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Hi we would just like to wish everyobe a MERRYXMASANDHAPPYNEWYEAR. 

If we don’t see you in NZ, we will let you know when we are sailing again, probably sometime in March.

Anne & Steve

This is where you will find us for the next few months.  We decided it was not much use going further north as we would just have to turn around and head back south for the cyclone season.

We have both found work.  I have a cleaning job at a local backpackers. 4 days on and 4 days off.  Takes me about 15 mins to walk there.

Steve is working at the local swimming pool a couple of days a week.  He had do an intensive weekend course before he started, and is now a qualified Queensland Life Saver.

Bowen is not a big town but has lots of travellers come and stay for a few months each year.  Lots of backpackers come for the fruit and vegetable picking. There are approximately 10 caravan parks in Bowen as it is a popular place for people in caravans who travel up from down south for the winter. 

The locals tell us that this is the coldest year they can remember.  The daytime temperatures at the moment are about 24-26deg.  Nights are cold and we are still using the duvet.  It is quite windy here which stops us getting too hot during the day.

We are enjoying meeting lots of people and checking out the town.  They have some lovely beaches where you can snorkel and enjoy the coral just off the beach. 

Hope you are all well.  Look forward to catching up with lots of you at Xmas.

Cheers 

Anne & Steve

The Whitsundays kept us busy for a few more weeks.  Steve caught fish in Cid Harbour and mud crabs in Tongue Bay so he was happy.  Our Canadian friends taught us how to play Mexican dominoes which was a lot of fun, and we will be looking to obtain a set some time.

From the Whitsunday Islands we headed north, bay hopping very slowly to Bowen.  I was very happy to see our first whale, even though it didn’t come close to the boat.

Arriving in Bowen over a week ago, we took a pole mooring in the boat harbour.  Bowen is a small town, a little bit bigger than Westport, very spread out with extremely wide streets.  We have a five minute walk from the harbour into town and we have found the locals very friendly and welcoming.  We are now thinking of staying here a while and finding some work.  The harbour seems a safe place for the boat when we return to NZ for xmas.  It has survived a couple of cyclones without any major damage.

It was lovely to have Carol and John (Pericon), stay for a couple of days,  They are our first Kiwi visitors and we were sad to see them go. 

Hoping this finds everyone happy and healthy.

Anne & Steve

The new part for the anchor winch didn’t work, so a whole new windlass was ordered, This meant a few trips into Airlie Beach to pick it up, send back the gypsy(part the chain winds around) as Steve had told them the wrong size, and pick up the replacement. 

Airlie Beach is where we stock up on water, fuel and groceries.  It is very much a tourist town which caters for backpackers and people wanting to do sailing or diving tours around the islands,  There is a market held on the beach front every Saturday morming, where we can get fresh fruit and vegetables at reasonable prices.  The bananas there are usually about $8 a kilo compared to $15 at the supermarket.  For obvious reasons we don’t buy bananas, which is a shame because they are one of my favourite fruits.  We usually walk the 3k to the supermarket and get a bus back.  It is a nice walk around the waterfront. 

While waiting for our winch to arrive we spent some time on South Molle Island.  This was a trip down memory land for Steve as he spent some time working here 30 years ago.  The resort on the island was very quiet, as are a lot of the businesses here,  With floods and cyclones causing a lot of damage, now the high Australian dollar is keeping people away.  On South Molle the resort is nearly deserted,  They had 8 guests when we called in and had a group of 30 who were arriving in the evening and leaving the following morning.  Looking aorund we saw some buildings that had obviously just been left to deteriorate.  Such a shame.

While on South Molle, for $5 we could use their facilities, such as swimming pool and showers.  So we did some of the walks around the island and had a lovely couple of days there,  The pool was too cold for me, but Steve did his usual marathon swims.

Nara Inlet, which is on the bottom of Whitsunday Island, was another stop over.  A little bit like the Marlborough Sounds with the hills all around.  We ended up staying there for a few days waiting for high winds to settle down.  We were invited over to a Canadian yacht called Toketie for games of scrabble, and sushi for tea.  It is always good to have nice neighbours when you are stuck in one bay for a while.  The only walk here is a short climb up to a cave with Aboriginal paintings.  Steve thought they looked recent but the sign said they were authentic.   As there was no other walk to do Steve spent one morning climbing up a ridge and looking down on us all from a great height.

