Tuesday (18 August) I started catching up with the blogs and did the first part of our latest road trip in the morning whilst Richard ran the engine and flushed the bilges through. In the afternoon we headed out to get his blood tests done in Oxenford followed by a bit of shopping. It was pretty cloudy and quite a bit cooler than in Cairns so we definitely noticed the difference. Before we settled down below for the evening we did a quick check around and spotted that two boats had gone aground in the river nearby. Oops!

Wednesday I blogged again to bring us up-to-date and then it was just domestic chores like laundry and spring cleaning. Richard also did some shopping for parts eventually having to order them from the US as we weren’t able to source them in either Australia or New Zealand. Then we got a phone call from the doctor who asked Richard to come and see him. Luckily we managed to get a courtesy car for later in the afternoon so headed out to the Westfield Mall in Coomera. The GP noted that Richard’s platelets were low and he wanted to repeat the test in a week so that the latest information would be available prior to his heart clinic appointment the following week. By now it was pretty late so we stayed in the mall and had dinner at the Thai restaurant. Was a treat and absolutely fabulous food!

Thursday morning it was another early start as we headed down to Helensvale for Richard to attend the physiotherapy clinic at the local community health centre.

Dropping him off I then headed to the nearby Westfield mall to get our medication prescriptions filled. We are trying to get a good supply of medication on board so that we don’t find ourselves under pressure once we go sailing again – here in Australia the pharmacy will only give you one month’s supply per visit.

Mission accomplished I returned to pick Richard up and we were both delighted that they had signed him off as he had made such great progress. One major hurdle overcome – yay! When we got back to the boat it was blowing like stink so we just lazed around down below being buffeted and heeled over by the very strong winds. We eased the lines a couple of times to try to minimise the creaking. Definitely one of those days we were glad to be in a marina.

Friday morning we had breakfast at Garage 25 (the other cafe at the north of the boatyard) and also laundered some cushions while we have access to washing machines. As we were hoping to go sailing soon we started compiling our final boat job lists. Back on board Richard did a complete engine service including new oil and fuel filters etc. I spent the day in the cockpit online updating our Navionics charts (on both iPad and Raymarine chart plotter chip); activated a new SIM card for the Iridium Go! unit and got that all up and running (so the tracker facility is live again now on the blog which you access by following the ‘Where are we now’ button); and downloaded some routes etc. So quite a productive day and a few jobs ticked off the list.

Saturday morning there was a ‘Caffeine and Gasoline’ event at Garage 25 so we walked up there to check it out. Was the first meet since the introduction of the Covid restrictions in March and it was rammed with an interesting array of cars. There were so many that they spilled over into the boatyard (which they are not supposed to do) so the security guard was having a bit of a nightmare trying to corral them. We had coffee (plus pastries yum!) and enjoyed watching them come and go. They even laid on live music. Was great fun!

You might wonder why these petrolheads descend on Garage 25 here at The Boatworks. The Boatworks is owned and managed by Tony Longhurst who is a famous retired Australian racing driver and he has a collection of his own classic cars in a showroom behind the Garage 25 cafe. So the strong connection with a variety of car clubs here on the Gold Coast is not surprising.

On return to Morphie we did some research into various local anchorages and routes from the Beacon to Beacon pilot guide. After that we relaxed for the rest of the day.

Sunday I headed out to do more laundry while Richard finished up with the engine – swapping out the impeller and realigning the alternator. And that was it for the day.

Monday we had breakfast at the Galley then filled up our water tanks. We popped into the office to confirm all our forthcoming medical appointments and to check that we had courtesy cars booked for them all. In the afternoon I took Richard to the pathology lab again for a repeat blood test and then I went for a doctor’s appointment myself. While I was at the medical centre the hospital phoned to see if Richard could move his echocardiogram appointment from 8.30 to 7.30 on Tuesday morning. OK, no worries… Another quiet night on board.

Tuesday morning and very early we headed down the M1 to the Gold Coast University Hospital for Richard’s echocardiogram. All very efficient, running on time, and we were out of there by around 8.30 am.

We headed back to the Boatworks and had coffee and breakfast in Garage 25. Realising that we had actually booked the car until noon (just in case of delays) so I dropped Richard off and then headed back out to the mall to get a hair cut. Job done I returned the car and we had a lazy afternoon onboard. Later on Richard picked up another car so he could go to see the doctor to pick up his blood test results. I didn’t go with him this time electing instead to stay on board and cook dinner for his return.

Wednesday we had a leisurely start and picked up another car at noon to head down to Helensvale again for the heart clinic. This was the make or break appointment we had been waiting for as they would have access to Richard’s results from all the tests. The echocardiogram showed that Richard’s heart function had improved from 40% to 47% since his heart attack in April which is great news. His ECG was also showing a better rhythm and his blood pressure was good. The doctor, however, wanted to increase one of his tablets so we need to stay around for another couple of weeks while they check he can tolerate the new dosage and have further blood tests to ensure that there are no ill-effects. So very good news but a bit frustrating as we had hoped that we would be able to leave the marina next week. Never mind…..more time to get those jobs done I guess….

This morning (Thursday) Richard has headed off to Bunnings to try and get a new shower head for our solar shower while I’m bringing the blog up to date. So that’s about it for now and another week tied to a dock in the Boatworks looms. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and we are very grateful for the amazing medical service Richard has received here in Australia. He is feeling great and we just need to get those last bloods done and we can then head out into the river. The cyclone season is upon us soon (November to April) so we won’t be going too far north (and south is out of the question as the border with New South Wales remains closed). So we plan to just rock hop around and check out some places we’d like to see that we haven’t explored yet like the Tangalooma Wrecks anchorage which has great snorkelling apparently.

Stay safe everyone, take care. Bye for now

Jan

Thursday morning we packed our bags and checked out of Il Palazzo. They offered to look after our bags for us, so we headed out for a 20 minute stroll to pick up our rental car. It wasn’t ready for us (we were very early) so we went off and had a coffee. On our return our Kia Sportage was ready and waiting. So we headed back to collect our bags and, once stowed, we were driving north to Port Douglas about an hour away. First though we decided to head inland to the Ross lookout to get some views over the city and airport.

Well, what we didn’t really realise, was that they were pretty much what we had seen from the train. Never mind, still beautiful. We back tracked down to the main highway and drove the coast road stopping and starting every now and again to take in the sights.

At one stage we spotted smoke in the distance but thought little of it…..until we found ourselves driving along the highway with flames from the bush fire adjacent to us! OMG didn’t expect that. I guess this was a real Australian experience. Seriously though it was pretty scary to drive so close to the flames.

Moving swiftly on we continued pulling on and of the road to take in the sights – taking note of the recent crocodile warnings on some of the beachy headlands – and then we crossed a river and I spotted wild crocodiles sunning themselves on the banks. We weren’t able to stop as the bridge was single track so missed the photo opportunity but was amazing to see them in their own domain.

Arriving into Port Douglas we found our apartment building (Mantra Aqueous on Port) and checked in. We were given keys to the underground car park so drove around the corner and parked, got in the lift and headed straight up to the top floor to our room. Well, this place was fantastic. Just the right size, fully equipped, absolutely spotless with an added bonus of a spa bath on our balcony which had views down to two of the pools. We were very happy!!!

We unpacked then went shopping in Coles for some provisions. Having secured them back in the apartment we headed out to the marina for a couple of drinks at Hemingways Brewery on the wharf. Was very nice. Then we went back to the apartment for dinner.

Friday morning we packed a picnic and headed to Four Mile Beach. Was simply stunning although the notices about crocodiles are a little off putting LOL. We had a lovely day relaxing on this empty beach – there were very few people around.

