Queen Mary 2 Cruise 2020: Circumnavigating Australia

[Lynda Bradford]

Day 12 Cairns from Yorkey’s Knob: Temperature 32 degrees

This port had been a change to the original itinerary, and like Airlie Beach there was the opportunity to book a tour to Great Barrier Reef, which would have been a four hour journey to and from the reef and four hours at the platoon where people could snorkel, dive or spend time on the platoon, but we choose to go into Cairns for the day. 

Where do I begin. Beautiful scenery, blue skies and warm weather, friendly people. Tender service from ship. A free shuttle bus to Cairns (30 minutes) was available.  There  is not a lot to do at Yorkey’s Knob, but having said that if you wanted to chill out at the Marina Bar or walk along the beach it is a beautiful place. The driver gave a commentary en route and provided information on places of interest.

The indigenous Yirriganydji people of this area were both seafaring and rainforest dweller and had a vast knowledge of the land.  However with the settlement of Europeans this changed when their land was taken over for farming and gold mining.  Since the founding of Cairns in 1876 the population is made up of diverse nationalities.   

We walked the promenade and just enjoyed the views, reading the information boards on the history of Cairns and watching the migrant birds on the mudflats. See Photos:

[Lynda Bradford]

Cairns continued.....

There is a fantastic 6 metres high and 11 metres wide sculpture by artist Brian Robinson.  If you look closely you can see marine life depicted within the sculpture.  I managed to capture a helicopter flying across the bay, which you can see in the middle of the sculpture. 

Another fascinating sculpture is the Fish Sculpture at the Esplanade Lagoon, which was very popular with both adults and children.  It is not safe to swim in the sea during the months November to May because of the risk of Stingers.  I read that there are also Salt Water Crocodiles around Cairns, but more likely to be where rivers meet the sea.  People who took the tour to the Barrier Reef, who wanted to snorkel or dive, were required to rent Stinger Suits and would not be allowed in the water without one. 

Cairns was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so there probably was a lot more to see if you had more time.  But with the limited time we had to explore I was happy with what I saw and just being there. 

On return to Yorkey’s Knob a catamaran was waiting to transfer passengers back to ship.

[June Ingram]

Great commentary, Lynda !  Many thanks !  And the photos are wonderful !   

[Lynda Bradford]

Day 13: 1 March Airlie Beach - a tropical paradise.

Airlie Beach is a small town (population circa 4000) on the coral sea coast of Queensland. This was another tender port where the ship’s tenders were assisted by local catamarans.

We took the short journey on the shuttle bus to the town (AUD 5 ).  Airlie Beach is a one street town, with mainly tourist shops in addition to shops with essential items.  We walked down to the market, where a young man with his family stopped to speak to us as he had noticed Tom’s “Scotland/Australia friendship badge” on his hat.  He was from town not far from where we live and had immigrated to Australia a couple of years ago, small world.   

[Lynda Bradford]

Beautiful lagoon where we enjoyed taking time to enjoy the view and the warmer temperatures (30 degrees) just a bit warmer than what we are accustomed.

We walked back to the ship and decided that a pit stop at the Sailing Club for a welcome glass of cold beer was in order.  Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Isles are popular for scuba divers and snorkelling and no wonder as I said at the start it is indeed a tropical paradise. 

[shipnshore]

I agree with everyone, the photo's & commentary's are great. Thank you for posting!

[Lynda Bradford]

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments.  I am enjoying reliving the memory and hope members are enjoying joining me on my cruising adventure. 

[Rod]

Very few people realize how beautiful Oz can be.
Thanks Lynda!

[Lynda Bradford]

2 March - Day at Sea

Day 15: 3 March, Brisbane 32 degrees

In contrast to the last two ports, Brisbane is a large city so in order to try to see as much as possible we booked the Leisurely Brisbane tour.  The ship was docked at Fisherman Island a distance of around 25 km from the city centre. There was a complimentary shuttle bus (45 minutes each way) this also could have been a good option to see the city centre.  I was also aware that there was a catamaran service, but it did not go out as far as the cruise terminal. 

The benefit of the tour is the additional information the tour guide provides and you get a good overview of the city.  However, I would have liked an extra day in Brisbane so that we could have taken the shuttle bus into the city to explore on our own to see even more of this lovely city. 

My lasting impression of Brisbane was the architecture, the beautiful parks and the waterfront.  As there was only two photo stops on the bus tour, the majority of photos I took were from the bus, so although not as good as you would expect when you are on foot, I was quite pleased with what I had captured of our day in Brisbane. 

There was a brief comfort stop at the Brisbane Botanical gardens, a beautiful area in the city.  But unfortunately no time was given to have a walk to explore the gardens. 

Mt Coot-tha Summit was the planned stop to take photos of the view over Brisbane, shop or have something to eat or drink at the cafe.

I have added a short note about each photo: 

Photo 1: Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, Brisbane Botanical Gardens
Photo 2: Sculpture “Gone to Seed” Stuart Green - Commissioned as part of City of Brisbane’s Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens ‘platform’ project, the work takes as its starting point, seed forms and fruit structure that might be encountered at the site.
Photo 3: Mt Coot-tha Summit - view from cafe
Photo 4: Mt Coot-tha Summit - admiring the view
Photo 5: Mt Coot-tha Summit - enjoying my visit

More photos to follow.....

