Mooloolaba - November 2008

“Gidday mate”from Mooloolaba

From Bundaberg we sailed to Mooloolaba where we are currently. The sail down was nice two day sail stopping for the night at a place called Gary’s anchorage, tucked in behind Fraser Island. Day two we needed to cross the notorious ‘wide bay bar’. As usual we set off to arrive at the bar at optimum time. We are advantaged to have Daryl’s lifetime experiences of crossing bars on the coast of NZ since he was ‘knee high to a grasshopper’. Regardless of all this, I was anxious and pleased when it was over. I understand there will be many more to come as we travel the Australian coast.

Coming into Moloolaba we witnessed a spectacular lightning storm over the land. Daryl watched anxiously to see what path it would take but luckily it didn’t come out in our direction. So we had a bit of a dramatic entry into Mooloolaba, finding somewhere to safely tie up before the storm passed over.

We think we are going to enjoy our time here. We can walk or dinghy to the marine stores or the local shops or restaurants. The surf beach is just across the road and it’s only a bus ride to the huge Sunshine Plaza.

Kevin and Erika on ‘Oz Magic’ had found us a private berth to leave the boat on while we fly back to NZ for our niece Shannon’s wedding and then Christmas with family.

Bundaberg, Australia - November 2008

Guilty again. We arrived in Bundaberg two days ago and have been remiss in not letting everyone know. Sorry.

When I last emailed we were making slow progress between Chesterfield Reef and Australia.. At the half way point that all changed. The wind got up, the direction changed to optimum for us, the seas were slight, the current moved from against us to a 1 knot with us.... and away we went. We did about 225 miles in 24 hours. We had a full moon and it felt like we were flying along. Surprising there was little ocean traffic, just two ships in the distance.

Checking in in Australia has a reputation for being one of the toughest in the world, so we were prepared for the worst. Instead for us it was a breeze. Whether we were lucky because it was Friday and they were tired.... I don't know. I got the distinct feeling that the quarantine officer didn't want to confiscate too much, for then she would have too much weight to carry up the dock!!! In fact both customs and quarantine complimented us on how clean and organised we were.

So it has been a lovely time- shopping and catching up with yachties. Daryl also contacted an old colleague, Roger Shuttleworth and his wife Ruth Ann, who are ex Opotiki and worked with Daryl when OPAC had the packing shed in Darwin. Roger came to the boat within an hour of the call, took us on a tour of the area and out for dinner. Wonderful. Roger and Ruth Ann own a five star resort at Bargara on the coast, which their son and wife manage. Here we are enjoying a sumptuous bbq at Roger's apartment. The king prawns are to die for. We turned down the opportunity to spend a few luxury nights at the resort as we are keen to get organised and get home.



We are currently in a marina in the middle of Bundaberg town The locals have been very friendly and helpful. We all think Bundaberg has a nice feel to it -quite an old fashioned rural town.

In the next few days we need organise a place to leave the boat and then book our flights home. Plenty of choices, it just a matter of picking which will best suit. So maybe we'll take the easy option and leave it where it is or maybe we will sail down to Mooloolaba and leave it on the waterways there.



We can't wait to get home. Sadly we will need to say goodbye to Sascha who has her summer job awaiting her in NZ. She has been great crew and we will miss her.

Chesterfield Reef - November 2008

We hardly feel as if we are doing a major crossing, as the conditions are so light and the two stops have broken the journey. However we have used far more fuel than intended so we won't want to be leaving here until we are fairly certain of some winds. A bit of a toss up really because if we stay too long we will run out of food!!!!



Chesterfield Reef is larger than Huon but no less beautiful. Not as many turtles and birds, though. After a well earned non broken night of sleep we spot another yacht at the other end of the bay. Norbert and Antje on 'Antje' are pleased to see us as they have been waiting for some time for the right weather window to sail on to Bundaberg. As their yacht is steel and a lesser fuel capacity than ours they need stronger winds to sail in. They bring us up to date with news from other yachts we know that have also stopped on their way through. We are able to give them a variety of food items and even a meat meal. Each night we pooled our resources and had pot luck meals.







