Sunday afternoon (28 March) we headed out to meet Sandra and Nigel having last seen them on New Year’s Day. When we arrived at the Pizza Wine Bar it was absolutely rammed – possibly something to do with it’s all afternoon happy hour prices – so we headed to the new Marina Village wine bar called Destino instead. Was a very nice place although a bit confused as to why they would be selling homewares and furniture in the shop front area of the wine bar…..strange…..but the outside space was absolutely lovely.

After a few drinks we returned to the Pizza Wine Bar and managed to get a waterside table so we settled in and enjoyed some great pizzas and a few drinks. Afterwards we invited them back to Morphie so they could see the boat. Always fun to show her off to new people! We had a really nice time.

Monday morning it was lovely and sunny so we headed over to the lagoon pool only to find that the beach was being dug up and the sand redistributed inside the pool itself. Was pretty noisy with all the machinery buzzing around. Workmen were even cleaning the many fountains / ponds around. Guess the hotel was gearing up for a busy Easter.

Moving on we managed to get some sun beds by the other pool and enjoyed a few hours there until later when the workers had vacated the area for the day and we had a bob around in the lagoon pool to finish off the day. Was lovely. Then we returned for a quiet night on board.

Tuesday morning and it was raining again. Really getting fed up with this! We did a few odd jobs around the boat and cleaned up before cooking dinner for Steve and Jo who joined us later. We had another great social evening on board.

Wednesday morning it was bright again but rain was forecast for later so we borrowed Steve and Jo’s car and headed out shopping for a few bits and pieces. It felt very strange to be wearing compulsory facemasks in the shops though as this was the first time whilst out shopping. Our only other experience of wearing masks was at the airport. Not very comfortable at all so had a lot more sympathy for those of you at home who have been doing this for over a year! When we got back on board it wasn’t long before the rain started again and the temperature dropped dramatically. Even with all the hatches closed and no fans on we felt a bit chilly – definitely Autumnal.

Thursday morning we awoke to the news that the snap Brisbane lockdown was over due to the efforts of the Queensland Health track and trace teams and genome sequencing enabling them to link clusters. Huge sigh of relief all round especially as this means we can now go ahead with our trip to NSW after Easter. Very excited about seeing the family again!

Of course, despite the good news, the weather continued to be cold and showery, so definitely not another pool day. We had coffee out and used the marina’s free wifi to download more Netflix content before we returned to Morphie. Richard then kept himself busy cleaning the dinghy before we had another quiet evening on board.

The rain was very heavy overnight so I didn’t sleep particularly well because of the noise on the coachroof. So was very surprised on Friday morning that it was a bit warmer with sunny intervals. We quickly got ourselves ready and, after breakfast, headed to the lagoon pool. In the strengthening winds it was a bit chilly so we headed back to the other pool and were lucky enough to get a couple of sunbeds out of the wind. We had expected it to be much busier as it was the Easter holidays but we think many people had been forced to change their plans. Although the Queensland lockdown had been lifted, the Greater Brisbane area (along with many other council regions) were still being deemed as ‘Covid hotspots’ and new interstate border restrictions had been imposed as a result.

Back on board we got ourselves cleaned up and headed over to Steve and Jo’s boat. Steve had found an Indian curry house which did deliveries to the marina and had beem declared as the “Best Indian in Queensland”. So we just had to try it out. The menu was interesting with some strange concoctions and, when ordering, we were asked whether we wanted it Indian hot or Australian hot so of course we went with the Indian strength. The food delivery service was very efficient and we quickly tucked in. Sadly it wasn’t the best and, for the cost, don’t think we would rush to order from them again. But it was worth a try and it was nice that none of us had to cook.

Saturday and it was raining again on and off. Steve had a problem with his rev counter and wanted Richard’s electrical expertise to trouble shoot it. So we headed over around noon and Jo and I chatted down below while they got to work in the cockpit. Jo was in the middle of looking for something so this is what happens when you start emptying cupboards down below in a boat LOL.

Richard and Steve didn’t fix it completely but it was certainly working better than before. And of course they had to celebrate their partial success with a beer….and another….and another….and we all ended up having a bit of a session in the cockpit before we were chased down below by torrential rain.

We then ended up playing cards and reintroduced to the delights of crib. Had been a very long time since we had played so it was fun to learn again. Had been a very impromptu social gathering but what else do you do on a chilly and rainy bank holiday weekend?!? Oh yes and, can you believe it, but this was the anniversary of Richard’s heart attack?!? Where did that year go?

This morning, Sunday, and, yes it is raining again. Actually the forecast is awful for the next few days and severe weather warnings have been issued for south Queensland covering just about everything from hazardous surf; flooding risk from significant rain; chance of severe thunderstorms etc etc. Here we go again! Oh joy….. This is the view from our cockpit this morning.

So that’s about it really, not much to report. We have had to cancel our hire car for next week as the collection point in Loganholme is within one of the ‘hotspot’ areas which would cause us problems crossing the NSW interstate border. So Steve and Jo have very kindly offered us their car so that we can go ahead with our trip – really very grateful to them for their generosity!

