February 21st,22nd,23rd.

Wednesday, 21st February. After our exciting day yesterday it was a lazy day at sea because we were quite tired. Alan attended two lectures whilst I wrote up my blog and sorted through the numerous photos we had taken. The temperature was 25 degrees and the sea was calm as we sailed in a northerly direction about 9 miles off the north eastern coast of Australia; now in the Coral Sea and passing the Great Barrier Reef with a depth of only 65 metres under our keel. The ship was quiet, as is usual when we have just picked up new passengers, but they will soon find their way and the ‘buzz’ will build again! Even the gym was quiet; perhaps the new passengers are not the energetic kind? We had taken onboard new acts for the theatre and this evening was a group of performers from the West End musical scene; we weren’t that impressed, but we will see when they appear again. It was a formal black & white evening and Alan wore his new scarf and hanky just for you Mark D.
Thursday, 22nd February. I had a late breakfast before my Spanish class (I will try to reply in Spanish to the ‘comment’ I received!) and Alan went to a lecture by a South Pole scientist, Dr. Jerri Neilson (female), who talked about life over a twelve month period where there are six months of daylight and six months of darkness. At lunch time we were 140 n. miles due east of Whitsunday Island heading north towards the Solomon Sea, east of Papua New Guinea. The air temperature was 28 degrees and the humidity was 91% as we neared the equator again; (my hair curls when I step outside!) The theatre show time was Jonathan Kane, as Sir Elton John. He started off badly, but soon gained our enthusiasm with a very professional act. (He also had a video of Kiki Dee so that he and she did the Elton John double act – your club singing friend of yesteryear, Peter!) We are chatting to the new passengers now that they have settled in and most are Australians taking the short cruise to Hong Kong. Watches went back another hour so we are now 10 hours ahead of you.
Friday, 23rd February. We are now sailing in the Solomon Sea and continuing in a north, north westerly direction. Well into the tropics with temperatures rising, our latitude is currently matching the suns declination, as its daily path will now arc through our sky on a perfect east to west line passing directly overhead, through the zenith at noon. During the morning we were winding our way between numerous small uninhabited tropical islands with clear emerald green lagoons where waves gently lashed the sandy beaches. I longed to stop and enjoy their tranquillity but we kept a steady course. (My camcorder lens steamed up when I tried to film them.)To our west is Papua New Guinea and the sea is like a mill pond with not a ripple to be seen. Alan is at his lecture on ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’. There are plenty of activities on board and we are never bored, but I got a film out of the library and intend to have a quiet afternoon before the gym and swim. This evening’s theatre will be two acts, magical dance and comedy. We should cross the equator about 10.00pm tomorrow evening, but no doubt Alan will give us an acurate time when we do!

February 18th,19th, 20th Sydney.

Sunday, 18th February. After leaving Auckland we sailed up the north eastern coast of New Zealand and rounded the ‘North Cape’ in the early hours before turning to a north westerly direction and heading toward the Tasman Sea. After the excitement of the previous day the ship was quiet but for the ‘in transit’ passengers (us) that had to go through Australian Immigration before noon. We had a busy morning because after immigration we attended the lecture on opals, as a supply of same had been brought on board at Auckland and was to be put on sale in H. Stern’s jewellery shop. It was a rush for me because I didn’t want to miss my Spanish class at 10.30am! Now Victor, our butler, is speaking Spanish to me (and I don’t know what the heck he is saying!) We met up for lunch and then hurried along to the theatre to watch the RADA performance of ‘Drinking Companions’ and ‘Gosforth’s Fete’ by Alan Ayckbourn; both were excellent, but the latter was best! I went to the gym while Alan rested before our evening dinner, which was a formal occasion again. The theatre show was a string quartet, ‘String Fever’; the three Broadbent brothers and their cousin. They were both amusing and extremely good musicians, also the first performers to have received a standing ovation from the audience. We put our clocks back and are now 12 hours ahead of the UK.
