Epic Round The World Trip Adventures! Stunning Photos & Articles - A fascinating gap year travel journal covering every stop of their journey.

HMS Queen Mary, Long Beach - California
Gap Year Travel Journal

Text By Jo & Photos By Mike

(20th August) RMS Queen Mary - Long Beach
We ventured off on a bus one day to Catalina Landing and caught a boat out to the RMS Queen Mary cruise liner which is permanently docked here alongside a Russian submarine! Most of the former Cunard ship is now a hotel but you can still board as a day visitor and walk all round her. Her maiden voyage was in 1936 from Southampton via Cherbourg to New York in 4.5 days. She was built on the Clyde and her final voyage was in 1967 from Southampton to Long Beach where she has been moored ever since. It is still a beautiful ship and from the numerous photographs everywhere you can really get a feel of her former glory and the celebrities and royals who used to travel on her. Lots of wood panelling everywhere and a real Art Deco feel to the whole ship. We promenaded arm in arm on the deck and even took the helm! They still sound the horn from the huge funnels, and believe me, it is so loud that it almost makes you drop to the floor in fright! There are lots of restaurants and bars on board to chose from and also a wedding chapel - but no, we didn't book it! She was also used as a troop carrier during World War II and still has the guns that were fitted to protect her during this time. That's the huge anchor chain Jo's trying to pick up! Not sure who the nutter is with the bell on his head! The aerial shot was taken as we flew out of LA and shows the ship alongside a modern cruise liner and a giant exhibition dome.

Highlights of our gap year travel adventure:

Stop 1 - Capetown---> The City | Simonstown Penguins | Table Mountain Cable Car | The Waterfront Seals | Windsurf Action.
Stop 2 - West Australia---> Perth City | Perth Zoo | Cohunu Animal Park | Rottnest Island | Rockingham Penguins | Yanchep Park Koalas | Cervantes Pinnacles | Geraldton Windsurfing | Kalbarri Gorge | The Pink Lake | Coronation Beach Windsurfing | Gero Road to Cervantes | Carnarvon Jetty & Quobba Snorkel | Denham Lagoon | Monkey Mia Dolphins | Coral Bay Termite Hills | Coral Bay Quad Biking The Dunes | Exmouth Kangaroos | Mandurah Canals | Margaret River | Margaret River Wine Tour | Margs Windsurfing | Bunbury Windsurf | Bussleton Pier | Towns near Bussleton | Augusta Nature | Pemberton Camping | Pemberton Tall Trees | Cape D'Entrecasteaux | Walpole Tall Trees.
Stop 3 - East Australia---> Cairns Sky Rail Cable Car Over The Rainforest | Mossman Gorge | Cape Tribulation Rainforest | Port Douglas | Daintree Crocodiles | Captain Cook Highway | Beaches Near Cairns | Atherton Tablelands Fig Trees | Bowen Beaches | Airlie Beach | Whitsunday Islands Boat Tour | Great Barrier Reef Snorkel | Whitsunday Snorkelling | Town of 1770 History | Fraser Island Beach Driving | Tin Can Bay Dolphins | Noosa River | Australia Zoo Wombats | Sunshine Coast | Nanango Bush | Gold Coast Beaches | Byron Bay Beaches | Woolgoolga Beaches | Coffs Harbour | Port Macquarie Cafes | Forster Pelicans | Great Lakes | Nelson Bay Dolphins | Sydney By Day | Sydney By Night | Sydney's Manly Beach.
Stop 4 - New Zealand---> Auckland Revolving Restaurant | Rotorua Volcanic National Park | Lake Taupo & Waitomo Glow Worms.
Stop 5 - French Polynesia---> Tahiti Island Waterfalls | Moorea Island Water Bungalows | Moorea Shark Feeding | Bora Bora Island Buggying.
Stop 6 - Hawaii, Maui---> Maui Snorkel Videos | Maui Snorkel Photography | Maui Windsurfing | Maui East Coast Hana Highway | Maui North Beaches 1 | Maui North Beaches 2 | Maui West Coast Surfing | Maui South West Lava Fields | Haleakala Volcano.
Stop 7 - Hawaii, Oahu---> Kailua Beaches | Round Oahu Island Drive | Honolulu Pearl Harbour | Oahu Snorkel Videos.
Stop 8 - West USA---> Los Angeles City Tour | Venice Beach | Long Beach | Queen Mary Tour | San Onofre Surfing | Route 66 Drive | Las Vegas Casinos | Grand Canyon.
Stop 9 - East USA---> Miami Beach Art Deco.
Stop 10 - UK, HOME---> Back To Heathrow, Bringing To A Close Our Amazing Round The World Trip.