Shell hunting is on the agenda as we have been told of a really rare shell that can only be found in the Chesterfield Reef area. And wouldn't you know it, we think Sascha has found one - a perfect one at that. It was just lying there, no other shells around it, on a sandy mound that is only exposed at low tide.



Norbert is keen to practice his 'hunter/ gatherer' skills with another man, so he and Daryl are soon organising a crayfish dive. Well, if you could call it a dive, when they weren't in water deeper than a few feet!!!! They were even conservation conscious and only took a few from each hole.




Norbert was also a keen snorkeller and was happy to take us to all his favourite spots. He certainly could hold his breath the longest I have ever seen someone do. We saw the best soft coral here that we have seen so far. I also saw the biggest sting ray ever that was in the process of burying itself into the sand. I took a wide berth around that one!!!

Huon Reef - November 2008

As you can see we finally got out of Port Vila Harbour. We left on a forecast that should have given us moderate winds, but alas, we haven't seen them. it seemed also as if we had currents against us, so we have motor sailed practically all the way.



Huon Reef - what can we say. We have arrived at this remote paradise amidst huge turtles lazily swimming about in clear blue water. It is mating season and in the late afternoon the females make their way onto the sand atoll to lay their eggs.






They share the atoll with hundreds of birds, many nursing eggs or chicks. We feel privileged to see nature taking place before us with so little human intervention.



Some of the gannet chicks are larger than their parents. Many parents look thin and tired while their chick are loud and demanding.
Sadly we see dead turtles who didn't make it back to the sea in time before baking in the fierce sun.

Sharks eagerly hover close to shore waiting for some easy meals.




Sascha and I madly gather shells, feeling as if we we are the only people on earth to have access to them.

Vanuatu - Port Vila, Santo - October 2008

This year Vanuatu has been much kinder with weather and sea conditions so getting from place to place has been far easier and more comfortable.

We revisited the dugong in Lamon Bay. The locals said they were seeing less of him and thought he was spending time away from the bay looking for a mate .But we were lucky enough to spot him surfacing near the boat, so we had a couple of hours snorkeling with him as he fed and mooched along the bottom.

He didn't seem bothered by our presence and if he thought we'd got a bit close he just swam along a few metres to put some distance between us. Swimming with creatures like these is something I don't think we will ever tire of.

It certainly is true that many places you visit it is the people you meet that makes it memorable. This is the case in Port Sandwich. The weather was forecasted a strong blow for a couple of days so we, along with a couple of other boats, tuck ourselves up in the upper harbour of Sandwich Bay. Well, up there lived an elderly man with a small church he used for the family worship. He had a far off dream that his church would one day have a bell. When Arnie and Cam on 'Jade' hear this they decided to forfeit a beautiful brass bell they had on board to make Iziki's dream come true. We all went in, complete with drill, screws, and maintenance polish, and installed the bell. He held a short service which included the hymn 'Ring the bells of heaven' and he ceremoniously rang the bell as we all sang. He was ecstatic, for probably he has the flashest bell in the district.

He asked us all back in at 4pm as he would prepare a gift for us. At 2pm we hear the sound of a yelping pig and …..yes…… by 4pm there was a leg of pork, vegetables and fruit for each boat. The generosity of these people, who often have so little, is amazing. And I must say pigs reared on coconuts sure do have a great flavour!!!!

Daryl and Sascha did a night snorkel in Banam Bay, a first for Daryl. The thought of swimming underwater at night only being able to see what is lit up in the beam of the torch has never appealed to him. A surprise really considering all the other crazy activities he's enjoyed doing over the years!!! He said he was last in, first out and could still skite about catching a big crayfish. The really big one that Sascha spotted got away (which Sascha was secretly pleased about, as she said he looked sooooo grand in his old age).

Last year we met a local teacher on one of the small islands north of Malekula called Atchen Island. With the generosity of an Opotiki Service group we took a big box of books to him for the school. I'd also gathered stationary in the 'back to school' sales before we left NZ, so we gave him a box of notebooks and other bits.

Do you know a kindy teacher in Vanuatu gets wage of NZ$15 a term from the government!! The government promises a rise in 2010!!