Returning to our apartment we decided to relax so had bubbles in the spa on our balcony. Fantastic!

Squeaky clean we headed back out into town and went to Anzac Park to check it out. Lots of families and couples had set up here and were just chilling over sundowners waiting for the sunset. Very nice too. And then drove up to the lookout at the top of the hill – more spectacular views.

Leaving that behind we headed back into town for a drink at the iconic Iron Bar with it’s rusty corrugated iron paying homage to the Australian outback. Very nice place but they were getting ready for dinner service so we moved on. We decided against the Irish bar across the street as it was way too busy for social distancing, so headed up the road to the Rattle and Hum pub for a final drink before going back to our apartment for dinner admiring the illuminated trees along the main drag. Very pretty. It would appear that most tourists come out for an early dinner and then go back to their hotels / apartment for the evening, as very little is going on. Lots of the eateries are fully booked most of the time as there are quite a few that remain closed due to Covid.

Saturday, having had quite a bit of sun the day before, we decided to stay by the pool so we could get some shade. So we just chilled, relaxed and read.

Mid afternoon we got ourselves cleaned up and headed over to The Tin Shed for a drink. This is a Returned and Services League property (a bit like the British Legion) with great views over the water. Unfortunately they had no availability for visitors that afternoon. Never mind. But we did take the opportunity to check out the beautiful old church sitting on the waterfront nearby.

A bit further out of town is the Port Douglas Yacht Club (called The Yachty) so we headed there for a drink overlooking the pile moorings in the river. Was a very nice spot and we enjoyed the ambience and the scenery despite the annoying no-see-ums who decided we were tasty.

Back into town we went to Paddy’s for a final drink as there were very few people around. It was OK but not the best ambience so we headed back to our apartment for dinner and a quiet night in.

Sunday morning we were up early and headed to the street markets. Lots of different type of things on sale here which was interesting. My favourie was the coconut carved heads.

Afterwards we headed back to our apartment to collect our picnic and then onto Four Mile Beach as this was our last day in Port Douglas. When we arrived we had a coffee on the promenade before wandering onto the beach itself. We were pleasantly surprised to see (socially distanced) sunbeds and umbrellas for hire so we splashed out on a bit of comfort. Was a lovely day.

Back at the apartment we enjoyed the jacuzzi again before getting ready to go out for dinner. We went out a bit earlier to try and get into the Tin Shed and they could accommodate us, but only for 45 minutes. That would have been a little quick for a romantic dinner overlooking the water so we declined and wandered the waterfront to check out other offerings.

We were delighted to be able to secure a table in Melaleuca which is rated the no.1 restaurant in the area.

We took our seats at the back of the restaurant in a quiet spot and had slightly over-attentive service to start with whilst we made our choices. The drinks and starter was quickly served and we enjoyed it, although when I ordered crispy wasabi prawns I did not expect them to be whole (including heads and eyes), which, apparently, is how you are supposed to eat them!

The rest of the food was delicious although the service between courses was a bit indifferent. We wanted a leisurely meal but having empty/dirty plates in front of you for up to 20 minutes meant the place didn’t live up to its hype. Nevertheless we had a really nice evening and it was pretty reasonably priced too.

Returning to our apartment we watched the documentary about the real story of the death of Azaria Chamberlain – the dingo baby death. What happened to the family was shocking and a dreadful miscarriage of justice with the mother Lindy jailed for murder despite lots of (unused) evidence to corroborate the dingo story. We remembered this news story breaking back in 1980 so it was interesting to watch the real story of love, loss and redemption told exclusively by the Chamberlain family. Gripping viewing.

Monday morning we were up early to get packed up to return to Cairns. We checked out and headed back along the Captain Cook Highway. Again we had a bit of time so we took it leisurely stopping at a few spots along the way. Thankfully there were no fires this time!

We dropped the car off at Cairns domestic airport and went across the road to the terminal to print out our boarding passes and luggage tags. All went well and we dropped the bags and proceeded through security. Once we were settled airside we had coffee and a sandwich before boarding the Qantas flight to Brisbane.

This plane was packed so we were very happy to wear our (supplied) masks from the gate onwards. We enjoyed spectacular views over Cairns as we left….

Arriving into Brisbane we were picked up by our Uber and then headed back to Morpheus. Of course, by now, we hit the rush hour traffic so didn’t get back onboard Morphie until 5.30 pm. We had a quiet night in after unpacking.

So that’s the end of this adventure, we have had a great time and are really enjoying seeing some of Australia even though we are restricted to Queensland only. But we realise that we are very lucky compared to friends and family who continue to face the many challenges of Covid. Stay safe everybody. Bye for now

Jan

Thursday (6 August) we did a few boat jobs and Steve (from SV Tamanu) popped in for a quick visit. Was nice to catch up with him. Then it was on with some printing and computer stuff while Richard popped out to get a gas (propane) refill. Later on Greg (from SV Liberty) popped in for a cup of tea. So it was a nice and social day.

Friday morning we got our cases out and spent the day just packing and sheltering down below away from the heavy rain.

Saturday morning we were up very early to get organised for our 8am Uber pick up to Brisbane Airport. On arrival, we couldn’t get the airport machine to print out our luggage tags (which was the same for most people) so ended up in the queue with everyone else to drop the bags off. But it all went smoothly and then we went through security quickly although I had to have the usual pat down.

So we made ourselves comfortable and watched the world go by at the departure gate. Lots of security for the arriving passengers now that the Queensland border has been closed again.

We boarded the Virgin Australia flight and were given ‘wellbeing’ packs with sanitiser cloths and facemasks which we were encouraged to wear. So we masked up and got ready to enjoy the flight. We enjoyed the couple of hours flying north enjoying spectacular views of the Great Barrier Reef along the way.

We arrived into Cairns and, because we are not Queensland residents, we were taken to one side and given a grilling about how we had got there (especially as we did not have a border pass). We explained that we hadn’t left Queensland since our arrival in March and they then wanted documentation to prove that. Luckily they accepted our marina bills as evidence on the iPad. Phew!

We collected our luggage and left the terminal. There was a phone at the taxi rank so I called them with our online booking number to be told that they had cancelled it and we would have to wait in line. Why?!? Anyway, luckily it didn’t take too long before we were picked up.

We arrived at our ‘fake’ Italian apartment building Il Palazzo and checked into our one-bedroomed unit. It was clean although pretty compact with very little drawer space so we ended up with having to live out of one of our suitcases. The kitchen was reasonably equipped and we did have laundry facilities so not all bad. But the disappointing thing was that we were on the pool / BBQ / courtyard level area so everyone who used this space would walk past our patio doors and could look straight in. So we ended up with curtains closed and living in a cave LOL although to be fair we were hardly in our room during the day anyway.

We headed out for a walk to pick up some provisions. Then we wandered the area checking out the lagoon (a free picnic / BBQ / pool area for everyone to use) and the promenade round to the marina. We returned back to the main drag and had dinner in the Rattle and Hum pub before returning to our apartment.

Sunday morning we awoke to a very cloudy and muggy day which threatened showers. So after breakfast we headed to the Cairns Aquarium and enjoyed checking out some of the fish and various other beasties. I know you are wondering why we would do this as scuba divers but Richard hasn’t got the all clear to dive and this was the closest we were going to get to the Great Barrier Reef right now! Was a fun way to spend the morning anyway.

After lunch the sun was trying to come out so we headed to the lagoon and enjoyed a lazy afternoon relaxing. On the way back to our apartment we had a couple of sundowners in the pub and then went back to our apartment via the night market where we had a cheap dinner in the food court.