While waiting in Nara Inlet, we listened to all the charter boats calling in each day letting the charter companies know what they were up too.  Although the winds were up around 30 knots, these boats were still out sailing.  One boat called in to report his headsail had ripped so he had cut it down.  He was coming in to Nara to do something with it.  We watched this catamaran come in with the bits of shredded sail fluttering sadly.  Then to top it off the guy on the boat called in to ask which halyard(rope) to cut to get it down.  He was promptly told not to cut anything and eventually he worked out how to get it down.  Bad enough to have problems like that without everyone else knowing about it and watching.  I had to feel sorry for him.  

There was another one who got lost.  He called up thinking he was at Hamilton Island when he was actually at Daydream island.  That call was transferred to phone so all couldn’t hear. 

Our next excursion was to Stonehaven on Hook Island.  We chose this place because they have public mooring buoys and with the anchor winch not working it was much easier to get on a mooring.  Here we saw some turtles and there was some coral around the edge of the bay.  There were a couple of boats in the bay whose music entertained everyone in the bay as it was so loud.  We call these boats party boats as we come across quite a few, 

From Stonehaven we moved up around the corner to Butterfly Bay.  The coral here was much nicer and there were moorings here as well.  The weather was so calm while we were here, the sea looked like a piece of glass all the way to the horizon.  This enabled us to see a whale miles out in the sea.  With the binoculars we ciould clearly see it leap out of the water.  We are hoping to see some close up in the next few weeks. 

Last time in Airlie Beach we went with Linda and David from Toketie to the movies in Proserpine.  This was quite an experience.  The first movie we have been to with 2 intermissions.  It turned out they had to change the reel.  However we still enjoyed the latest Pirates of the Caribbean.

Tonight we are going to watch the Crusaders Game with some other Kiwi cruisers at a sports bar in Airlie Beach and that is it for this time.

Some of the highlights along the way included Brampton Island. As are most of the islands up here, this island was a national park and had lovely walking tracks. We walked around the island one day and did the walk to the top of the hill the next day. The view was spectacular and along the track we saw large lizards, much bigger than geckos, and a bush turkey. Some people on another boat, told us there were kangaroos on the island, but we didn’t see one.  There was a large jetty in the bay which Steve found useful for doing his yoga. A bit more room to stretch out.   Steve also found it a good place to try and catch fish, though he had no luck.

From there we sailed to Goldsmith Island and spent several days waiting for high winds to abate. Although a nice spot, we were happy when we were able to sail on to Thomas Island. The weather was still only average so after a couple of days we sailed to Shaw Island where we had some nice walks along the beach.

Steve swam back to the boat one day even though we had watched a small shark cruising along, not far out from the beach. I rowed alongside him in case he had to get out of the water in a hurry. We had a couple of big fish swimming around the boat. They looked like angel fish though bigger. Steve wanted to eat them but I wouldnbeautiful fish. He got in the dinghy and dangled his fingers in the water and one of them came right up to him, so he stroked it on the back. From our anchorage we could look across the sound to the Club Med resort on Lindeman Island. We were really in the Whitsunday’s. 

Our next port of call was a bay on the north of Lindeman Island, well sheltered from all southerly winds. Here we found lovely walks, one to the top of the hill which gave us amazing views in all directions. As it was a lovely sunny day, the sea showed up as a brilliant blue with all the islands dotted around. The following day we walked over to a bay on the western side of the island and then to the Club Med resort. This was spread out over a huge area with a runway on one side and a golf course on the other. It was like a little town. We had a wander around then walked back to our bay which we had all to ourselves.

As I had been reading about Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island, we made that our next stop. This 6k stretch of the finest white silica sand looked just as good as the photos I had seen. We spent a few days here, along with heaps of tourists coming and going on ferries, charter boats etc. One day we walked the length of the beach, passing 3 helicopters and 2 sea planes along the way. Some people hire helicopters to fly them to a private spot on the beach as most of the tourists go to the southern end of the beach. So we just walked on by and gave them a wave.

It was fascinating to watch a tourist ferry come in. People would pile off and in a short space of time there would be little sun tents dotting the beach, people swimming or sunbathing. Groups of young people from charter yachts or other boats would set up games of beach volleyball or water games. They would stay for a few hours then all disappear leaving the place to us and the few boats that were staying overnight.

As with the other islands there were a couple of bush walks. The tracks here, we have found to be very impressive, designed for people of all fitness level, well formed and well maintained. The walks are usually short, between 2 and 10 kilometres. 