Daryl and Sascha dived the famous wreck of the President Coolidge while in Santo. Sascha said it was a great experience but she didn't think that wreck dives were going to be her thing….. while Daryl thought the engine room was just amazing!!!!! Maybe a man thing…….

A Teachers Training College friend of mine, Chris, spent 3 years in Ambae, Vanuatu as a VSA teacher about ….mmmm…… 25 years ago. So we decided if the wind was right we'd sail up to see if we could find and revisit the school. Luck was with us (most of the way, anyway) and we made our way to Lolowai Bay, which in itself was fascinating, as the bay was an old volcanic crater that the US navy in WW2 blasted a side out of to create an entrance. Scenery in the bay was fantastic.

We had little trouble finding the high school, which still has NZ VSA volunteers. Incidentally the school has been running since 1902 and has so far survived hurricanes, corruption, crooked heads, unfulfilled promises and mismanagement to name a few issues. We spent a lovely morning at the school. The students seemed committed and the teachers said they work hard.

There are many teenagers in Vanuatu that aren't getting a college education because the parents have no money/ income with which to pay the school fees. Then to see the barriers that this school faces to provide an education are heart breaking.

We were quite surprised to realize that books/stationary are often not what's needed in these schools as they don't have waterproof storage and much of what is donated perishes. In fact quite a lot of what is donated, with the best intentions, isn't what is needed and can't be properly utilized. We've seen computers given to schools that don't have power???

Complex and no easy solutions.

We took photos and hope that some buildings that survived the hurricane are ones that Chris remembers.

On the next island we found a village, Asenvari, which was generating hydro power from a nearby waterfall. Daryl was impressed. Simple and effective. The chief and son knew about the system and were effectively maintaining it.

Daryl changed a seal so they now have a backup pump also. A local took us snorkeling to a spot that he reckoned would give us 20 crayfish in 10 minutes in 6ft of water. The depth was right, the other two numbers a little shy but a easy haul all the same. He also gave us a turban shell with the creature still in it which we cooked up. Who else amongst us could say they have eaten turban fritters?

Vanuatu -Tanna, Port Vila - September 2008

We had a good sail across from Fiji, not a lot of wind and what there was, was from a direction which is hard to do anything with. We've been seriously low on fuel due to the excessive motoring but the conditions, for Vanuatu, were great. We were treated to a visit from a curious sperm whale which approached right up to the boat before doing a magnificent dive, flicking up his tail and disappearing under the boat.

In Tanna a small group of us were lucky enough to get invited to a circumcision ceremony in a local village. The circumcision had been done several months ago (two boys aged around 10 yrs) and the ceremony was to welcome the boys back into the community. Locals with good English explained to us what was happening. Some mum's apologized for some of the younger children being frightened of us but they explained that the children hadn't seen white people before, let alone a camera. We were made to feel very welcome and Sascha and I had our faces painted along with all the village females. A great cultural experience, although Daryl thought my 500 photos was a little excessive!!!!

That evening we went up to see the volcano and, although it was fairly active, we feel the truck drive up was more dangerous than the volcano itself!!!!

We left Tanna after dark and were treated to a fantastic view of the erupting volcano as we sailed past. Winds were light (and so was the fuel) but with a full moon it was a beautiful, albeit slow, over night sail to the next island, Erromango. We sailed into the bay amidst a large pod of spinner dolphins.

By 8am we had our day planned including guided trips to burial caves and an ancestral cave with rock drawings.

If you don't think you're into viewing us with human bones, then skip the next two photos. As previous generations in Vanuatu were cannibals, some even up to 1969, they are somewhat more casual than us about the sighting and handling of human bones. In early times they also used the bone to make tools. We found the history fascinating.

The customs and traditions on each island in Vanuatu are quite different and it takes a while to get your head around it all. Adding to this is the change that is occurring due to westernization (for want of a better word). Two boys approached us in Tanna in their dug out canoe and asked whether we could charge their cellphones!!!! Things are changing and makes for some interesting discussing on what is actually the best for these people.

We spent time with the dolphins, did a bit of snorkelling, had time in the village, celebrated Erika's birthday from 'Oz Magic', traded fish hooks for bananas and then it was time to move on.