Monday morning and we awoke to a brilliant sunny day. So we packed up a picnic and headed to the lagoon and worked on our tans. Was lovely and relaxing. We then went back to the apartment to get cleaned up, went to the street market again for dinner (the food was cheaper than cooking!) and then onto the casino for a quick flutter on the pokies. Afterwards we finished off in the pub and back to the apartment for the night.

Tuesday morning and we were booked for a trip on the Kuranda Scenic Railway. This was a tremendous feat of engineering when construction started in 1887 to link the rich gold mining belt to the sea as reliable supply routes needed to be found. This railway has 37km of track and ascends 327 metres above sea level incorporting 106 cuttings, 15 hand-carved tunnels, 55 bridges and 98 curves. The carriages are originally made from Silky Oak timber and date back to the early 1900s. We travelled Gold Class so had lovely comfortable seats combined with cabin service and complimentary food/drink throughout the two-hour journey into the rainforest. A real treat!

So enjoy the trip…….

Arriving at Kurunda we got the shuttle bus to the RainForestStation Nature Park and checked in for the Pamagirri Aboriginal Experience with a dance performance, digeridoo playing, spear and boomerang throwing. Was great fun as well as being quite educational about their traditions and culture.

They demonstrated their spear throwing skills by piercing a post, about 50m away, which represented hunting a kangaroo. Amazing!

Afterwards we were wandering through the cafe and souvenir shop to get the shuttle bus back to the village and spotted the ‘cuddle a koala’ sign. So went to explore and, before you know it, we were the only ones being led through to meet and cuddle Ollie who weighed about 8kgs. He must have thought I was a tree as he clung on tightly and I did wonder if he was going to kiss me at one stage LOL. Amazing experience which was made very special by the fact that we weren’t in line with loads of other tourists being hurried along…. Oh yes, interesting fact, did you know that baby koalas eat their mum’s poo to get their digestive system used to the poisonous eucalyptus leaves that is their staple diet.

Oh yes and Richard just can’t pass up the opportunity to wear a silly hat!

We then got the shuttle back to the village expecting to tour the artisan market only to find it is shut on a Tuesday. None of the promotional literature tells you that. Never mind there were a few stores open and we wiled away the time checking out some of the unusual snack items and artwork available before heading back to the train station for the return journey.

We enjoyed the train ride back just as much as the trip up. So here we go again….

Back into Cairns we walked into town, had a couple of drinks in the pub, before returning to the night markets for a takeaway dinner. Had been a long and tiring day.

Wednesday morning (12 August) was another relaxing day around the lagoon. It was very peaceful and quiet until around noon when the foreign students and backpackers get out of bed and descend on the place loaded down with BBQ supplies and bluetooth speakers. We heard German, English, Italian and Spanish being spoken in one big group. We managed to continue to socially distance even if that meant moving away a little….must be getting old LOL.

Late afternoon we got cleaned up and headed over to Prawn Stars trawlers for tea. Massive tiger prawns were the treat and it was lovely to sit on the deck of the fishing boat with local prawns and a chilled glass of sauvignon blanc as the sun went down. Smashing!

On the way back to our apartment we walked through the pretty illuminated trees along the wharf and enjoyed the night view of the lagoon before we stopped in for a final drink in Cairns (well at least for me, Richard is still on the wagon) at the pub and then headed back to the apartment as this was our last night in Cairns.

Thursday (13 August) we left Cairns to head north to Port Douglas so will do another blog shortly to bring you up to date. Bye for now.

Jan

Wednesday (29 July) we tidied up down below and did some laundry. During the afternoon we received an email from our current marina saying that they would be willing to match the (introductory) Sanctuary Cove quote if we would like to stay here instead for the month of August. Wow, another very generous move by The Boatworks who have looked after us so well since we returned to Australia. Although Sanctuary Cove has its many attractions (largely restaurants and access to a hotel pool) the main issue there is transport. Here we can book courtesy cars in advance for Richard’s medical appointments (plus it is a working marina so we can liveaboard without any issues) so we made the decision to stay put.

Thursday and Richard reinstalled all the lines in preparation for us getting the sails on in due course. Apart from that it was pretty much a lazy day onboard.

Friday morning and we started tackling the companionway boards and a couple of internal drawer fronts. So we sanded them down on the dock and gave them their first coat of varnish.

During the day the news came in that, because of an increase in Covid cases in New South Wales they had closed the border to people from the Greater Sydney area. And, of course, this is where my nephew and his family live even though they have had very few cases in their district. Checking out the new rules in more detail it turns out that, although we could definitely enter New South Wales as non-Queenslanders we would be refused entry on return by boat or face 14 days compulsory quarantine in a hotel (at our cost) if returning by land assuming that we would be able to secure a border pass in the first place as the restrictions tighten. So sadly there goes another reunion opportunity. We will see them one day just not sure when right now….

Late afternoon we picked up our courtesy car for the weekend and did some shopping at the Westfield mall before having a quiet night on board.

Saturday morning, picnic made and packed, we headed to our favourite spot at Paradise Point and enjoyed a few hours just people watching and relaxing in the sunshine. We found a place out of the wind so it was a very pleasant way to spend the day.

On the way back we popped into Sanctuary Cove thinking we would have a drink in one of the wine bars there overlooking the water but, as they were preparing for dinner, they wouldn’t serve drinks only. A bit of a wasted trip so we returned to Morphie.

Sunday morning and back out to Paradise Point again. This was a busy day at the sailing club with lots of dinghies being raced by kids and adults alike. Was fun to watch. But the strangest picture of the day has to be the guy who was taking his own floating pontoon with him up the river LOL.

Having enjoyed our picnic lunch we headed back to Morphie via Hope Island. We came across the tavern on the boardwalk overlooking the marina and enjoyed a couple of drinks there and watched the sun go down. Afterwards we headed back for another quiet night in.

Monday we returned the car to the marina, rubbed down the boards and the drawers again, and then varnished them on the dock. We left them outside to dry and headed back down below and talked through our plans for August. We don’t have that many boat jobs left to do with the majority of them really scheduled for the final week we are tied to the dock. For example we need to get the genoa and staysail on; need to activate our Iridium Go! tracker; unpickle and test the watermaker; and renew our navigation subscriptions etc. Which gives us a couple of weeks of sitting here on the presumption that we get the all clear to go sailing in September after the plethora of hospital tests and appointments for Richard at the end of August. So we decided to book another road trip – this time heading to Cairns for five nights and then on up to Port Douglas for four nights. We don’t really plan to sail that far north so very excited about this.

Tuesday we sanded the drawer fronts and the companionway boards again followed up by another coat of varnish (using the rubbed effect Epifanes for the internal drawers as opposed to the high gloss version for the exterior wood). Morphie sits looking pretty on the dock patiently waiting for the day she can get out there again.

Oh yes and our Lewmar stainless steel anchor locks arrived in the post which we had almost forgotten about as they had only taken two and a half months to arrive from the USA! This is the final bit of the bow project so Richard quickly installed them and they have two purposes. One is to secure the anchor and the other is to stop the chain bouncing off the newly-installed black starboard strips (in a big sea) and damaging the wood. They do look a great addition.

Whilst he was doing this I got on with the laundry again. Returning to the boat and the drawer fronts were dried so I reinstalled the stainless knobs and put them back in place. Richard kept busy filling up the boat with water again before another quiet night on board watching more box sets.

This morning, Wednesday, and I’m blogging while Richard does a final sand down and varnish of the companionway boards. And that will probably be it for the day although I have a car this afternoon to pick up a few bits of shopping and to see the doctor (just for prescriptions nothing more). The rest of the week will probably be taken up with getting our suitcases out again and packing for another Queensland adventure.