After a few days we moved a little further north, just to the next bay actually, Tongue Bay. This delightful bay was also popular with the tourists because there is a walk over to Hill Inlet and the end of Whitehaven Beach ends. The inlet is too shallow for boats like ours, but small boats can get in. There is a lookout which offers a great view of the inlet. When the tide is out it is a glorious pattern of white, white sand and water in various shades of blue. I will put a photo of this on here for you though it doesnt really do it justice.

While in Tongue Bay, Steve managed to catch a couple of mud crabs and finally caught some fish. This was cause for celebration, as we have been suffering from fish withdrawal syndrome since we arrived in Australia. We were beginning to think that only Aussies could catch Aussie fish. The bay has a large population of sea turtles and some dugongs. It is wonderful watching the turtles swimming around, popping their heads up and moving incredibly fast if you get too close. Unfortunately, we didnt get so close to the dugongs (also called sea cows), and had to watch from a distance when they came up for air.

Our anchor winch is now not working. It needs a new part which we hope to get at Airlie Beach in a few days.  In the meantime Steve has to pull the anchor up by hand.  Needless to say we are choosing shallow anchorages or ones with mooring buoys.  There are a few places with public buoys which is handy.　

As I write this we are at Border Island on a buoy. The diving here is supposed to be spectacular but Steve went for a dive when we arrived and was a bit disappointed, saying that a lot of the coral has died, probably the result of the cyclone. There was some nice soft coral however and we have a lot more diving spots to see yet.

We are finding these islands delightful, very close together, so only a short sail from one anchorage to the next. The weather seems to have settled and the last couple of weeks have been lovely. Nice light breezes so our sailing is very leisurely on flat water. Sorry Dan, I know you prefer gales and big waves.

Since we have been in Australia I have been fascinated with the sea eagles, brahminy kites and the ospreys. All these large birds of prey have taken up a lot of my time, as I try to get good photos of them. They are so graceful in the air, gliding on the air currents and they can move extremely fast if they see a fish or some other food source. They swoop down and scoop them up with their talons. Swoop and scoopJ .

Looking forward to hearing news from home

Our journey from Bundaberg to Mackay has taken us over a month with lots of stops along the way.  We had a lovely sail from Bundaberg to Pancake Creek, leaving Burnett Heads at 3am to ensure we would get to Pancake Creek in daylight.  It was a beautiful moonlit night with a great display of star.  Venus was so bright and low down in the sky we mistook it for a boat at first.

Pancake Creek, was a good place to hang out for a few days with several nice little beaches.  We got some exercise by walking over to look at Bustard Head lighthouse, enjoying seeing goannas sunbathing on the track and not moving until we got right up to them

Next stop was Gladstone.  Little wind meant mostly motoring that day  Interestingly no one we have spoken to over here has a good thing to say for Gladstone.  As we were only there one night, we didn’t see much of it, but the marina was nice and the people we spoke to very friendly.

Great Keppel Island came next and we had a lovely sail out there.  Here we found lovely beaches, lots of walking tracks and a resort at one end of the island.  There were a lot of boats around as the island is very popular with people from Yeppoon which is only 7 miles away on the mainland.  We stayed here a week.  We were pleased to catch up with Kirk and Cathy on ‘Gallivanter’, who we had met in Tonga last year.

When a wind warning was issued, we headed to Port Clinton to keep out of the weather.  It was a good sail and we found a nice sheltered anchorage.  When the high winds arrived the next day we moved right up the river and were very comfortable while we waited for the weather to settle.  Steve tried catching mud crabs with no luck.  I was more worried that he might get eaten by a crocodile while he was checking his net.

From Port Clinton we went to Pearl Bay, a beautiful spot followed by a night at Island Head Creek before making our way out to Hexham Island.  This was quite a rugged little island but the anchorage was nice with interesting rock formations on either side.

South Percy Island was great with beautiful beaches though we had a couple of uncomfortable days there with high winds stirring up the sea. 

There are so many islands up this coast, which enables us to do short day trips from one anchorage to the next and the seas are nice.  We are enjoying island hopping and meeting up with other boats.  There are a lot more around now, most heading north as we are.  We have been warned that anchorages can get crowded in the Whitsundays, which is where we are going next.  In fact we are leaving tomorrow. 

I have been a bit disappointed that the dolphins don’t come around the boat like they do in NZ.  Maybe it’s because there are so many boats here.  We have seen quite a few but they just go on their way and ignore us.  It is always nice to see a turtle.  I have only seen a couple but expect to see more further north.

We did some sightseeing today, hiring a car and driving up the Pioneer Valley to Broken River.  A lovely day stopping off at little towns and talking to friendly people.  We didn’t manage to see a platypus at Broken River because we were there at the wrong time of day but saw lots of little turtles. 

