Day 1
Ginny and
Zak arrived bang on time to take us down to station Pier to begin our holiday
to New Zealand on the Queen Elizabeth.
It was
typical Cunard service as we were checked in and guided to our berth, with our
luggage arriving at the room within 10 minutes. A quick change out of our
“smart” shoes and we set off to explore the ship. I quickly lost all sense of
where we were but thanks to Johnny’s diligence with the map, we guided our way
right up to the top deck, taking in a quick game of bowls as we went. We got
back just in time for the “muster” where we had a mandatory safety briefing.
Waiting for it to start, I got talking to a nice old chap. Believe it or not,
he was a Thornbury boy from way back. He attended Hutton St Primary and lived
in Collins St. Rob and wife Lynne, spend the summer in box hill and then drive
their caravan to QLD when it starts to get cold down south. Not a bad life.
Our first
stop was the Lido to get a bit of lunch. I had a delicious creamy fish pie and
salad but it should come as no surprise that Johnny opted for afternoon tea
with scones topped with jam and cream. It was lovely to get a call from Hamik,
who had driven down to the docks to see us off. Too late my friend. We were
already on board and tucking into that delicious food.
The
entertainment began immediately all the passengers were on board with music and
dancing on the massive outdoor deck next to one of the pools. The alcohol was
flowing freely. We took our bottle of champagne to another quieter part of the
ship and watched the Melbourne coast slip past on the way to the heads and
south towards NZ.
Dinner was
in The Britannia restaurant. Johnny had booked early so we got or preferred
seating, a table for two by the window. We had a lovely dinner and I had a
chance to try goose. It had been a big day so I was pleased when we went
straight back to the cabin for sleep.