Oh yes and the Covid restrictions have just toughened up with the border between Queensland and New South Wales being completely closed again from Saturday morning as the Premier here continues to respond quickly to outbreaks elsewhere in the country. The situation has certainly not been helped by a number of idiots who have been caught breaching the border restrictions which have then led to clusters of infection in Queensland.

Stay safe everybody and bye for now.

Jan

Wednesday (22 July) the weather forecast was for significant rain. We awoke to heavy cloud and there was definitely rain out to sea.

So we headed out to a local cafe for breakfast on this very hot and steamy day. Whilst sitting there the rain started and it just poured down. We made use of the free internet and checked the forecast for Thursday when we had a boat / snorkelling trip planned. Well, the forecast was for another rainy day with swells and high winds which would not be exactly ideal conditions. So we headed to the tour operator and asked whether we could move the trip to Sunday – this was done quickly and at no cost.

So we decided instead we’d hire a car so visited various car hire companies and, eventually, were able to secure a car for Thursday lunchtime from Gypsy Rentals. Rainy / cloudy conditions may not be perfect for boat trips but certainly OK for exploring inland. Having done a quick stop at Woolworths we headed back to our apartment where we stayed for the rest of the day as the rain just got heavier and heavier……

Thursday morning it was cloudy with rain in the air and was also pretty chilly. We had a leisurely start and picked up the car before heading out. First stop was the Cedar Creek Falls which were very accessible by road and a short walk. The falls were running quite hard due to all the rain overnight and some hardy (young) things were swimming in the freezing cold pool whilst others were hiking across the top. We just stood and watched.

Moving on we headed to Conway Beach which was only occupied by birds and fishermen on this inhospitable day.

Afterwards we stopped at George’s Diner. This is a 1950’s style American diner which even includes Elvis background music. We stopped for a snack (which was delicious) and couldn’t believe that we had found this place here in Australia LOL.

Oh yes and what about this guy who had driven up from New South Wales and clearly didn’t want to leave his tinny behind!

Next stop was Lake Proserpine and the Peter Faust Dam over the Proserpine River with its views over to Mount Pluto. This reservoir was completed in December 1990 to control flooding in this area and was completed just in time for a massive downpour which filled the 10,690 acre site to a maximum depth of 130 feet. Was very beautiful and we enjoyed the peace and quiet, although wouldn’t fancy camping here (which is allowed) as this is the same river that houses the crocodiles…

We then headed to a resort called the Northerlies where we thought we could catch a few rays as the sun was trying to come out. But we were a little late in the day (just before 4pm) and they were closing so we just wandered around and checked it out. All the rooms at this resort are inside boats on stilts and people pay a lot of money for the privilege – not sure this would be one for us LOL.

From there we went to the Coral Sea Marina and had a drink in Sorrentos before heading back to the apartment. We parked in the underground car park and then went to The Pub for dinner. Again there was live music which was fun….

Friday morning we headed out again in our car – first destination was Bowen. We drove into the town centre, then to the marina, and throughout the surrounding area to find it was closed. Felt like a ghost town with cars parked but nobody around at all. All very strange. Moving quickly on we continued on to have a look at Queens Beach and Rose Bay.

Heading back south our next destination was Hydeaway Bay thinking we’d grab a coffee at Montes Reef Resort. So we wound our way up and down the steep roads and eventually onto an unmade one. We continued for a while until we got to Montes to find the resort was closed. We weren’t the only ones who had planned this as at least three cars behind us ended up doing u-turns when they came around the corner. So we continued to Cape Gloucester where we had coffees (finally!) at the Eco Resort. Was quite warm so we sat there for a little whilst enjoying just being out and about.

Leaving Cape Gloucester behind we headed back towards Airlie Beach via Dingo Beach.

We saw some unusual roadkill as we drove through this vast sugar country area ie a dingo and a wallaby. We did, at least, see one live wallaby but it was too skittish to grab a photo. This plantation area of Queensland goes on for miles and is backed by mountains with lots of unmade roads leading off. We also crossed numerous small train lines which is how they move the cut sugar from the fields to the huge sugar mill that towers over Proserpine.

Back at the apartment we cleaned up before we headed back over to Sorrentos for sundowners with Steve and Jody (SV Enavigo) who had pulled into the marina. Great timing or what?!? Was lovely to catch up with them over a drink or two or three…..

Saturday morning we had to return the car so we used our time wisely and went to Proserpine to visit the Big W. We wanted to get a new (cheap) unlocked smart phone to replace the iPhone that had recently died and came away with a Nokia 1.3. We did some food shopping, filled the car with petrol and returned it. We had coffee on the way back to our apartment before we spent the rest of the day relaxing in the sun by the pool. The weather was glorious as the low weather system had continued south and we were left with beautiful blue clear skies.

Sunday morning we headed over to the Port of Airlie to pick up our boat with GSL Marine. We were all checked in and then boarded – the seats were allocated to us at the start and would remain ours for the day to ensure no cross contamination which was fine. We enjoyed the fast drive out around between Hayman Island and Hook Island – keeping an eye out for whale sightings. This area is so similar to the BVIs with numerous islands and lots of charter boats, just without any density of population as most of the islands are uninhabited (other than high-end resort islands) and are part of the national park.

We came to a stop at Chalkies Beach which is located on the western coast of Haslewood Island. This was to be our snorkel stop. The sea temperature was way too cold for our liking so we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the boat on the bow while most of the tourists jumped in and swam around being escorted by a rib and a stand-up paddle boarder just in case of difficulty.

Once they were back on board (shivering) we were fed our lunch. Because of Covid there wasn’t a self-service buffet just one of the guys making rolls to order like Subway. Good selection of fillings but one roll per person really wasn’t enough and there were a few grumbles about it. There were also no hot drinks which had been promised.

After lunch we headed over to the famous Whitehaven beach which is on Whitsunday Island. The sand here is 98% pure white silica and is beautiful so we can understand why it has been voted the best beach in the whole of Australia. We had one and a half hours here to enjoy so we just lazed around taking in the sun and I even braved the terrors of the water (stingers / sharks / crocodiles and stonefish to name just a few) to do a bit of bobbing which was fun although very cold and didn’t go above my waist! Richard declined the invitation to join me briefly LOL.

All too soon it was time to get back on the boat and we motored around the corner to the Hill Inlet and climbed up the path to the viewing platforms at the top. I struggled a bit on the steps but we did make it and enjoyed the views although it would definitely have been better if it had been low tide when the swirling sands would be much more visible.

After that it was a fast ride back to the Port of Airlie and we returned straight to our apartment. We got the last bits of laundry done whilst we cooked and ate dinner then packed our bags in preparation for the morning.

Monday morning, at 6.50 am, we were at the bottom of the steep drive ready to go.

The airport shuttle bus picked us up and we left Airlie Beach behind. We made good time and got our boarding passes from the desk despite checking in online – which meant that we had the front row seats again – so pleased about that.

We took off just before 9am and landed into Brisbane about an hour and a half later. We were met by our Uber and then were driven back to the Boatworks. Morpheus was looking very clean and tidy (having been rained on heavily over the weekend) and we unpacked quickly. At 1pm we picked up our courtesy car and headed to the Coomera Medical Centre for Richard’s latest doctors appointment. That all went very well and he remains very happy with his progress. Whilst Richard was occupied I did some shopping for fresh provisions and then back to the Boatworks where we had a lazy evening on board reading and relaxing. Felt very good to be back on Morpheus although we had really enjoyed our explorations elsewhere.

This morning, Tuesday, and Richard picked up the outboard which was finally ready to go. Yay! We got it up and secured onto the rail, so was happy about that. Afterwards we treated ourselves to breakfast at The Galley which was nice. Richard then filled up the bilges with fresh water to flush them through and has also just emptied the water tank completely and refilled while I’ve been down below blogging. Afterwards he started reinstating all the lines in preparation for getting the genoa and staysail on.