We are also delighted to hear that the easing of restrictions at home continues and holidays and weekends away will be allowed again soon. Vaccinations are still being rolled out at a pace and just relieved that this means you will all be safer going forward. Bet you’ll definitely have to reserve tables in pub gardens to service the pent-up demand! Just hope that all the idiots who have been partying in the parks and on the beaches haven’t caused a spike causing freedoms to be curtailed again. So fingers crossed for continued progress and, to make you smile, today I bring you another Australian cutie, a baby Tasmanian devil.

Jan

Sunday (21st March) we awoke to a hot and steamy day, more rain was expected, and the chance of severe thunderstorms too. Well it wasn’t long before the heavens opened yet again and it absolutely chucked it down all day, although thankfully the storms didn’t materialise.

The news from the east coast of Australia was awful with south Queensland and New South Wales absolutely deluged with record amounts of rain – this had not happened for at least 60 years so a pretty noteworthy weather event. The rivers around us burst their banks but, thankfully, we were tied to a dock with has large pilings so no concerns for us. The local flooding (which sadly cost some lives) was absolutely awful so here are a few local shots to give you an idea of the scale of this persistent rainy spell.

Again we just hunkered down below for the day. Although we did keep ourselves busy for a little while pulling an additional wire through from the bilge pump light to the cockpit. This was a job on our list for a while after losing all our fresh water in Fiji when we were navigating through the reefs and didn’t hear the main bilge pump start or notice the red warning light go on. So we are installing a red warning light in the engine panel so that it is easily visible in future. This job was largely done but the final bit would have to wait for when it had stopped raining as we had to take the cover off the engine panel.

Monday morning we headed into Southport in the car with Steve who was having an epidural to hopefully ease his back pain and we were going to drive him back. On the way we headed to the Boatworks to pick up some mail (Richard’s replacement credit card had arrived) and were quite surprised by the width of the Coomera river and the height of the water relative to the road bridges.

We dropped Steve off but, because of Covid restrictions, we were not allowed to wait in the clinic for him so went for a wander down the road in the pouring rain to find a coffee. We ended up in KFC which was the nearest place open we could find and, by the time we headed back up the hill to the clinic, Steve was waiting for us. So worked out really well….

We arrived back in Sanctuary cove and had another wet day down below on Morphie. Later on we braved the elements to pop next door to see Steve and Jo as they were packing up for a small road trip and we were going to be keeping an eye on Tamanu for them in their absence. So instructions received, a couple of cold ones later, and we were back on board for a quiet night.

Tuesday morning it was still raining hard! So we were hermits down below again. Steve and Jo had left as planned and we were relieved to hear from them later that day that they had arrived at their destination safely. Couldn’t have been a fun five hour drive in those conditions….

Wednesday morning it had finally stopped raining after over a week of bad weather. Woo hoo!!

So we finished the installation of the auto bilge light in the cockpit and then washed the boat down of all the dirt from the rain. The water in the marina was a horrible deep brown colour from run off further up the river. Luckily we are not directly in the main channel of the river so we didn’t have to worry about floating debris either.

Thursday morning and it was sunny and hot. So we quickly got ourselves ready to go to the pool for the day. So excited LOL. We managed to get our favourite bed (with shade) in the adults section of the pool and it was really quiet – so we had ample access to the pool floaties to just bob around in the sun. Was a lovely day.

Friday we had breakfast out at Pier B (and caught up with David again) before heading to the pool for another day. We really enjoyed it and can’t quite believe how quickly the days pass when we are doing nothing but reading, relaxing and bobbing. By the afternoon the pool was getting a bit busier so we thought the weekend guests had probably arrived. Before we headed back to Morphie for the night we had a couple of Happy Hour drinks in the hotel’s pool bar. Had been a great day.

Saturday morning and, again, it was a lovely day although there were a few clouds around. We spent the day by the pool admiring the cheek of the ibis birds who are called “bin chickens” here in Australia because of their tendency to eat anything that is left lying around – they certainly enjoyed demolishing the bowl of chips left by some hotel guests.

We watched a helicopter come in to land and we think this was the start of a wedding as the party was seen going through the back of the hotel to their reception later in the day. Oh yes and we also spotted some strange seagulls who looked like they had stuck their beaks and legs into a tin of red paint.

On the way to the pool bar for Happy Hour we had a quick visit with some of the hotel’s kangaroos who were pretty chilled out keeping the grass trimmed. After sundowners we headed back to Morphie for another quiet night in.

This morning (Sunday) and we are having a quiet time on board before heading to the village pizzeria to meet Nigel and Sandra for the afternoon, so looking forward to catching up with them again. The weather forecast has changed a bit for the forthcoming week but here’s hoping for a nice Easter weekend so we can make the most of the activities going on within the marina village – there is even live music on the village green scheduled so that should be fun. Happy Easter to all.

