Cruise - Day 24 - 26 Sep

Once again we have brought the warm weather with us and Melbourne enjoyed their nicest day since the onset of spring. It was certainly a coolish and cloudy start to the day, yet by midday the clouds had dissipated and the sun shone down on us yet again. Melbournians were out in force, soaking up the sunshine and enlivening the city streets. We came across some particularly interesting locals who had taken up residence outside a Ticketek office, waiting for their opportunity to buy tickets to next week's AFL Grand Final Replay. As they are not club members, the first opportunity to buy tickets for them will be Tuesday midday, yet they have already taken up residence, securing the right to purchase those precious tickets. One fellow we chatted to told us he had been to the last 53 grand finals, including the replay in 1977. (Yes, he even beats you, Frank!) Many locals wandering the streets are still decked out in Magpies or Saints paraphernalia – I'm not sure if they even made it home last night!

 

Our major mission today was to try to see the Titanic Exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. I tried to buy tickets online last night for this incredibly popular event, but was unable to procure them. Lining up and taking pot-luck was our only shot. Luckily, we were able to get tickets and only had to wait 2 hours to get in. The tickets are timed, so we were able to enter at 12.45pm (I bought them at 11am), but do whatever we liked in between. I really enjoyed this time browsing other exhibits in the museum, which, of course, includes the indomitable Phar Lap exhibition of the famous horse's skeleton and his stuffed hide (which sounds gross, I admit, but was actually quite impressive.)

The actual Titanic Exhibition was certainly worth the wait. There was an array of replica scenes such as a first class & third class cabin, the spectacular central staircase and the Verandah cafe. As well as these re-constructions, many authentic relics, excavated from the seabed, were on display. Some of the relics were in surprisingly good condition and included crockery, clothing, documents, money, personal effects as well as pieces of the actual ship. One of the highlights was the boarding card each person is given when entering which outlines the details of an actual passenger on board that infamous voyage. You are then able at the end of the exhibition to check to see the fate of your assumed persona. Gary was a first class 30 year old passenger travelling with his wife, 2 children and 4 servants (yep...doing it tough!) I had been widowed (twice...lucky me) and was travelling with my 10 yr old son and 2 friends in second class to start a new life in America. Can you guess our fate? Well, I can tell you that my whole party survived while all of Gary's lot were lost except for his infant son and the nanny. There were lots of stories posted throughout the galleries outlining circumstances of individuals and their fate – all in all it was immensely interesting and was a couple of hours well spent.

After our epic adventures we boarded a tram back to Port Melbourne and the “mother ship” as she has become known each time we return. I was well and truly tired out but managed to pop up to the buffet for an afternoon tea waffle before grabbing an hour's quick kip before dinner.



(View from our balcony)

During dinner the ship left Port Phillip Bay and moved into the open waters where there is a 3 metre swell setting us on quite a bit of a roll. So it was that Gary high-tailed it back to the cabin while I went to the late show – a really fantastic tribute to the 60's by the Dawn Princess dancers and singers. These shows have all been extremely well done and very entertaining. The dancer's skills, particularly tonight on a severely rolling ship, are considerable to say the least.

So the bad news for our day in Burnie tomorrow is that the expected maximum (yes, that's maximum!) temperature is 13 degrees. Thirteen! Are they kidding? I may have to layer every piece of clothing I own to survive...