This week will be about completing our boat jobs and getting Morphie ready to move down the river to Sanctuary Cove Marina so we have a list of things to keep us busy.

Bye for now, stay safe and well everybody,

Jan

Wednesday morning we did our final bits of packing, said farewells to Morphie, before we headed to The Galley to meet our Uber ride to Brisbane airport. The traffic was kind so we arrived in good time and, although we had already checked in online, we had to go to the counter for the boarding passes to be issued. Guess it was just to check ID and to make sure no-one was trying to get around the daily-changing border restrictions in place here in Queensland.

Job done we headed through security and to our gate. There wasn’t a lot of people around as we sat and had a drink while we waited for the flight to arrive. We had brought face masks with us just in case they were required but there was no sign of any at all in use throughout the airport where everything had now been laid out to enable social distancing with lots of hand sanitiser stations.

Eventually the flight was called and we claimed our seats (1A and 1B). This Fokker plane had a seat configuration of 2-3 across so we didn’t have any immediate neighbours. The three seats to our right had one lady only and both rows behind were empty, so was happy with that as the plane was about half full. The stewardesses only served a single glass of water throughout the flight and, although they had gloves on, they weren’t masked either. We landed and then had to wait in line to talk to the customs and immigration guys – they were a bit perplexed that we were British and not Queensland residents, but gave us the all clear to proceed once we told them we hadn’t left Queensland since our arrival in March. The people on the plane that flew in from Sydney were given a much harder time and those people who had been in ‘hot spots’ or didn’t have their ‘border passes’ correctly issued were physically turned around and sent straight back to New South Wales….. Tough regime here but keeps everyone safe and infection levels low.

We met our pre-booked coach transfers at Prosperpine airport and drove the 45 minutes or so through to Airlie Beach. Of course, we were the last drop off so arrived a bit later than we had hoped. Never mind, we checked in and unpacked. Our two-bed / two-bath apartment is pretty spacious but a bit tatty around the edges although it has everything we need like a washing machine / tumble drier / full kitchen / lounge / safe etc. We got it on a great deal so we were happy but wouldn’t have been had we paid full price for it! The best thing about it, though, is its position. Just high enough to get balcony views over the town anchorage and not too high that you have to be a mountain goat to reach it. Most apartments here are nestled into the hills for the views but so glad we don’t have to walk to them the slope up to our resort entrance was enough to challenge us each day! We headed over to the Woolworths (which is just across the main road at the bottom of the property’s drive) and did some shopping. Then we walked back up and stowed away our supplies, got changed, and headed into town for a walk. We found The Pub (yes that is really what it is called) and had dinner there. The food was surprisingly good…..

Thursday morning we walked the town and visited the beach, the port and the lagoon.

We had a coffee and popped into a few travel agents in the small high street. We booked three trips – a crocodile safari, a scenic plane ride and a day trip out to the islands for some snorkelling and a BBQ. We’ll probably hire a car for a couple of days too. Pretty happy with our plans we headed back to our apartment block and took up residence by the pool – no-one else seems to use this area so it is like our own private domain. The pools are pretty but freezing cold!!! Don’t think we’ll be using them somehow…..

After dinner in our apartment we headed to The Pub for a few drinks before bed (although only soft drinks for Richard as he remains alcohol free at this stage).

Friday morning it was an early start as we were heading out on our Crocodile Safari. This had received great write-ups in various places so we were looking forward to it. We arrived – had a safety briefing – and then took our seats / tables in the camp. These had all just been sanitised and would be ours for the remainder of the day so that worked well…..

It was now time to go on the first part of our adventure, the trip up the Prosperpine River, which has the largest density of Salties (Australian for salt-water crocodile) in the whole of Queensland so we hoped to spot a few. First job though was to put the boat into the water.

Then it was time for the safety briefing which was quite funny when they pointed out the lifejackets with the reminder that we wouldn’t want to use them in this environment as being in the water would result in certain death! Sobering reminders of keeping arms within the confines of the boat etc and we were off.

Without even turning the first corner we met our first male crocodile swimming down the river on the surface. He swam along without any concerns about us and it was amazing to see how effortless he moved virtually making no ripples at all. The ranger has named all of the regular crocs and this one was called Muddyguts. When he submerged, he was just like a submarine, and in the murky brown water you couldn’t tell he was there….. Scary stuff!!!! We were told this river was good for Barrimundi fishing and also had large bull sharks in it, so definitely not a swimming destination LOL.

We continued meandering up the river and saw numerous regulars (like Lenny the old guy and Knucklehead) plus a croc mum Sofie and some of her brood. We also saw a few new crocs who had moved into the territory recently and didn’t have names yet and were pushing Lenny further and further up the river away from his favourite females. The males fight very hard for their territory plus to keep their females to themselves so a number of them had battle scars and missing teeth from head butts and bites. As we motored around the guide kept up a really interesting commentary of crocs habits. We certainly didn’t know that they were so territorial, would eat each other’s babies, and didn’t eat much when it was cold. We were told that winter was the best time to visit the crocs here in Queensland as they spent a lot of their time on the mud banks of the rivers to increase their body heat whereas in the summer, when the water temperatures are higher, they spent more time just lazing around in the water. We saw loads of crocs ranging from babies to two-year olds to adult males and females…..some more concerned about our presence than others. Was amazing!!!

We then headed back to the camp and had a BBQ lunch which had been prepared whilst we were on the river. Was lovely with loads of choice and even seconds….

Then we headed out into the bush on the train safari…..

We admired the wetlands, lots of birds, and even cows. The cows are of Indian heritage as they are a hardier breed for the tropical conditions here in Queensland. We were introduced to lots of plants and were told about their many uses, including medicinal ones, and husbandry of the land using fire. Oh yes and a few critters including ants which are sometimes used as flavouring in food – yuck! – and a couple of shy wallabies.

Back to the camp and this time it was for afternoon billy can tea and damper (a sweetish bread with a consistency of a scone). Was absolutely delicious.

While we were eating that the ranger came across a python so pulled it out of the bush for us to have a look at before placing him carefully back on the rock where he had been sunning himself.

Finally it was time to leave so we said our thanks to the guys before we headed back on the bus to our apartment.

We went straight to Woolworths to do some shopping (for picnic lunches) and then headed back up the hill and enjoyed a quiet night in having watched the sun go down on our balcony. Had been an absolutely great day.

Saturday morning we headed out with our picnic to the lagoon. This is a salt water man-made lagoon. There aren’t too many tourists around so, although the area (which is free to use) had limited numbers allowed there wasn’t any issues with that. We made up camp on the grass overlooking both the beach and the anchorage, and settled down to enjoy the sun.

The wind picked up later on so we headed back to the pool area of our apartments to get some shelter. Later on, after dinner, we headed out for a few drinks and tried the Maka Bar which has great views but was way too young and too noisy for us. So we quickly moved back to The Pub which is our favourite. And there was live music too – really good fun! Before we came back to the apartment I tried my hand at the Pokies (casino slot machines) but I didn’t do very well so won’t be trying that again anytime soon.

Sunday we headed back to the lagoon in the morning. We enjoyed lazing around and having our picnic before we headed back to The Pub to listen to the live band in the afternoon. They actually weren’t that good so we only sat there for about an hour before heading back to our apartment for another quiet night in. I also did some laundry…..

Monday morning we headed to the GSL Aviation office where we waited for everyone to arrive. They even had a decorative wall dedicated to the famous Heart Reef of the Great Barrier Reef which we hoped to see.