So take care everyone and enjoy the further lifting of restrictions at home. Must be quite exciting to be able to see more people again after such a long year of lockdowns and support bubbles (not to mention haircuts and pub gardens). Please be careful and we send love and hugs whilst hoping that the immunisation programme continues to be rolled out so that life can get back to normal quickly. But you still might need a smile to cheer you up so here is an another Australian cutie – this time a baby Quoll.

Jan

Saturday (13 March) we headed out early to the pool. Our usual spot by the lagoon (in the adult area) was not busy but the umbrellas had been removed, so there was no shade available. So we headed to the sun beds near the other pool instead.

During the day Steve and Jo’s friends arrived (James, Leslie and their son Harrison) so they also took themselves to the lagoon pool for some fun.

Early evening we got together with the gang and headed into one of the village restaurants called Jonaz on Food. The waiter was attentive, the food was pretty good and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Until the bill came and the waiter turned on us as he wasn’t happy about us checking it. Hmmm, he was quite rude to us, so we didn’t leave him a tip! Tipping here in Australia is not mandatory or expected so no problems there, but it was all very strange and sort of ended the evening on a less than cheery note.

Sunday morning we headed back to the pool again – this time the ‘oyster’ shaped lounger was available which has a shade cover so we nabbed that for the day, and enjoyed ourselves just bobbing around in the lagoon in between lazing around and reading books. Throughout the day I was struggling a bit with my hip so definitely no more water aerobics for me!!

During the evening it started raining so we had a quiet night in. The rain didn’t let up all night and was pretty heavy. And, of course, on Monday it continued to rain all day. So apart from popping out for a coffee and some shopping at the village IGA we just chilled out down below.

We then headed over to Tamanu for dinner with Steve and Jo – we are very happy to be Steve’s curry recipe guinea pigs. This time it was a beef vindaloo and was absolutely fantastic! Loved it….

Tuesday morning and it was still raining. Apart from heading out for a coffee we had another day of not doing much other than sheltering down below from the weather feeling like hermits. Richard did, however, fix the lights in the heads. To finish off the day we had a Netflix binge. Currently we are watching Season 2 of Designated Survivor and thoroughly enjoying it….

Wednesday morning it was a bit brighter but was still not pool weather. So we took up residency on our dock and took apart our cockpit cushions. Richard scrubbed the inner closed cell pads while I worked on the covers. And that was about it for the day.

Thursday we had plans to meet David and his young family in the afternoon but, unfortunately, they were poorly so cancelled. Never mind we are here for another couple of weeks yet so there is time to catch up with them when they have recovered from the lurgy. I was having another bad leg day so Richard was pottering around looking for jobs to tackle and this time it was the stern shower nozzle which needed cleaning out as it was blocked; then he worked on the stainless on the cooker; followed by the galley taps. Great job and everything is now sparkling again!

Later on we headed to the Cove Tavern for a couple of drinks and some supper before returning to Morphie for another quiet night on board.

Friday morning I headed to the Village IGA for some provisions and then Richard and I had a clean up down below. He worked on the walls in our cabin while I cleaned all the floors, wiped the wood down, and vacuumed the rug. I then prepared dinner for Steve and Jo as we were entertaining them with a boat-made lasagne with salad and garlic bread for dinner. And a lovely evening we had too, despite the late appearance of a few mosquitos because we had forgotten to close the hatches before dark!

This morning, Saturday, and we met Steve and Jo at 8.30am. The only washing machine here in the marina has been playing up so they were doing a laundromat run to Coomera and we had decided to join them.

While the washing was going around in the tubs we all had breakfast out in a local cafe and then went for a drive around the local marinas in the luxury of the car’s air-conditioned environment whilst we waited for the dryers to finish…. Back on board having unpacked all our laundry, the weather is changing again and we have just had a rain shower with the threat of a thunderstorm later. Oh joy!

So not much to report this week although we have really enjoyed being sociable for a change. So fingers crossed for improved weather so that we can have more pool time. Hard to believe that we have been here almost two weeks and have only managed two days so far!

We see that the vaccination roll-out continues at home although there are renewed concerns over the supply chain. The story is the same here in Australia with Europe blocking exports. Papua New Guinea (which is just across the Torres Straits from the top of Queensland) are struggling to cope with the pandemic and many of the vaccines were earmarked to be sent there to help this third-world country get on top of the problem. The Australian Prime Minister is clearly furious about Europe stopping deliveries of ordered and paid-for drugs to keep for themselves despite signed contracts with the manufacturers. Will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Here in Australia they are onto the next stage of the vaccination process and our doctor has told us the surgery will be in touch when it is our turn. So fingers crossed that won’t be too long into the future.

So take care everyone, we are thinking of you all and sending love and hugs. Today’s smile comes courtesy of more Australian cuties – this time some baby dingoes.

Jan

Saturday (6 March) we headed out early to go shopping for provisions and to get some prescriptions filled. We came back to Morphie, unpacked and stowed all our goodies, then I headed back out in the car to Westfield whilst Richard stayed on board fixing the shower sump pump (yes again!). I enjoyed my girlie time getting a manicure and pedicure and when I returned found everything was back in its place. We then had a couple of sundowners in the cockpit followed by a quiet night down below enjoying a Netflix binge.

