Following the footsteps of islanders (who travelled as refugees aboard MV Stirling Castle in 1961)
with a sea voyage from Cape Town to Southampton
aboard the Cunard cruise ship Queen Victoria.
Follow Andy and Lorraine's voyage in their own words: |
We left Cape Town on 22nd April. It was pouring with rain, and the seas were so rough at first the authorities closed the port. We finally left in the evening. Our first port of call after leaving Cape Town was Walvis Bay in Namibia. We did not go ashore here but decided to familiarise ourselves with the layout of the ship instead. |
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Above: Our official photo taken with
Commodore Christopher Rynd at a cocktail party.
Left:
Lorraine on Queen Victoria - deck 10.
Walvis bay in background.
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After leaving Walvis, we sailed onto St. Helena. We were very disappointed not to land, as we were looking forward to seeing our old friends, some of whom we have not seen for more than 20 and 30 years.
Right: Jamestown, St. Helena as we sailed by.
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Left: Sean Burns sent this photo
taken from Jamestown Quay
on 27th April 2016
of the Cunard cruise liner Queen Victoria
passing St Helena
on its cruise
from Cape Town to Southampton.
Unfortunately the large cruise ship didn't stop
to allow passengers ashore,
but Sean and Marina gave them a wave
and will meet up with Andy and Lorraine
when Sean returns to Tristan da Cunha
later this year
to begin
his second term as Administrator.
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We continued onto Ascension Island, where some of the islanders came on board to sell stamps and souvenirs while the Queen Victoria circumnavigated the island.
Right: Ascension Island
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After dropping of the Ascension Islanders the ship set a course for St. Vicente in the Cape Verde islands. The trip took a few days, during which time we acquainted ourselves with our dinner companions and enjoyed the entertainment on board.
Left: Lorraine & Andy far right with their dinner companions.
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We arrived at St. Vicente in the early hours of the morning,
and went on a tour of the island.
A tour bus took us up a cobbled road
to the highest point of the island,
at the top of the mountain.
Quite a nerve racking ride for some of us!
Right: View from top of St. Vicente, Cape Verde,
with Queen Victoria in background
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Two days later we docked in Tenerife. We took a tour of the three botanical gardens. The orchid garden was especially beautiful. It also contained other colourful flowers including bougainvillea.
Left: Andy and Lorraine in the orchid garden on Tenerife.
One day later we arrived at Madeira. We joined the bus on a tour of the beautiful scenes in the capital, Funchal.
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Above: Funchal, Madeira - Looking down into one of the valley's from a restaurant over 3,000 feet up
Left: A view from the highest cliff (2,000 feet) in Madeira |
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We were surprised to see the Plancius
docked behind the Queen Victoria in Funchal, Madeira.
Above: Queen Victoria & MV Plancius in Madeira
Right: Lorraine watching MV Plancius leaving Madeira
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We began the last leg of the journey
to our final destination of Southampton, UK,
and arrived at 6am on Tuesday 10th May.
Right: Our last evening on board Queen Victoria
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Above: Southampton with Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth arriving just behind us.
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Andy and Lorraine departed Tristan
on 19th February
aboard MV Baltic Trader.
While in Cape Town Andy made visits
to MRCC Cape Town and Cape Town Radio.
The photo right shows Andy (back right)
with colleagues at the MRCC.
For more photos and details of these visits
see the Communication News page.
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