We were then taken to the airport to meet our pilot. We were issued with life jackets (that we had to wear around our waist) and then we boarded our Cessna 208B Grand Caravan plane and were seated in row four with the layout meaning that everyone had a window seat.

We took off and admired the coastal scenery, the Whitsunday islands, the silica beaches, the fancy resorts and then the Great Barrier Reef and our glimpse of the world-famous Heart Reef. We even saw whales playing in the waters below and have to admit to a twinge of jealousy watching the boats out there sailing in this beautiful place. What a fantastic experience and so glad we did it. Wow, just wow! The photos really don’t do it justice.

We even got a shot of Airlie Beach from the air as we headed back to the Whitsunday Coast airport at Prosperpine.

Back to our apartment we chilled out on our balcony before having dinner. Then we headed to The Pub again for a few drinks before turning in for the night.

This morning, Tuesday, and it is a cloudy day here so we’ve set up camp by the pool (without anybody else around again) and I’m blogging while Richard is reading….. Don’t expect we’ll do much more than this today. Having a great time here in Airlie Beach. Stay safe everyone and take care.

Bye for now

Jan

Wednesday morning we washed, cleaned and waxed the topsides together. Then it was time for me to tackle the laundry while Richard serviced the generator. It took a little while to get it going but, once started, ran very well. The generator hasn’t been used for at least nine months so pretty happy with that.

Overnight it rained really hard and continued into Thursday so we just spent the whole day chilling out down below.

Friday morning we had Harry along to do a rigging inspection. Last insurance renewal we had to prove that our rigging was sound – as Morpheus is over 10 years old – and they accepted a complete rigging report so we are pre-empting this annual request and had this done now whilst we have access to all the trades. All was good apart from some wear in the goose neck, so he promptly removed it and took it away to get new bearings fitted.

We then washed, cleaned and waxed the cockpit. Afterwards we had a late lunch in The Galley.

Saturday morning we headed next door to the Boaties Day Out at the Gold Coast City Marina. Not much to see apart from some Sunseekers and we enjoyed trying one of them out for size – shame we don’t have the AU$1.6mn available to purchase LOL.

Thought the floating Yot Club was pretty good and fancy having that tied to the end of your pontoon?? Would be a great venue for a party….

Some big private boats around in the marina for us to check out too along with some cute small ones for sale. Oh yes and even some live music.

Leaving the marina we headed north just for a drive. The forecast was for a miserable day but, so far, it was pretty sunny so we continued driving. We ended up at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Manly (where Steve and Jo usually berth but were out sailing for the weekend so sadly we didn’t get to see them). Was a very nice place and we enjoyed sitting in the bar watching the world go by.

Sunday morning, the forecast was for bad weather again, but it looked fine so we headed south to Paradise Point and had breakfast out and a few hours lazing in the sun watching the world go by. We left there around lunchtime as it was getting chilly so we headed to the Westfield Mall in Coomera to do some fresh fruit and vegetable shopping before returning to Morphie.

Monday morning we were up early and did some more laundry. We also got our bags out of their storage area and started getting things ready to pack. And that was about it for the day. Oh yes and my Kindle decided to give up the ghost!

Tuesday morning we were up early and headed into the mall. I managed to pick up a new Kindle plus we also had our old iPhone battery and screen swapped out as they were both failing. While we were waiting Richard went for a walk and I got my hair cut. We then returned to Morpheus so that I could blog and, guess what, the phone didn’t work!!! So frustrating, especially as this phone is used specifically for our internet hotspot. So I quickly ordered another courtesy vehicle and this time ended up driving a UTE (truck) back to the mall. The guy said that he thought my mother board may be damaged and I explained that, although the phone was tatty and needed a new battery and screen, it worked perfectly well before they started playing with it. So in the end I walked away with the phone plus a full refund. And yes it isn’t happy….but we will try charging it up completely to see if that helps. Oh yes and on our return to the office there was a letter waiting for us and, OMG, can you believe it, our Medicare card has actually arrived!

Now back onboard I’m blogging while Richard has just been out and about and checking on the outboard. And, yes, they found something else wrong and are waiting on parts…..so Richard has told them when we are due back and told them it must be ready by then as we are moving on and need it….. But at least the riggers are on the ball as they had been on board and reinstalled the goose neck whilst we were out!

Richard is now cooking dinner (I know, what a treat!)…while I’ve just checked in online for tomorrow’s flights. Very excited about our little holiday to the Whitsundays.

Bye for now

Jan

Wednesday morning (1 July) Richard worked on the old stainless steel cabin lights that he had removed and replaced. Some needed fixing and they all needed a good polishing. They came up looking pretty nice.

While he was doing that I got a call from Medicare thanking me for the certified copies of our passports but they still need sight of our application form and visas. Well this was the straw that broke the camel’s back and I lost it a bit with the operator as I went through the whole sorry saga (again). She said that she’d investigate, would resolve the issues and then call me back. Putting the phone down Richard told me off and said that they would definitely not fix it for me now. I knew he was right but these people are so damn difficult to deal with! So I was very surprised, less than an hour later, when she rang back and had actually got it all sorted. A card had been issued to us, the expiry date had been extended to March 2021 (in line with our current visas) and she even supplied an ‘access code’ so that I could use their online service. OMG I think we have finally reached the end of this long and winding road…..

So while Richard continued working on the old saloon lights up in the cockpit, I used the access code to sign up online with Medicare and started the claims process for the medical bills we have paid to date. The website is slow and restrictive in terms of its upload limits so I had to do these pretty much one at a time so it took most of the afternoon. Finished that, so then I started on the prescription medication refunds system. Got all that completed and printed ready for posting (yes this bit couldn’t be done online). Had been a frustrating day but it felt good to make some progress.

Thursday I did the laundry after I had made posters for the various notice boards to see if anyone wanted to buy our old 12V lights. Richard headed out and wandered around the chandlery and found a black Hella 12V fan which we were told had been discontinued – so he came back very happy with his purchase as we had broken one over a year ago and had not wanted to replace it with a different type or colour.

Richard then got on with servicing all the winches in the cockpit while I cleaned all the ports on the starboard side and removed / serviced the ‘peek-a-boo’ blinds. And that was that for the day.

Friday, Richard finished servicing the winches on the mast (he’d done 10 in total) while I completed the ports on the port side. We finished working around the same time and decided to take the rest of the day (and weekend) off so headed to the Galley for a nice lunch.

At 4pm I headed to the office to collect our booked courtesy car and then drove to the doctors in Coomera Medical Centre. I am running low on my prescription medication so, now that it was possible to visit a doctor without paying per visit, the timing was good. The doctor thought my blood pressure was a bit high and was concerned over the length of time I had been taking some of the medication especially ‘at my age’ LOL. So he changed my medication around a bit to try and help me manage the pain better. He also ordered a full range of blood tests to make sure everything is working OK. Once he has the results he’ll consider whether I need blood pressure tablets too as most ‘older’ people need them. So nothing to worry about just the doctor doing a great job – it’s a shame we don’t get this service in the UK, or at least we don’t from our local GP. Trying to get blood tests done by him on a preventative basis is like getting blood from a stone!

Saturday morning we were going out for the day but, first, we headed to Garage 25 to see if anyone was still around from the early morning car meet. Was fun checking out all these cars while we had a coffee.

Afterwards we headed to the beach at The Spit at the end of Seaworld Drive in Southport. We found a little spot and made ourselves comfortable. It was pleasant for a little while but the wind picked up and it got chilly so we literally crossed the road to the other more sheltered beach (Bum’s Bay). This was lovely until a few hours later we were descended upon by a large family group who seemed to want to sit very close so we decided to get out of there.