Next is the Whitsundays.  We will sail tomorrow so that is it until next time.  Looking forward to hearing from you.

So nice to get out of the Burnett River after our enforced stay.  From Bundaberg we sailed to Wathunba Creek on the NW coast of Fraser Island. 

It is very shallow along there so we were anchored quite a way offshore.  Taking the dinghy in we found a large lagoon.  Beautiful clear blue water at high tide with lots of stingrays swimming around.   A catamaran was anchored inside.  Catamarans have a definite advantage in shallow areas.  It got a bit windy there after a couple of days so we moved down the coast and found lovely sheltered anchorage under Arch Cliff.  Long white sandy beach which went for miles in both directions.  Lovely clear water and Steve managed to catch some fish.  They say not to swim in the sea on Fraser Island because of sharks so we just had little swims very close to shore.  We really liked it here, and stayed for quite a few days The occasional 4WD would come along.  We met a couple who had been camping on Fraser Island for a week.  They told us they dug down in the sand at their campsite and got fresh water. 

Fraser Island is an island of sand and a lot bigger than we realised.  it is 125k long.  We moved a small distance further down the island and stayed for another few days.  We were at a place called Moon Point when Steve lost a filling, and we sailed over to Hervey Bay so he could go to a dentist.  $400 lighter we sailed back to Fraser stopping at Kingfisher Bay.  This is where the vehicle ferries come in and out.  There is a resort here and a couple of shops,

We walked into Lake McKenzie one day, about 3hrs each way.  This is what is called a perched lake, fed only by rain water, no rivers or creeks running into it.  The water is lovely with many shades of blue depending on the depth of the water.  The silica sand is so pure they say you can brush your teeth with it and use it to clean jewellery.  Not sure about that.  I used it to exfoliate my arms and legs.  The water was very warm.  I saw two women washing their hair with the sand.  That seemed a little too extreme for me.   It was lovely to swim without worrying about sharks.  There was a fenced off area for people to eat.  This is so dingos can’t get any food scraps.  It is illegal to feed the dingos.  The fence couldn’t keep a goanna out though, and it was hanging around under a table obviously hoping for some food to fall on the ground.

We stayed at Kingfisher Bay a couple more days when we were told we could use one of the swimming pools at the resort.  We then moved on to Deep Creek.  I wasn’t very happy when we went ashore and saw a sign saying crocodiles had been sighted here.  I was happy when we moved from there.  We were not sure about depths in a channel to the next anchorage so stayed overnight in a place where we saw some other boats anchored.  We left there this morning, and due to someone who shall remain nameless, except to say he didn’t want to turn the motor on, we ended up aground on a sandbar.  Luckily this nameless person, raised the mainsail and managed to get us loose and floating again.  We are now anchored at Fig Creek.  We will go ashore tomorrow and check it out.

Will add photos soon.

Recluse is ready to sail again. She has had railings straightened, the rudder fixed, a new lee cloth, a new UV strip put on the headsail and new antifouling on her bottom.. Steve has also painted spots where the paint was scratched off.

We have made some new friends, including Dave & Judi Kirk, ex Kiwis, who let us use one of their vehicles to get around. This was great as it enabled us to see more of the area.

Steve managed to come into contact with something that brought him out in spots. Not just a few spots but hundreds all over. They looked like mosquito bites and the itching drove him crazy as you might imagine. After a course of antibiotics, as some of them looked infected after he scratched them, and antihistamine they are rapidly disappearing, thank goodness.

It has been a very long month here with very hot humid weather, but we will be sailing tomorrow. Fraser Island will be our first stop then we will play it by ear. Filling in time really until we head north at the end of April, after the cyclone season ends.

Will keep you posted.

Just to keep you informed.  We got pulled back into the water on January 5th.  We were able to move back on board straight away.  The only damage apart from a few dings, was a bent pulpit and rudder damage which was probably caused when she was pulled back into the water.  This resulted in lack of steering.  We are anchored on the north side of the river out of the main stream. 

When the river started rising again a couple of days ago we tied ourselves to the mangroves and watched the river rise.  It was 2.5 metres lower than the original flood but it was still very high and very fast.  12 knots. 

We are waiting to get the boat hauled out of the water to get rudder seen too.  There are more than 20 boats on waiting list in front of us, so we are here for a while.  Nice people here so not too big a hardship.

We consider ourselves very lucky when we see lots of other boats still stuck in mangroves or sunk.  We can see 2 masts poking out of water on opposite bank.

Thanks for all the kind messages.