Sunday morning we were heading out shopping again, this time for fresh fruits and vegetables. On the way we popped in to see Tim. We had met him on the dock at the Boatworks a few weeks ago and were inspired by his story. He is a veteran Australian Navy Diver with PTSD who has struggled with his mental health and has taken on a project to rebuild an old sunken steel boat which, eventually, can be used to take his fellow veterans out for some time on the water. As we had failed to sell our old anchor and it was just taking up space in our stern cabin (aka the ‘garage’) we decided to donate it to this great cause. Tim was delighted to receive it and both him and his wife made us really welcome with food and great coffee while we got to look around their beautiful home. Here is the official handover…

And here is what the anchor looked like after some loving care and attention from Tim.

Whilst there, as the highlight of the day, we were able to feed a friendly kookaburra by hand which was sitting on the screen to his pool. A really lovely way to spend the morning.

Afterwards we rushed off to do our final bits of shopping then back to the Boatworks for laundry duties and Netflix downloads whilst we had good internet. So that was about it for the day although I did come across another (smallish) suspicious critter in the showers that evening – this one I have since identified (I think) as a scorpion spider which is not considered poisonous to humans. Still didn’t enjoy sharing my bathroom with him!

Monday morning we did final boat / engine checks and then headed down to the river to Sanctuary Cove marina. Steve (of SV Tamanu) was waiting on the dock to help us with our lines and we were delighted to be next door to them in the marina. What are the chances of two British-registered Island Packets alongside each other in an Australian marina?!?

After we were secured, washed down, and hooked up to power etc we then checked into the marina office and picked up our security gate keys. We then went to a café for coffee and caught up with our favourite barista David. And, of course, by now it had been raining….

Later on in the afternoon we welcomed Steve and Jo onboard Morphie for sundowners. Had been a very long time since we had seen them so it was great to catch up.

Overnight we had heavy rain but thankfully come Tuesday morning it started to ease. We were up early and on the bus towards Southport. We arrived at the terminus about 50 minutes later and found the medical facility that we were going to have our visa medicals at, had a coffee, then waited in line. People were there for all sorts of medicals and visas, so it was quite interesting people watching. Eventually we were dealt with in terms of initial meeting / basic tests then it was an X-ray, followed by a meeting with a doctor. After a couple of hours, and $700 lighter, we left and made our way back to the bus terminus for our return trip to Sanctuary Cove.

Later on we headed over to Tamanu for sundowners on board which was fun especially as we watched the lightning flashing around us from the cockpit.

Wednesday morning we borrowed Steve and Jo’s car (which was very kind of them) and took off for the Boatworks as we had mail to collect. We also took the opportunity to pop into Bunnings as Richard wanted to buy a new tap for our heads. Back on board and the weather was really miserable and cloudy so we stayed put. We had received our National Police Certificates in the post so I scanned those in and uploaded them to the immigration website which also confirmed that our medicals had required no further attention. So everything done we are just waiting for the visas to be issued now but, at least, we remain legal on our bridging visas so we are not worried about this delay.

Later on we headed back over to Tamanu for a curry as Steve had been trying a new Indian restaurant recipe that he had found so we were (happily) the guinea pigs. I supplied the poppadums and naan bread which we had found in Woolworths that morning. The Madras was great – really enjoyed it – thanks Steve. We were chased out of the cockpit by torrential rain so took cover down in the saloon for a while – but, eventually, it was time for us to leave and the rain just would not stop so we had to make a dash for it and got soaked in the process!!! Never mind…..

Thursday it was another cloudy and rainy day so we just stayed on board. Richard swapped out the tap in the heads while I was his “gofer” getting tools as required…. Other than that we just relaxed on board and had a quiet night in.

Friday morning I was up early and headed to the lagoon pool at the Intercontinental Hotel for water aerobics. Steve and Jo have been going to these three times a week so thought I’d give it a go…. Richard could not be tempted as he wanted to swap out the faulty Balmar battery monitor and bluetooth gateway while I was off the boat and out of the way so he stayed behind to do that and Jo had an early on-line meeting (as she works from the boat) so it was just Steve and me. The instructor wasn’t great so I really didn’t know what I was supposed to do half of the time but I got through it. Afterwards Steve and I headed to the hotel spa pool to warm up as the lagoon pool was pretty chilly before returning to our respective boats.

Back on board and I’m blogging while Richard continues to fix his new instruments – of course it is not as simple as it would seem – so I’m keeping quiet in the corner while he rants away LOL. He has just finished and everything appears to be working as it should be so fingers crossed that they have ironed out all the bugs… Think that will be it for the day then, it is still cloudy and grey out there, so no pool time today. Fingers crossed for a real break in the weather tomorrow.