We drove into Southport and headed to the Marina Mirage and wandered the boardwalk there before taking a picnic table to eat our packed lunch.

Afterwards we headed to the Southport Yacht Club and had a lovely few hours relaxing in their waterfront bar. And very nice it was too.

Sunday morning we headed out to Paradise Point and made camp on the grass just above the beach. Lovely outlook and lots going on, including some kids trying to sail their dinghies in very light airs against a current. Was fun to watch and we enjoyed relaxing and having our picnic. About 3ish the wind picked up a bit and there was a chill in the air so we headed back to Morpheus having had another day of rest and relaxation. A smashing weekend.

Monday morning and we started early. Richard had a physiotherapist assessment at the heart clinic in Helensvale so I dropped him off first then headed to the nearest pathology collection centre in Oxenford to get my bloods taken. Mission accomplished

I then headed to Australia Post to post the prescription medication refund form and supporting documentation. Afterwards I headed to the Westfield at Helensvale to pick up some fresh fruit then headed back to the clinic to collect Richard. Richard had done amazingly well managing to walk 10% further than they would expect from a person recovering from a heart attack. This was on a measured six minute walk while they monitored his oxygen levels, heart rate and blood pressure. So he continues on a strong upwards trajectory.

We then came back to Morpheus and started to do some internet research for our next trip away. We had hoped to spend time with my family in New South Wales (now that the borders are confirmed to be opening on the 10 July) but sadly there wasn’t a whole week we could all get together as the family juggle busy jobs and child care during the school holidays. So we now plan to see them all in the next holidays in September / October instead (by which time we should be down in NSW on Morpheus anyway fingers crossed).

Right now we are not able to go sailing (as the medics have not given their approval) and as the boat jobs are almost finished we want to make the most of our time here in Australia as Covid restrictions continue to be eased (other than in the state of Victoria). We had thought about flying to Cairns and then returning, via a few stopovers along the way, on the Spirit of Queensland train or vice-versa. Neither of us fancied the driving option as the distances are huge. But we really couldn’t get everything to come together with dates / prices of accommodation / train / plane schedules etc despite spending many hours on it. Domestic flights and trains are subject to social distancing so there is much less capacity. Plus low demand levels have reduced services available. For those wondering, we did check that Richard is allowed to fly domestically and the answer is ‘yes’ so we are good to go – woo hoo!

In the end we decided to do something more straightforward instead and fly to the Whitsunday Coast airport from Brisbane. We are going on a new-to-us airline (Alliance) which has just started up in this region and is doing great introductory deals.

We also reserved an apartment in Airlie Beach on the coast. This area is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands so there are lots of things to explore while we are there. We really want to go snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef for a start! So that’s all booked for the middle of next week so very excited.

This morning, Tuesday, and Richard is off to see the outboard guys again. We made the mistake of telling them we weren’t in a hurry to get this resolved so guess they took us at our word LOL. So time to put some pressure on, we definitely want it back secured to the rail before we go away again.

This afternoon we are back off down the M1 to the Gold Coast University Hospital as it is time for Richard to get his bloods checked again so will probably do a bit of shopping on the way back. Oh yes and we have started to receive some medical refunds into our Australian bank account from Medicare – who would have believed it?!?

So that’s it for now. Sending love as always to family and friends.

Jan

Monday afternoon Richard attended the heart clinic, which included a physiotherapy session. They were all pretty happy with his progress and just wanted repeat blood tests done in a week before they increased the dosage of a particular drug (which is the plan). Whilst there we had copies of our passports ‘certified’ by the doctor to send to Medicare to try and get that finally resolved. We then headed back to Morpheus via the shops.

Tuesday morning we headed over to Australia Post to send the certified copies to Medicare. Fingers crossed this works!

On our return we also popped into the machine shop to see what was going on with the outboard. They were waiting on a particular part to fix the tiller arm and they had since found that the shaft had corroded so more work than expected but at least it is fixable. So we left it with them and will check next week on progress.

I then organised a hire car to be delivered the following morning so we started looking at places to stay. We decided on Mooloolaba as this seemed like a nice seaside town for some R&R. We found an apartment block called Sailport which was opposite the Wharf and the marina so were able to book ourselves into a one-bedroomed unit for five nights. So with all this organised the next job was to do the laundry and get our bags out and pack. Woo hoo….

Wednesday morning the car was delivered at 7am.

We did our final packing and drove about 100 miles north. We put ‘avoid tolls’ into the satnav so that we would go the scenic route and enjoyed the drive which included going through some of Brisbane’s northern suburbs. Arriving at 2pm we checked in and were very pleased with the size and facilities within our apartment. We even had our own personal garage, so no worries about parking.

We then walked the promenade admiring the lovely beach which sweeps around the bay with rocks at one end looking north towards Noosa Heads. We came across a Steve Irwin commemoration statue on the seafront too amongst the nicely manicured gardens. Taking a closer look we spotted lots of huge spiders between the bushes so gave them a wide berth!

We stopped for coffee on the way back to the apartment and then enjoyed sitting on one of our balconies as the sun went down. Sadly no sunset views here with buildings in the way but was nice nevertheless. As the chill set in we snuggled up on the sofa in front of the TV with the heating on. Bliss LOL.

Thursday morning we walked out to the spit, checked out the bar entry into the harbour, and looked at the fishing fleet.

Mooloolaba is famous for its seafood so we headed to the seafood markets and purchased fresh swordfish and some beautiful fresh local cooked and cleaned prawns (medium in their sizing chart but king size in ours!) and then continued our walk (and yes, those prices are per kg). We came across another guy selling fish direct from the boats to the public so purchased more local fish fillets….yes, primarily for Richard as I’m not so keen.

Having dropped off our shopping we headed over to the beach and spent a lovely afternoon just relaxing and reading in the sun. We did try the water temperature but, despite lots of people swimming, we thought it was a bit chilly so decided not to indulge. As the wind picked up later in the afternoon we headed back to the apartment for another quiet night in after we had enjoyed the remainder of the day’s sun on our balcony.

Friday morning and it was lovely and sunny again so we headed to the beach for the day. It got chilly mid afternoon as the wind picked up so we walked back to the wharf and found a nice bar on the waterfront which enabled us to remain in the sun but out of the wind so we sat here for a while just enjoying being out and about people watching. Then we headed back to our apartment for dinner and a movie.

Saturday morning and the forecast was for 60% rain so we decided to explore the area a bit more. First place we headed to was the Wild Horse Mountain which had a lookout perched on top. We found the car park easily and then attempted the very steep walk to the top – this was a real test for Richard and his recovery. We made it to the top (with a few stops on the way) with no ill effects (apart from being a bit hot) so that was a great start to the day.

We enjoyed the spectacular views over the huge plantations of pine trees plus other fruits like pineapples and vineyards. And this gave us our first glimpse of the Glass House Mountains away in the distance. These craggy peaks tower above the surrounding landscape and are intrusive plugs, remnants of volcanic activity from around 25 million years ago. This area is also spiritually significant to the First Nations People and many ceremonial sites are protected here. The wood plantations were originally planted in the 1930s and now supplies about 85% of all Queensland timber to the industry (worth $1bn). The plantations themselves have buffer strips along the watercourses within them to protect water quality, prevent erosion and provide corridors for wildlife. It is a truly beautiful place. But despite our efforts we did not manage to spot any of the wild horses that are supposed to roam this area LOL.

Moving on we drove through the plantations and ended up at the Glass House Mountains lookout cafe. We enjoyed a lovely coffee and cake here looking out at the scenery. Just plain wow!

Refreshed we then headed to the Maleny Botanical Gardens and Bird World. We parked up, hired a golf buggy, and drove around this huge estate. Spectacular grounds and beautiful flowers although, obviously, winter is probably not the best time to visit.