Monday, 19th February. We sailed in the Tasman Sea toward the coast of New South Wales and our next port of Sydney, Australia. The Tasman Sea is named after the Dutch explorer, Abel Janzoon Tasman, famed for being the first European to discover New Zealand and Australia. The air temperature is 21 degrees and rising and the sea temperature is 22 degrees, with calm conditions. This morning I checked my emails and must thank all our friends who are adding comments to the blog, we are enjoying your interest too. Then I went to my Spanish class again and Alan rested as we had been invited by Kay and Peter Bradley, from Buckingham, near Oxford, to attend the Rotary lunch at 12.30pm as their guests. There were about 60 guests from all over the world and we dined in a private room. Our speaker was the Purser and he got quite a few direct questions that he had difficulty in answering, but I am sure he will have learnt a lot about on going communication with passengers!! We prepared for our day in Sydney during the afternoon as it will be a very special day for us because we are meeting Pat and Philip Harman, who live in Turramurra. I contacted Pat last September when she wrote to the Blakeley Gazette and asked about her ancestors, who also turned out to be my ancestors (we are sixth cousins once removed!) We communicated and this will be our first meeting. For fun we went to watch the ship’s talent spot at 5.00pm, which was rather amusing, we had a grandma who tap danced (forever and ever) and we couldn’t clap her off!! We missed the theatre because we hadn’t been paying attention – and it started earlier than usual! Our watches went back again and we are now 11 hours ahead of the UK.
Tuesday, 20th September was an early start. As we approached Sydney harbour at 6.00am we were both out on the balcony watching the marvellous flotilla of floodlit boats that escorted us along our way. As in Auckland, numerous helicopters were flying over and around the ship. We have now cruised 25,331 nautical miles. When dawn broke I started to film our approach and have some wonderful views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Our Captain, Christopher Rynd, took the ship up to the Harbour Bridge and turned around so that passengers on both sides of the ship had seen all the wonderful sights of the harbour, (he disembarked at Sydney and our new Master is Commodore Bernard Warner). People lined every possible area along our route and cheered, whistled and waved, shouting “Welcome to Sydney”. The special welcome was because as well as this being Queen Mary 2’s maiden world cruise it was also the first time she had sailed into Sydney, and what a welcome we got, it was tremendous! After our parade around the harbour we moored and were able to disembark. I had telephoned Pat and Philip at 7.00am and arranged for them to pick us up at the port gates at 10.00am. Alan sat in his wheelchair at the main gates and we waited in the shade of a big palm tree, which was a good job because we were waiting for forty minutes! The lady police officer kept coming over and asking if she could help find our friends for us because the crowds around the gates were growing as more and more people came to see the ship. When she related that there was also another gate where passengers were being met we began to get a bit worried! I asked her to contact a police officer at the other gate and find out if Mr & Mrs Harman were waiting there for us. Instead of this she called a police vehicle that took me to the other gate, while Alan remained under the palm tree! My two wonderful young police officers helped to find Pat and Philip very quickly and then insisted that they escort us back to pick up Alan because the traffic was at a standstill and we wouldn’t be able to make our own way there. Kevin and Adam, by now we were on first names and getting on like old friends, whisked us out onto the clearway and through the standing traffic to where Alan was patiently waiting (loitering with intent!) Because we couldn’t park on his side of the road we stopped up a side road opposite. First stopping the traffic, Adam walked across to fetch my lap top over to me, before returning once again to stop the traffic and push Alan across to join us. We thanked them profusely, as one would, and they asked where Philip was taking us. They then insisted on guiding us quickly through the traffic to the Botanical Gardens - where they did eventually leave us to enjoy the rest of out day! (I asked for their cards and will email Kings Cross Station to thank them later.) We stopped in the Botanical Gardens to enjoy the sights across the harbour, the QM2 and some of the amazing trees and shrubs growing there. Next Philip whisked us off to the Opera House where we were allowed right up to the steps because we had ‘disabled stickers’. The temperature today was around 28 degrees. I took photos and looked for Emma’s hat, but apart from one or two little girls wearing hats, I couldn’t see one that looked as though it had been in the water! Sorry Emma, I did try! Next we went to view the Harbour Bridge, over, under, sideways and almost upside down until Alan was satisfied with the design! We watched groups of people climbing the bridge, up one side and down the other; this is an experience that can be arranged. By now traffic in the city was almost