So that’s it for now folks. Things appear to be improving at home although some concern over whether there will be another spike now that the kids are back at school. So fingers crossed that the easing of restrictions continues as proposed. But we do recognise that you are all still living in lockdown whilst we live an almost normal life so here are more Australian cuties to make you smile. These two are a Tasmanian pademelon mother and baby – they are small herbivore marsupials, that breed abundantly and are preyed upon by Tasmanian devils and quolls.

Jan

Friday (26th February) we moved up the coast of Moreton Island from the Sandhills anchorage to Tangalooma Wrecks which is just north of the Tangalooma Island Resort. This resort is private and doesn’t allow visitors (other than registered guests) to their facilities so off limits to us and definitely seemed pretty busy with the amount of times we saw the little helicopter take off for a short scenic trip around the bay.

The wrecks are 15 ships deliberately scuttled by the Queensland Government between 1964 and 1984 to provide a safe anchoring spot for boats on the eastern side of Moreton Bay. Coral is now starting to form around the wrecks and it provides a haven for a variety of species so is a popular spot for snorkellers from the nearby private resort. This anchorage is only tenable with an easterly element to the wind so we were delighted to have the right conditions to finally make it there.

We found a good spot near enough to the wrecks to go exploring but far enough away not to be in the way of the huge amount of boats that come through here bringing day trippers. There are also people camping on the sandy spit across from the wrecks who come over on the ferry in their 4WD campers. It was pretty busy and we hadn’t seen so many tourists having fun in a very long time with lots of people bobbing in the crystal clear shallow water, it was the closest we had come to being back at Jost van Dyke, just without the bars! Oh yes and check out the tourist playing with a motorised surf board…

We quickly got dink down and enjoyed dinghying around looking at the wrecks (although a bit concerned by the absestos signage on one) and, despite lots of warnings about the dangers, of course lots of people decided to climb on them too.

We then headed ashore and went bobbing ourselves. After a few hours we were back on board being rocked and rolled around by the huge ships as they pass by in the nearby shipping channel – which is the main deep-water channel into Brisbane. But wasn’t bad enough to make us want to move on.

We just enjoyed being there and particularly watching the ships go through against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset. And, of course, in any popular tourist spot we had the usual anchoring shenanigans and it was clear that one particular charter catamaran didn’t have a clue about how to go about it. Thankfully they gave up and moved away from us – phew! During the evening in the cockpit we also watched one of the 4WD vehicles (that trippers drive along the beach to the campsite) get stuck in the sand…..so lots of people watching going on.

Saturday morning it was raining….seriously….here we are in the most beautiful anchorage and it’s raining again. Not happy! Thankfully it cleared up quite quickly and we just floated around over our anchor as there was also no wind. We were then furiously tipped from side to side from the wake of a bunch of jet skis going through the anchorage at top speed. They definitely do this deliberately….oh well….never mind. Again there were more anchor shenanigans as the day trippers arrived. We went ashore and bobbed in the crystal clear water and talked to a brother and sister who were out for the weekend. While we were chatting we noticed a catamaran getting too close to Morphie which made the people on board panic a bit but, before we could even get in our dinghy to get back out there, they had picked up anchor and left. They were clearly embarrassed by anchoring too close to us which proved to be their undoing when the wind picked up and we all swung in different ways. Thankfully they didn’t touch.

We had another evening in the cockpit watching the sunset. Later on we checked out our emails and we had received one from AmEx about a possible fraud. So I quickly phoned them (as it was now eight in the morning in the UK) and, yes, someone had tried to use this card at Argos. Luckily Amex spotted this transaction and it was declined, the card was immediately cancelled, and another one ordered to be delivered to Australia in due course. Really great service. Does make you wonder though where the card was cloned.

Sunday morning it was raining first thing and we were rocking and rolling even more with large numbers of ships moving through the channel. Then the trippers started arriving and we decided enough was enough, so picked up anchor and headed back to the Sandhills anchorage where we were completely on our own. Was really lovely so we enjoyed the peace and quiet just sitting in the cockpit watching the birdlife after the hectic madness of the last few days.

We then received the terrible news that my Mum’s friend, Anne McCafferty, had passed away (from Covid). Was really upset by this, especially as Anne and her husband Charlie had been so supportive to me when we lost Mum and they had both been part of my life for almost 50 years. So was quite a tearful evening. RIP Anne, you were taken far too soon, but hope that you are enjoying your reunion (not to mention a cup of tea and game of scrabble) up there with Mum. We will miss you greatly and send lots of love and our deepest condolences to Charlie and the rest of the family for their loss.

Monday morning first thing it was rather cloudy and grey so we spent the time below and submitted our completed visa applications. We also received the news that our Federal Police Checks had been completed and our certificates were being posted to us. We then received our bridging visas, almost by return, with news that the process of issuing visas was currently taking 5-7 months but at least we are now legal when our current 12 month visas expire on 13 March. It’s unbelievable that we been here in Australia for almost a year.

Later on we moved anchorage from Sandhills to Horseshoe Bay, Peel Island. Still grey, cloudy and no wind and it was officially the first day of Autumn. Let’s hoping Autumn weather is more settled than Summer LOL. As there was no solar gain nor wind we had to run the generator – for the first time for a long time – to top up the batteries. We had a quiet night on board.