We then headed back to the huge aviary near the main entrance and waited for our tour to begin. We walked through and were immediately swooped upon by a variety of birds. They seemed to enjoy the company of the humans although some were a bit naughty and they certainly frightened a few of the kids when they landed on their heads. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed this up close and personal encounter with such a variety of birds. Was great fun although I wasn’t so impressed when one pooped on me from a great height and one parrot showed Richard that he had a better head of hair LOL.

Back in the car we returned to base, parked the car in the garage and rested up for a little while. Then we got changed and headed along the spit to Pier 33 for dinner. This place was huge and had socially distanced all the chairs and tables but the noise echoing around the high ceilings from the group of (very) loud young women situated nearby was a bit off putting. So not great ambience for a romantic dinner for two but to make up for it the food was absolutely fantastic. So good, in fact, that we even had three courses….

Sunday morning and we awoke to heavy rain. Hmmmm…..never mind. So we had a leisurely start to the morning and just chilled out in front of the TV. Late morning it started to ease a bit so we headed out again in the car and drove north to Noosa Heads. This place was rammed with holidaymakers (it is the start of the three week school holidays here) and people were queuing everywhere – so we didn’t hang around. We did walk to the beach though just for a look…..

Driving back towards Mooloolaba we drove the coastal road and saw the huge rollers coming in along the coast. There were a few places where lifeguards were on duty (and surfers were in the water) but most of it was just absolutely wild. Great views despite the weather.

We then headed back to the apartment and had another quiet evening in.

Monday morning we were up early so had breakfast, packed up and cleaned the apartment before departing at 10. We then drove back down the motorway (using toll roads this time) towards Morpheus. She was waiting patiently for our return so we dropped our luggage off and then headed straight out again, this time to Southport for Richard’s blood tests. Afterwards we did some food shopping on our way back and then collected some parcels from the Boatworks office that had been delivered in our absence. Was really nice to be back onboard.

Today, Tuesday (30 June) I’m blogging while Richard is swapping out all the old stainless steel cabin lights. These new LED lights are individually dimmable so will be much better, particularly for reading at night. So another present / upgrade for Morpheus this season.

So that’s it for now folks. Hope you are all safe and well and enjoying the relaxation of restrictions wherever you may be. Sending lots of love.

Jan

Monday afternoon (15 June) while I blogged Richard installed the new chain protector boards on the bowsprit. We then removed all the masking tape and cleaned the stainless around the stern which meant we were then able to reinstall our helm seat, dodgers and lifebuoy.

Tuesday morning it was quite a nice day. Early on the riggers came by and with some tweaking here and there we managed to get the main sail furled properly. With the new bearings we can now pull out the sail by hand although making sure the vertical battens are correctly in line requires a bit more stopping and starting so we tend to winch it back in. But very happy that we got this puzzle finally resolved! We continued cleaning stainless steel – including me climbing up to those difficult to reach places on the arch. As we were now stern to, we cleaned the port side lower rub rail and waxed/polished the hull between the main rail and rub rail as we could reach it from the dock. So both sides finished now – phew!

Wednesday we cleaned inside the rail to remove any sticky residue from the masking tape. Then we got ourselves cleaned up so that we could head down to the hospital for more blood tests. As we were just getting ready we received a phone call from Medicare to give us our number…..so relieved to receive that news….had been a long and frustrating road. Anyway we took ourselves off down to Southport and while Richard was in the queue for his blood test I went to the pharmacy to pick up the next month’s supply of prescription medication. And, of course, the Medicare number was incorrect as it was a digit short. And I had repeated this back on the phone after I had written it down so knew that what I had written down was all that the operator had given me. Bloody hell, here we go again! Anyway, medication in hand I returned to Richard in the pathology department and made the call. Only about a 30 minute wait this time to speak to an actual person, and yes there was another digit to add to the end. Pleased to reach the end of this Australian bureaucratic nightmare LOL.

Bloods taken we headed to the mall to get some shopping so I took the opportunity to have a quick ‘dry’ Thai back massage (which means it is all done through towels so no skin to skin contact) and Richard did the shopping. He also purchased a blood pressure machine while he was at it as he needs to keep this under daily review.

Job done we returned to Morphie. We put away our supplies and then I stupidly decided to try and download the Medicare app so that I could claim refunds for our medical expenditure to date. Hmmmm, this requires a unique number from the issued physical card. So I rang them again, trying very hard to be polite, and was told they would not be issuing us a card (or an access code to the system) as we didn’t have our identities verified at Centrelink. What?!? This is madness – Centrelink told me to apply on line because of Covid and well, you know the rest of the story. Bottom line is that they are happy to give us a temporary number (and no card) valid until early September but, in the meantime, we have to get our identities verified and submitted to them before cards can be issued. Until this happens we can’t access the online system or claim any refunds, although we can at least now access GP services without charge. I didn’t dare check my blood pressure after this latest setback LOL.

Oh yes and, on Facebook, we came across someone saying that their distinctive dinghy had been stolen from Russell Boating Club (NZ). And, guess what, it was our old Dink!!!! So we asked Abi how she came to be the owner of this dinghy as we had given it to Calum (for free, to make his dream ‘come true’). We were told that Calum’s dad Bill had sold them a boat which didn’t have a dinghy so they were given Dink for free. Disappointed by this news but what can you do?!? Anyway, Dink is now affectionately called Sinky (for obvious reasons), and was recovered without the new outboard the following day. Here’s the story below.

Thursday we went around the topsides and cleaned off more sticky residue and some other bits and pieces of varnish we had managed to get in various places. Strange how you don’t notice doing this at the time but can find it quite easily after the event. Anyway, it was a miserable day and torrential rain stopped play three times. So we called it a day, relaxed down below with a good book and the heater on and had a hearty stew for dinner. Yes, it was that cold!

Friday morning and it was cloudy, drizzly and cold again. So we did a few jobs down below and headed over to the laundry and once we had done that we relaxed again for the day. We are both getting a bit fed up with the weather and, to be honest, our list of boat jobs is getting a bit thin. So we are feeling a little stir crazy especially as we weren’t able to get a courtesy car this weekend to break up the week.

Saturday it was raining again and it was cold. Later on the sun tried to come out so Richard managed to get the new boards installed on the rail in preparation for the cans to be reinstated just before we leave here (they are currently very happy locked onto the dock). They look pretty good.

Sunday and it was a much nicer day, thankfully. So we made the most of it and took the covers off our hatches and scrubbed Morphie down as she was a bit grubby in places from the rain run off. We scrubbed her down, chamoised her dry, cleaned the hatches inside and out and then recovered them. She is certainly looking very sparkly and clean right now!

Afterwards we headed to the Galley for a late lunch which was nice. Then we came back and relaxed onboard. Oh yes and we received a large medical bill for the emergency ambulance ride to the hospital which, bizarrely, had been sent to our home address in the UK. There is no reciprocal arrangement for ambulance services so we’ll have to pay this one (the service is only free to Queenslanders) but we do have insurance cover to reimburse us once we return to the UK.

This morning, Monday (22 June) Richard has gone walking to the marina next door as he is looking for some new stainless steel screws while I’m blogging. This afternoon he has a two hour heart clinic appointment so we’ll see what comes of that. If they are happy and there aren’t any imminent medical appointments over the next week or so we think we are going to take ourselves off for a short road trip up the Queensland coast now that hotels and resorts etc have reopened. Chasing better weather and a change of scenery. But we’ll have to wait and see for now. Fingers crossed!

Stay safe everyone. Thinking of all our family and friends constantly. Bye for now

Jan