Thursday 2nd April

We awoke having arrived in Fremantle very early in the morning.  At last the sun is shining and there’s not a cloud in the sky, perfect day for sight seeing.  We had an early breakfast and returned to our cabin to phone an old business partner of mine whom we haven’t seen for about 15 years.  Fortunately he answered his phone and we had about a 45 minute conversation before heading ashore in Fremantle.  We caught the shuttle bus into the town, which was only about a 10 minute drive away.  We were dropped right outside the information centre and as usual, they were amazingly helpful and gave us perfect directions to Fremantle Prison, which we had decided would be our first port of call.

The prison was built by convicts sent from the UK in 1850 and was in constant use from 1880 when it was finished through to 1991, when it was decommissioned as a prison and turned into a tourist attraction.  The cells were the same as those used by the convicts back in the 1800’s.  The only difference being that electricity was installed, otherwise everything is the same.  They still had a bucket as a toilet, just as the convicts did in 1880!  It was a similar institution to Melbourne jail and just as foreboding!  It has a gallows like Melbourne and it was last used in 1964, although it cannot boast a hanging like Ned Kelly like Melbourne.  

Whilst we were in the jail, my old partner Peter rang to say that he would meet up with us in Fremantle for a coffee, so that was great news.  We left the prison and headed back to the Cappuccino area for a coffee and our first muffin, this holiday.  Actually, they were huge and more like mini cakes, rather than muffins.  We were just wandering towards the fishing boat harbour when we received a call from Peter to say that he was just 10 minutes away, so we took a seat near the promenade and awaited his arrival.  Bang on time, he pulled up in his Porche Panamera and we enjoyed a happy reunion over another coffee in a nearby cafe.  He had moved a meeting to be with us, so we only had an hour, but it was exceedingly good of hime to make the effort to meet up, since it’s been a long time since we last met.  It was good to catch up, but the hour soon flashed by and we were soon saying farewell to Peter.

We carried on towards the fishing harbour and walked along to the small beach where there was part of an old jetty, where the convicts were bought in and also from where the Aboriginal convicts were deported.  We sauntered back towards the town centre, where there are some amazing old Victorian pubs with wrought iron balustrades and glazed tile frontages.  We had to be back on board for 4.00pm as it was an early sailing and if we missed the ship, it would be a long way to Mauritius to meet up with it again.  Our final mission was to find a supermarket in order to top up with supplies of nibbles and tonics.  We found a Coles supermarket and were able to get nibbles, but it had sold out of tonic water.  I reckon we must have been one of the last passengers to have visited this shop.  However, we were able to pick up another local delicacy that we were introduced to in Sydney by John & Bev.  Last year we discovered the ANZAC biscuit, and this year we’ve discovered chocolate coated liquorish.  Not only is it delicious, but it provides a jolly good work out for the bowels.  John & Bev had bought us some when we left Sydney, but sadly it was all gone before we reached Adelaide, so more supplies were needed.  Regrettably, we could only get the Coles version and not the superior Aldi product.  Never mind, better than none.  We’ll certainly be looking out for it in Aldi in the UK when we return.

Back to the information centre and the awaiting shuttle bus ready to take us on the 10 minute trip back to QM2.  Yet again, just as we were ready to depart, the Captain announced that we were waiting for a second doctor to arrive, before we sail as he wanted a full complement of medical staff before we set off on our six day crossing of the Indian Ocean.  Did he know something that we didn’t?  We waited for 45 minutes before he decided that a second doctor wasn’t necessary after all, as he was still some considerable distance from Fremantle and the Captain couldn’t  or wouldn’t wait any longer.  So finally off we go, starting our 3200 nm journey across the Indian Ocean up to Port Louis in Mauritius.

3rd, 4th, & 5th April

Sea days - These are what you make of them.  There are plenty of talks and clubs that you can join to while away the time, in between eating and drinking.  On the first morning, the sun was shining, so it was up to deck 13 for some sun worshiping.  Sadly, there was a lot of cloud around, so sunbathing was intermittent, but at least the winds that have prevailed from Sydney have mostly abated to nothing more than a force 3 - Breeze.  However, I reckon they must have withdrawn the stabilisers as the ship is definitely rolling more than it did, albeit insignificantly really.  This is a very stable ship with almost no movement, save for a gentle pitch and roll.

One other major plus for this ship is the lack of people on the sundecks.  The demographics of the people on board may have something to do with that, but there is no shortage of space or sunbeds.  After a couple of hours worshipping, we have taken to playing Shuffleboard.  It’s a game played on the deck with  5” bakelite pucks that are propelled by forked poles.  It’s a cut between bowls and curling.  The aim is to get the pucks into marked areas on the deck about 20 yds away.  You are of course allowed to knock your opponent’s puck(s) out of the way, which if you are skilled can work to your advantage.  With us it’s just lucky if you can make the scoring zone. This activity has become a regular event after the morning sunbathing and before a spot of light lunch.  As the days have gone on, the weather has improved and today (5th) the weather has been pretty sunny for most of the day and temperature has been 26 degrees, which is more than hot enough in the middle of the ocean. Also, as we write this blog entry, we are half way across the Indian Ocean and the sea has been the most amazing deep blue colour. It’s hardly surprising as there is about 3500 metres (over 3 miles) of water below the keel at the moment.  One significant event that happened today was a huge pod of dolphins suddenly appeared off the starboard ( right ) side of the ship and I just happened to be gazing out to sea as they appeared.  They were swimming in the opposite direction, so they were quickly out of sight.  Yesterday we saw two birds skimming the surface of the water, which didn’t seem anything out of the ordinary, other than we were over 1000nm from the nearest land.  They were going to have to flap some to find their way home.

On the subject of birds, as we were rounding Tasmania some days ago, we saw two Black Winged Albatrosses flying effortlessly over the waves and round the ship.  They were there for a few hours before disappearing.

I have been attending a watercolour painting class during sea days and an Australian chap has befriended me, which is quite nice as he seems like a decent chap.  However, he calls me Derbyshire as that’s where we come from these days.  I was hoping that he came from Alice Springs, for obvious reasons, but unfortunately he’s from Melbourne!

Oh well, it’s a formal evening, so time to get dressed before pre dinner drinks.

As we entered the dining room this evening, the Palm Court Quartet were playing, just like in Titanic - most off-putting.