More than 35 SES volunteers were hosted aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 on a two-night voyage sailing from Brisbane to Sydney this week.

The group, dubbed the “Summer Heroes” arrived in Sydney today and were chosen at random from the hundreds of volunteers that were active during the Queensland floods in the wake of Cyclone Oswald and the bushfires in Tasmania, NSW and Victoria.

Queensland SES coordinator Christie Heitmann joked with Channel Nine saying that, “It’s going to be a different type of water to what we’re used to working in.”

Cunard president Peter Shanks and Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry welcomed the “Summer Heroes” onboard and acknowledged the work that volunteers do for the community.

“It is humbling to know that emergency services volunteers risk everything to protect their communities in the most extreme conditions and they do it willingly year after year and sometimes at great personal cost,” Mr Shanks said.

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Words: Natalie Aroyan