Tuesday morning and it was lovely – we picked up anchor and headed back towards Canaipa to time our arrival with high tide to get through the winding shallow passage. We arrived at Tipplers and got a really good spot. There was an Australian catamaran behind us – SV Bonafide – so, when we dropped dink, headed over to say hello and to let them know that we had deliberately anchored in preparation for the expected wind to swing us away from them. They were comfortable with our position and then invited us for sundowners that evening. Smashing, thank you very much! We headed ashore for a quick snack and, of course, an essential wallaby visit. Headed back to Morphie we got ourselves cleaned up, packed some goodies, and headed over to see Andy and Bec – who are both British but have lived in Australia for decades. We had a very enjoyable few hours with them while a thunderstorm raged around us but thankfully didn’t come too close.

Wednesday morning it was raining, it was cold, it was grey and again no solar input so we ran the generator and chilled out down below. We got word from the Australian immigration that we needed to have visa medicals so I organised those for next week. We also needed to go to a Centrelink office to get our Medicare card validity extended so started getting the documents together in preparation for that. Later on we heard from Tom and Diane (SV Avalon) that they were camping at Tipplers and had just spotted Morpheus out in the anchorage. Fantastic news! So we invited them for sundowners later and were also joined by Andy and Bec. We had a fun social evening on board and it was great to see Tom and Diane again.

Thursday morning we weighed anchor early and, by eight, we were heading out of Tipplers on our way back to the Boatworks. Despite the horrendous conditions of 30+ knot winds and torrential rain enroute we made good time and arrived to find a small motorboat in our allocated berth. So the marina guys quickly jumped onboard and moved it to another place while we did 360s in the river. After about 10 minutes the slip was ready for us and we went in gingerly as the wind was pushing us away from the dock and towards another boat but we made it in successfully with no drama. Phew!

We quickly washed Morphie down, got the electricity plugged in, put the canvas back on and headed to the showers. After getting ourselves cleaned up we went to pick up our courtesy car to drive to Southport to visit the Centrelink / Medicare office. Well, my last experience of this place was horrendous with queues out the office and up the street to then meet the most unhelpful woman I have ever had the pleasure to meet! I had pre-warned Richard but, of course, the reality this time was very different. No queues anywhere and a very helpful woman who told us we had to reapply for another card. Wow, what a difference. Anyway, we took a seat and completed the new forms and then returned to the desk – the woman checked the form was completed properly; took photocopies of our passports, current live visas, bridging visas; and that was that. She would now send them off to be processed and the new cards should be in the post within a couple of weeks. What a difference to last time. So very grateful this happened so easily and quickly so we headed back up the M1 to the Boatworks and treated ourselves to a celebratory coffee and a cake in the Galley after we had returned the car. We also picked up a couple of parcels that had been delivered and one was Richard’s new replacement (free of charge) Balmar products. This made Richard very happy indeed! So guess that is one job for the weekend while we are here.

We then had a quiet afternoon and evening on board – feeling a bit weary – and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the marina as we are surrounded by boats for sale with nobody on board so it is just us on the dock.

This morning, Friday, I’m blogging and Richard has just been to collect his new Yanmar fresh water coolant pump for the engine. He’s very happy with his shiny new acquisition.

This afternoon I have a doctor’s appointment – just to pick up prescriptions – so will get a few things whilst out and about and that will be it for the day. We have a car for the weekend so we can get ourselves provisioned up in preparation for returning to Sanctuary Cove Marina on Monday. Really looking forward to it.

News from home seems to be about the same with some nervousness over new Covid strains and the efficacy of the vaccines against them. Plus, of course, tax hikes in the latest budget to pay for it all. We just hope that the lockdown programme will continue on track and you will all be able to have more freedom at home soon. So sending more love, hugs, and another Australian cutie to make you smile. This one is a sugar glider which is a tiny lemur-like tree-dwelling flying marsupial that feeds on wattle gum and eucalyptus sap.

Jan

Friday (19th February) we awoke to another grey and miserable day in Tipplers anchorage. However it was not too busy with boat traffic and it didn’t rain, so definitely an improvement on recent days.

We had a lazy day on board then, about 4pm when most of the day trippers had left, we headed ashore and had a few drinks and nibbles. We were lucky enough to have another wallaby encounter but no huge lizards this time. Back on board around 6pm and, by now, the weekend crowd were starting to arrive so we had the usual anchor shenanigans as they all tried to get set for the night.

Saturday morning we got ourselves ready to leave Tipplers and waited for the tide to turn. So at 10.15 we were heading north an hour after low tide, through the gap between South Stradbroke and North Stradbroke islands at Jumpinpin and then into the Canaipa passage. During the trip, winding our way through the shallow river system, we picked up about a knot of boat speed as we were lifted by the tide and we saw no less than 1m under the keel so we had timed this 15 mile run just about right. Sad sight at The Huts anchorage, though, where we saw that an abandoned boat had finally sunk in recent weather events. Wonder who is responsible for cleaning all that up?

