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.
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