[Lynda Bradford]

Brisbane contd.....

Photo 6, 7, 8: Kangaroo Point Cliffs Park Views of city and river
Photos 9 and 10: View through arch Kurilpa Point Park and Bridge, plus second view of bridge and skyline.
Photo 11: Queensland Cultural Centre, Brisbane - glance as we go past.

[Lynda Bradford]

Photos of Brisbane contd. .....

Photo 12: Customs House - beautiful architecture.  This building is now a restaurant and events venue.   if I had had more time in Brisbane I would have loved to have seen inside this building and maybe dine in the restaurant. 
https://customshouse.com.au/about/

Photo 13: Naldham House Originally built for the Australian United Steam Navigation Company.  In 1994 the building was purchased by the Brisbane Polo Club and was sold in 2015 to a Singapore hotelier.

Photo 14: The Mansions 1889 - heritage listed row of six terraced houses built in the 1880’s
https://www.brisbane-australia.com/brisbane-mansions-george-street.html

Photo 15: “The Tower of Power” - The 259 metre high skyscraper in William Street, is the second tallest building in Brisbane.  This modernist style Government Office building, when completed in 2016, was given the nickname the tower of power, by locals. 

See video of interior shown in this Brisbane newspaper:
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/1-william-street-brisbane-look-inside-the-tower-of-power-before-5000-public-servants-move-in-20161021-gs7r0p.html
and a little about the design:
https://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/1-william-street-tower-brisbane/

Photo 16: 169 Mary Street, Coal Board Building,  built in 1887/88 was added to the Queensland Heritage list in October 1992. 
Photo 17: Brisbane City Hall, King George Square

[Lynda Bradford]

I will finish my tour of Brisbane with a few general views of this beautiful city.  Thank-you Brisbane for a wonderful day. 

[Lynda Bradford]

Day 16: at Sea

Days 17 and 18: Sydney 5th and 6th March

Sydney, the most populous city in Australia has a population of 4.28 million.  Queen Mary 2 was at anchor on the first day and docked for the second day of our visit to the port.

As we were meeting friends in Sydney we had not booked any tours.  We took the tender to the shore and took a few photos of the iconic Opera House, designed by Jorn Utzon,  before meeting up with our friends.

Up until now we had had very warm temperatures, but unfortunately on the first day of our visit there was torrential rain, but this did not stop our enjoyment. 

Our friends had planned a visit to Sydney Tower, the city’s highest structure (305 metres high).  We took a train to St James Station, the nearest station.  Even although the the view was restricted because of the rain, we still enjoyed the experience.  If the weather had been better we would have spent more time in the area, but instead we had lunch in a restaurant near the tower, then took the train back to Circular Quay to visit The Rocks.  You can see from the pictures that there was very few people in what would normally be a crowded area.  With the rain so heavy there was only one thing to do - go to the pub for a wine and a beer. 

Overnight the ship had left the harbour then sailed back in to dock beside Sydney Bridge. 

Photos 1: Sydney Opera Stairs from bar area
Photos 2: View of  Sydney in the rain
Photos 3 and 4: The Rocks in the rain
Photo 5: A bit of rain didn't stop us having fun

[Lynda Bradford]

Sydney Day 2: it was all change with warm weather and blue skies. We took a few photos up on deck before going ashore. 

After meeting our friends for a coffee, we walked through the Botanical Gardens, before getting an Uber Taxi that had been arranged to take us to Bondi Beach. A table had been booked at Icebergs Restaurant for lunch, where there were spectacular views, plus excellent service and food, which made this a memorable experience. 

After lunch we walked along the promenade enjoying watching the surfers and the waves crashing on the beach.

Interesting little sculpture commemorating a century of life saving. Information on Black Sunday in 1938 when three huge waves dragged hundred of swimmers out to sea.  The sculpture plaque gave details of lifesavers rescuing 100 people from the water, only 5 people died as a result of the life savers’ action. 

On the promenade had a look at the Graffiti artwork. 

Photo 1: Sydney Bridge from Grills Terrace
Photo 2: QM2 docked in Sydney
Photo 3: View of Sydney Skyline from Botanical Gardens
Photo 4: View from Icebergs Restaurant
Photo 5:Bondi Beach
Photo 6: Surfers on Bondi Beach
Photo 7: A Century of Life Saving Sculpture
Photo 8: Graffiti Wall at Bondi Beach

[Lynda Bradford]

Sydney continued:

We returned to Sydney by bus, using the Opal Card that our friends had bought for us the day before for the train journey.  What better way to end the day with friends than to have a glass of wine at one of the bars beneath the Opera House, where there was a  wonderful view of Sydney Bridge and Queen Mary 2, what could be better. 

We were exhausted by the time we returned to the ship and did not feel like dining in the restaurant so we had a light meal in the Kings Court then went up on deck to take some pictures of the fantastic view of Sydney Opera House and Bridge at night.

Photo 1: View of QM2 from Opera House Bar area
Photo 2: Entertainer at Opera House Bar area
Photo 3: Photogenic QM2 with Sydney Bridge
Photo 4: Sydney Opera House at night from QM
Photo 5: View over Deck 8 ready for sail away party
Photo 6: View down to Deck 8 and skyline