at a standstill because everyone was coming in to see the QM2, so we set off for lunch at ‘Doyles on the Beach’ at Watsons Bay, south of the city. It took twice as long as expected to get there, but our reserved table was awaiting our arrival. It was the most picturesque place on earth with views across the bay to the city and the bridge; we sat outside under sun shades with a gentle cooling breeze keeping us comfortable whilst we enjoyed an exceptional sea food meal with wine. I had barramundi fillets coated with Cajun spices with a green pea mash and Philip had grilled barramundi. Pat had grilled red snapper and Alan had stuffed jumbo prawns and Tasmanian Bay scallops. They followed with a dessert, but Philip and I were much stronger! After our meal I paddled in the Tasman Sea - just another ocean to add to my paddling experiences. Sadly, it was time for us to return to Sydney and the Opal shops at The Rocks, or I might not get another chance to look! Then we went to Pat and Philip’s home at Turramurra, over the Harbour Bridge and north of the city, for a well deserved drink of tea with sandwiches. Alan and I were amazed to find that Rainbow Lorikeets, wild and brightly coloured parrot like birds, enjoy their garden because Philip feeds bread twice daily to them. I have some movie film because I was so taken with their beauty. We were so grateful to Philip, who is a sprightly 81, for driving us on our sightseeing tour of Sydney and both their company gave us a great deal of pleasure. It wasn’t as if this was our first meeting, because we got on so well with each other right from the start. (Well we are family – however distant.) Pat and I looked at some of her family history books while Alan and Philip chatted. Then Philip showed us his Moreton Bay fig trees that he has cultivated into bonsai since planting seeds from the figs twenty years ago. We left Turramurra at 7.15pm for our forty minute drive back to the ship so that we could be on board to watch the big firework display at 8.45pm. It was not to be! The traffic was horrendous and we couldn’t move once we got over the Harbour Bridge. The whole city was gridlocked with people trying to get a glimpse of the ship, and of course the QE2 had arrived at 7.00pm, so to have ‘two queens’ in Sydney at the same time, was making history. (I refer to ships!) Our journey was not easy and we did get very worried that we may miss the boat! It took two hours to travel a couple of miles through city streets, although we did see quite a lot of night life as we sat for a considerable time in their ‘Soho’ area! Everyone just ignored traffic lights in the end and stayed bumper to bumper to make any move possible. The people were all in jovial mood as there had been plenty of celebrating during the day and evening. We managed to see some of the firework display over buildings and down the streets to the harbour as we sat in grid lock. Alan and I considered walking the last half mile, but Philip pressed on, queue jumping and skilfully negotiating opportunities that arose, and he got us to the ship with five minutes to spare before the gang plank was raised – however, a few others were late and the ship did not sail on time, but I was so relieved that we were on board! I bet Pat and Philip were too!!!! Thanks to you both for your friendship and a truly wonderful day in Sydney. Leaving at this time were the Governor and Mayor of Sydney who were among 100 dignitaries being entertained on board QM2 as guests of Carol Marlow, the President and MD of Cunard, and the Captain and Commander, who received the traditional plaque commemorating the ships first visit to the city. We sailed away at 11.15pm to tumultuous cheers, whistles and singing. We waved our Union flags from our balcony when people began singing Rule Britannia because we took this as a great compliment. Boats stayed with us all the way out of the harbour, the folk on the hillsides waved torches in various directions and Alan returned their wave with his so that they recognised a personal response. We were still waving at 12.30pm until the last boat slipped slowly behind as our ship gathered speed and sailed off into the darkness once again. We now have seven wonderful and restful days at sea with 4,460 nautical miles to Hong Kong, China. WOW! What a fantastic day!

February 16th, 17th Auckland.

Nautical Fact; The International Date Line is a line running North to South along the 180th meridian of longitude, but with some adjustments to avoid dividing certain island groups that are bisected by it, namely the Aleutian islands off Alaska, and the Fiji, Tonga and Kermadoc groups as well as New Zealand in the South Pacific. The International Date Line is the geographical point at which the zone times GMT +12 and -12 meet bringing about a 24 hour time change. If you were to set out from Greenwich, which lies at 0 degrees longitude and travel eastward, the time zone you are in moves forward by 1 hour for every 15 degrees of longitude you traverse, meaning that if you were to continue around the world ending up at Greenwich again, you would have moved ahead by 24 hours and therefore be ahead by one full day of the calendar. To allow for this anomaly, if we were to cross the International Date Line eastwards we would add on one day of time, but going westwards we subtract a full 24 hours.