As we neared Canaipa, we snuck under the overhead power lines (which always look closer to the top of the mast than they really are) and anchored on the west side of the river as we were expecting winds from the NW / W overnight. A few other boats joined us and we watched big clouds building and heading out to sea, thankfully they didn’t affect us.

We sat in the cockpit and enjoyed watching a large camp of fruit bats fly through as they headed to North Stradbroke Island to roost for the night. We also had a very brief dolphin and dugong visitation. They literally show themselves for seconds and disappear right beneath the stern so no chance for a decent photograph but, oh, what a treat!

Sunday we stayed on anchor at Canaipa and had an admin day onboard continuing with our online visa applications. When we called it a day we sat in the cockpit and were then visited by some strange looking yellow-eyed flies and we soon found out that they bite, hard! So we lit our insect smoke coils and left them burning in the cockpit (in a suitable container obviously) while we took ourselves down below to escape. The rain then started and the water became flat calm. After the rain we were treated to the most beautiful cloud formations and a fire-red sunset. One of our neighbours took a photo and loaded it up on Facebook showing Morphie at anchor in Canaipa lit by the most astonishing sky. Beautiful or what?!?

Monday morning we weighed anchor at 8am with our destination 19 miles away at the Moreton Bay Trailer Boat Club Marina in Manly. Another marina…sigh….but the weather forecast was consistently for severe thunderstorms and we would rather be safely tied to a dock and surrounded by large masts than sitting it out on the hook. We felt very lucky to have been able to get a berth booked at such short notice for a three night stay.

It was really hot and still in the morning and we got a picture of our neighbour in the lovely morning light. There was no wind so we motored across the glassy water in the Bay and had more encounters. This time it was a turtle, another dugong, and a ray jumping completely out of the water. What a great start to the day!

We arrived into the marina, found our berth, and got ourselves organised. Richard hooked up the power, rinsed Morphie off and re-installed the canvas while I headed into the office with all our documentation to check in. In Australia the marinas insist on a minimum of $10mn public liability insurance plus a copy of the Border Force Control Permit to allow you to stay, so I already had that ready for them. Checked in, security gate key fob in hand, I returned to Morphie. Have to say, on first impressions, we think the MBTBC marina beats the neighbouring East Coast Marina hands down in terms of facilities and quality of the docks and services. Plus it is literally across the road from Manly village so very accessible for re-provisioning etc. Here is Morphie settling into her new slip.

Later in the afternoon we headed out to the Moreton Bay Boat Trailer Boat Clubhouse (literally across the car park) and paid $5 to become an annual member. This gave us significant discounts on all food and drinks so we managed to recoup our outlay in less than two hours!

We took a seat on the outside balcony and enjoyed a view across the channel leads into the harbour entrance which serves four marinas. A really lovely place to enjoy a couple of cold ones. Then the discussion turned to food so we checked out the Club’s simple menu but were very excited by the ‘curry of the week’ option of a chicken tikka masala with basmati rice and a roti. OMG we haven’t had a proper curry for about a year and, although expectations were low, we both decided to order it anyway. It turned up after about 15 minutes and it was absolutely divine….very authentic with fabulous flavours. All I can say is Yum.

Suitably replete we returned to Morphie and watched the clouds roll in and then the heavens opened but thankfully no thunderstorms. The rain was biblical in nature and the wind gusts were significant so we were pretty sure we had made the right decision to shelter out here for a few days.

Tuesday morning we were up very early and Richard started by doing routine engine checks when he realised that the fresh water pump was leaking a small amount of coolant. Doing some research it became clear that these are very difficult to repair and Yanmar themselves actually recommend a straightforward replacement. So Richard got in touch with a company in the Boatworks to order a new pump on our behalf. In the meantime we’ll nurse the engine and top up the coolant as we go until we can get this replaced.

Doing his other boat checks he also noticed that the Balmar SG200 battery monitor would not cycle through all the modes AGAIN. So he disconnected and restarted it only to find that the readings were complete garbage as our house battery bank’s state of health should definitely not be 100% after two years of use. We have been having battles for about a year with Balmar about this unit as we keep insisting that it is faulty and their helpdesk troubleshooting advice works in the first instance (sometimes) but then, soon after, it goes into meltdown again and we have to keep reverting to their helpdesk. This time, thankfully, they finally agreed to replace it. Woo hoo! We just need to work out the logistics to make that happen now. Phew….

In the meantime I continued doing admin – this time it was to apply for Australian Federal Police Checks which are needed for the visa process. Their system was playing up but, eventually, I managed to get them completed and paid for.

Afterwards we both headed out to the shops and topped up with some basic provisions. Once back on board after we had stowed our shopping we had a lazy afternoon sitting watching the clouds build. We had dinner down below and then returned to the cockpit. OMG the storms were building, it was getting dark, the internet was lit up with warnings and radar images, and then it started. There were multiple storms all around us with lightning shows, thunder and torrential rain and it went on for over two hours. Was very exciting because it wasn’t immediately on top of us and, thankfully, no hail. Phew!

