Queen Mary 2 2020 World Voyage…..continued
The 2020 World Voyage ended abruptly and prematurely in Freemantle due to the advancing COVID pandemic.
We are now completing the voyage.
Way back in 1989 I came across an article about a new luxury train service in Southern Africa. I read the article over and over, I was so excited. A luxury train pulled by a steam engine that would take me to Victoria Falls. It was a dream come...
One thing I didn’t mention is how very noisy the train is when it is on the go. It also sways back and forth. It is not at all like the high-speed trains in Europe, which of course is wonderful, but it does make sleep a challenge. I usually like...
The end of a journey It was a noisy night on the train. But I still loved it. We rattled and rolled along, with frequent stops on the way, but you really knew you were on a train. Breakfast was excellent as usual (what’s not to love about eggs...
We are planning on staying at 2 game lodges on this trip. Our first lodge is Idube in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, and our second is Kambaku in Timbavati. Both are in the general area of Kruger Park, and are said to have great game viewing. We...
We were awoken with the phone ringing at 5:30 AM. Back in the old days of staying in tented camps someone would come to our tent and call “knock knock” and bring a tray of coffee and orange juice to our tent. Not here. There is a telephone in...
Our final game drive at Idube was great. No rain today, and lots of animals. We had our final morning tea break at one of the many dams. Then it was time to finish packing, and say a fond farewell to our friends. I wish they were able to join us...
They do things early here – wake up is at 5:00! No phones though, our guide, Phanuel, comes to our door and says “knock knock”. Much better. It was just the 2 of us on our game drive again, which was great. Phanuel had heard that there were...
We started off the morning tracking a lioness, but her tracks disappeared into the thick bush, so we lost her. Then looking up at a nearby ridge, we saw a couple of elephants, so we thought we would stop by and see what they were up to. After a...
We woke up at sunrise. I had apparently slept through the hyenas calling, and neither of us heard the lions. We took some photos of the hide, Brian made himself some coffee, and we sat in the swing chairs watching a couple of hippos return home...
Our last morning here. This really has been the most wonderful lodge. Idube was nice, and the leopard sightings were amazing, but I have totally fallen in love with Kambaku and the Timbavati reserve. I had such mixed feelings as I tried to...
Cape Town The flight to a very rainy Cape Town went smoothly. We had had to check our carry-on bags, but all of our luggage made it there. We took a taxi to the Mount Nelson Hotel for check in for Queen Mary2. It was about 4:00 PM by the time we...
Cape Town We had breakfast in the Kings Court, looking out over the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. In the Kings Court you no longer serve yourself, the waiters serve you. I actually quite like this, I think it’s better than using the same...
In the middle of the night I could feel the gentle movement of the ship. Previously when sailing from Cape Town, the first night out was like sailing through the Bay of Biscay. The Cape rollers caused the ship to pitch and roll, it was always...
Walvis Bay There were no additional chocolate bunnies in our room in the morning. This could be related to the fact that one of the large bunnies mysteriously disappeared during the night. Despite leaving Cape Town 5 hours late, we were able to...
At Sea Ah, I love sea days. I am not sure we actually did anything all day. We went to check in on Homer Simpson to make sure he was still there. Yes he was, although he is definitely fading over the years. I did make it to the craft session. We...
April 12th At Sea How could it be day 6 already? Things are going by way too fast. When people ask what on earth do we do on a ship for 23 days, there are so many things to tell them. There is simply so much going on, there really isn’t any time...
At Sea April 13th, 2023 Many of the whole world voyage guests were unhappy about the slow immigration issue in Singapore, and the world voyage gala. On April 11th the whole world voyage folks received a letter from Sture Myrmell, the President...
April 14th, 2023 At Sea It was raining when we got up, and very, very humid. Today is the day that we cross the equator officially, with a traditional crossing of the line ceremony. People who have not crossed the equator by sea previously,...
April 15th, 2023 At Sea The sea remains very calm. We spent most of the day in the Commodore Club, accessing the internet and reading. Sometimes, that really is the best way to do it. We thought it would be standing room only in Illuminations...
April 16th, 2023 At Sea We woke up to what looked like a beautiful sunny day, although on closer inspection it was rather hazy. When we left our stateroom for breakfast this morning there was a very official looking envelope in the mail slot...
April 17th, 2023 At Sea The arrangement in the lobby this morning was a beautiful display of ostrich feathers. Could this be because it’s the Roaring Twenties gala ball tonight? It certainly looks beautiful; they always do such a good job with...
April 18th, 2023 At Sea Gone were the ostrich feathers, but they were replaced by a beautiful display of strelitzias – birds of paradise. Today was well spent going to the lectures, and craft class. Stephen Payne gave a very interesting talk on...
April 19th, 2023 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Land again! We had booked a tour to ride the cable car up Mt Teide, a very tall volcano on the island. I was very excited as I love cable cars and volcanoes. It sounded like the perfect way to spend our...