Therefore the consequences of losing a day means that we are now 13 hours ahead of the UK instead of eleven hours behind, which we were before we crossed the International Date Line. Therefore we will continue to retard our watches as the voyage continues toward the UK starting with February 18th.
Friday 16th February. We continued on our south westerly heading passing the Kermadoc Island Group in the afternoon. These islands are uninhabited except for the permanently manned Raoul Island Station, a government meteorological and radio station and hostel for Dept. of Conservation officers and volunteers that has been manned since 1937. The temperature today was around 26 degrees and the sea temperature has increased to 30 degrees, although due to the moderate winds it has become choppy again. Nothing to hurry for today so we both did our usual things in the morning. After lunch we went to the art auction where we were pleased to see that the artist who painted the underwater sea life pictures we brought back for the children in 2002 had become very popular and his art work was in demand. Alan decided to adjust his Friday medication with losing a day and also to suit being in Auckland tomorrow, so it wasn’t a good day for him and we took things easy. The evening show was the last performance from those who will be leaving the ship in Auckland.
Saturday 17th February. On our approach to the North Island of New Zealand we past the Great Barrier Island at 4.00am and the pilot boarded at 6.15am to guide us into the Rangitoto Channel at sunrise. We were out on the balcony watching our arrival into Auckland from 7.00am. It is known as the ‘City of Sails’ because the harbour is often dotted with hundreds of yachts, which was a beautiful sight to see. Our welcome was amazing because light aircraft flew overhead and helicopters were giving sightseeing flights around us. We had a flotilla of small boats and sailing yachts escorting us en route to Jellicoe Harbour where we berthed at 8.00am. We were facing the Harbour Bridge that spans across to the central part of the urban area that occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manakau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean and Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two separate bodies of water. New Zealand is very strict on Biosecurity Regulations so as passengers left the ship today the MAF Quarantine Officers were stationed at the gangways to conduct searches of all hand luggage to ensure that we did not take any food or plants ashore with us. We changed our money to New Zealand dollars because shops will either not accept, or give fair exchange for US dollars or sterling. Then it was mandatory that we all left Jellicoe Wharf by shuttle bus, to be taken to Britomart (travel station) on Queen Street. From there we were free to do our own sightseeing as we did not have anything booked until 4.30 in the afternoon. Queen Street was as busy as Oxford Street and we enjoyed our shopping spree. We photographed Sky Tower before having lunch in one of the big stores. Then we had to return to the ship for our ‘Grill Special Event’, which was a visit to the Auckland Memorial Museum, which was built on the highest point above the city with marvellous views across to the ocean. We were greeted by Maori Singers that entertained us whilst we had wine and canapés in the atrium before going up to the glass restaurant on the top floor. It was very elegantly set out with ten tables of eight. We were served with a delightful three course meal and wine flowed freely, during which we were once again entertained by the Maori Groups. A group of children also sang traditional songs to us and ‘danced’ with their hands. This was followed by the adult group showing their ball swinging expertise and Alan kept a low profile as this was known to be one of his fortés whilst in the Florida Keys! Some of the men performed their traditional Maori dances that were both, loud and boisterous, as expected, but fun! Then two of the waiters and the head waiter held a very amusing exchange of challenges with each other, culminating in them all singing. They were in fact three professional opera singers and their rendition of a selection of the ‘Three Tenors’ songs was tremendous and brought tears to my eyes. It was a truly great evening, and one that we think has been the best so far. The dancing continued outside as we prepared to join our coaches to return to the ship for our 10.00pm sail away. Once on board the QM2, Auckland gave yet another memorable treat as we prepared to sail, a half hour firework display that lit up the sky. Then as we moved slowly out into the Rangitoto Channel we were once again escorted by hundreds of small boats with their crew and passengers shouting and whistling to us as they reluctantly waved us on our way. We stayed on our balcony waving back to them for an hour before the ship gathered speed and headed into the darkness of the night. Another wonderful people to have had the pleasure of meeting.