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.