
Photo 5: Display Board
Photo 6: View over wetlands to bay, you can just see QM2 in the distance
Photo 7: QM2 in Darwin

[Lynda Bradford]

Day 8:  second day in Darwin:

On the second day in Darwin, we took the shuttle bus into town. 

We spent a pleasant morning wandering down through the shopping area reading information on the heritage plagues and taking refuge from the heat and humidity in the shops.

Photo 1:  Darwin sign   

I was particularly interested in The Star Village Arcade, which today housed some very nice boutique shops food shops etc., but it had started life as an open air cinema, in fact there is even an old projector on display.

Photo 2: Photo of picture of Star cinema and projector. 

Within the Star Village Arcade there was information, posters and photos, which added to understanding how important this cinema was to locals at the time.  One photo of people in the cinema shows the Aboriginal people in the stalls covering their eyes as they thought the camera would steal their soul. 

Photo 3: Inside The Star Arcade
Photo 4: Cinema Posters
Photo 5: Audience in cinema

Worth having read about this interesting piece of Darwin history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Theatre_(Darwin)

Tom Harris who leased and later owned the cinema was famed for running the Tomaris Melbourne Cup Sweep.  Apparently the Aboriginal people who frequented the cinema could not get their tongues around his full name - they called him Tomaris and the name stuck. 

Photo 6: Tomaris Darwin Melbourne Cup Sweep Board

[Lynda Bradford]

The street art on the buildings were very interesting.  A local woman told us that this was allowed to help stop graffiti artists drawing on the buildings and it looks like it worked as well as it being a talking point. 

Attached: Various photos of street art

Loved spending time in Darwin and the locals made us feel very welcome.

[Thomas Hypher]

Great photos and commentary Lynda!

[June Ingram]

I agree ! Great photos and commentary !  Many thanks ! 

[Lynda Bradford]

Three Sea Days - Cruising to The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia Coral Sea


Quote  “From the Navigator” on the Daily Programme 26 February:

“After passing clear of the Darwin Fairway yesterday evening, Queen Mary 2 passed east of Melville Island and continued through the Dundas Strait into the Arafura Sea.  Overnight Queen Mary 2 followed the coastline eastward and today will pass 14 nautical miles north of Marchinbar Island, the largest island that makes up part of the Wessel Islands."

Quote  “From the Navigator” on the Daily Programme 27 February:

“Today the Queen Mary 2 will navigate the islands and reefs that form the territory of Queensland heading East towards Yorkey’s Point.  Queen Mary 2 will pass by a group of islands that form part of the Torres Strait Island formation, such as Prince of Wales Island, Wednesday Island, Horn Island and Hammond Island.  At least 274 Islands make up the formation and Queen Mary 2 will pass to the North of these before altering into a Southerly course towards the Great Barrier Reef.”

On the afternoon of 27 February,  QM2 sailed North through the Torres Strait, which separates Australia from New Guinea. An experienced Pilot was on the bridge to give commentary on the islands (only 14 inhabited) and reefs that form the northern territory of Queensland.  Giving an insight into their history, he told us that the Spanish navigator Luís Vaez de Torres explored Torres Strait in 1606 and Captain Cook later claimed sovereignty and administrative control over the islands. 

It was a joy to see turtles and dolphins, be it a fleeting glance. 

The Pilot mentioned that at one point because there was only 2.5 metres beneath the ship’s keel, the ship was sailing very slowly to prevent any “bounce”.

The calm sea was a lovely shade of turquoise blue and to round off a beautiful day there was a beautiful sunset. 

Words and photos cannot describe the beauty of the scenery or the good feel factor, but the memory will live with me forever. 

[Lynda Bradford]

Beautiful Sunset and me trying to take a selfie to capture the moment:

[Thomas Hypher]

Wonderful photos, the sea is sooo blue!

The "bounce" would seem to be the same thing as "squatting" which was a contributing factor to QE2's Martha's Vineyard Grounding in 1992.

[June Ingram]

Great photos and commentary, Lynda !  Many thanks !  The colors are just beautiful ! June   

[Rob Lightbody]

Photos and commentary are great, really gives a feel for the cruise.