Wednesday morning it remained cloudy and stormy. Richard was swapping out the shower bilge pump while I headed into town again for more shopping. I got back and Richard had just finished so we then stripped beds, sorted out all the washing, and headed up to the laundry area. We put the machines on, got a propane fill sorted there and then, and then sat outside in the BBQ area while we waited for the laundry to finish. All very civilised.

Whilst there I called AmEx’s fraud team to query a charge which had been taken by a company without permission. As this ‘purchase’ had allegedly been done via PayPal we raised a potential fraud case with them too. It turns out that the vendor involved is well known and ‘auto renews’ annual software products sold to customers previously (at virtually triple the cost in my case) without informing the purchaser or seeking approval despite no previous authority being given. So very happy that the card wasn’t compromised; the ‘purchase’ was cancelled; and the vendor has been blocked from charging me ever again. Thankfully all resolved to my satisfaction that afternoon.

Back on board we relaxed before heading back out to the Club for a drink. We had planned to then go to a local restaurant for a fish and chip supper but, very naughtily, we both succumbed to the curry again and it was just as good as the first time. Wednesday night in the Club was very busy as it was Parmy night (which is chicken parmigiana and one of Australia’s most popular dishes) for only $14. For the uninitiated this is a breaded fried chicken snitzel coated in tomato sauce with grilled cheese on top served with salad and chips.

Oh yes and Wednesday night is race night at the local marinas here so we enjoyed watching all the little ducklings return to base for the night from the outside balcony.

We decided to move on to the Celtic Corner pub in Manly village before returning to Morphie. The barmaid screwed up my order so it had to be redone; we had to fight to get a seat; and the price was $10 more than the same round in the Club. So if we come back this way again, think the pub has seen the last of us LOL.

This morning, Thursday, it was raining and while Richard was preparing the boat to depart I quickly went into town to pick up some fresh bread, fruit and vegetables, got rid of our last minute rubbish, and then returned our key fob to the marina office. Definitely think we’ll be back here, such a friendly place.

By 10 am we were making our way through the leads and headed out towards the Sandhills anchorage, Moreton Island, just under 16 miles away. The weather deteriorated and it poured with rain for a while with poor visibility but nothing out of the ordinary….

Eventually the rain cleared, we arrived at our destination, and had our anchor down by 1pm. Lovely spot – really glad to be back. This time, though, there was a fishing camp that had been set up in the shallows so we watched them go about their business also checking out the pelicans who were clearly hoping for a tasty handout.

So that’s it for now folks. We are looking forward to exploring more of Moreton Island over the next few days as the wind is coming from the right direction to make these anchorages tenable and the weather forecast is nice and stable – fingers crossed of course!

In the meantime, we have caught up with the ongoing Covid vaccination programme at home and were delighted to hear the plan of when they are going to ease the restrictions. There is still a way to go but definitely light at the end of a very long tunnel. Keep safe and well everybody, sending hugs as always. So to cheer you up in lockdown here is another tiny Australian cutie to make you smile – this one is a baby orphaned Antechinus.

Jan

Friday (12th February) we had plans to do some boat jobs but both felt a bit weary so decided to just chill and instead watched the anchoring shenanigans around us as the anchorage filled up. As the day boats left for the day we picked up the hook and re-anchored further away from the shore as the overnight forecast of brief NW winds would put us on a lee shore. During the manoeuvre we had a brief dolphin visit. Always lovely to see them come by although we do worry about them swimming in the channel with the speed some of the jetskiers come through here! We also admired some strange cloud formations above us before the sun set for the day.

Settled in for the night and we just sat down below listening to the wind and the rain, it was definitely a wild one but thankfully we held fast.

Saturday it was a bit brighter and we were surrounded by houseboats and it was crazy jetski busy. We waited until most of the crowds had gone and then went ashore for a couple of drinks and nibbles.

Whilst sitting outside Tipplers Café and Bar we enjoyed visits from both a wallaby and a monitor lizard. The guys sitting near us were feeding the lizard their chips and some lettuce and, of course, it then came close to them to get a better look at which point they freaked out and were worried about their toes getting chewed. Was really funny to watch – who would have thought big Aussie guys would be frightened of a lizard eh??

We had a quiet night back on board and then retired early listening to the very heavy rain falling on the coach roof. There had also been an earthquake detected near New Caledonia which meant a tsunami warning was in place for Lord Howe Island but thankfully not the east coast of Australia. Luckily the danger was over quickly and the warning was soon dropped.

Sunday morning and it was Happy Valentine’s Day. We enjoyed exchanging our cards and had a leisurely morning.

The wind had swung south early on and we were now pointing back down the river towards Southport and as we had a good set we decided to stay put. In a lull in the rain we got into the dinghy and quickly cleaned the waterline of the light growth that had accumulated. We then climbed back on board and get the dinghy hoisted onto the arch as the next band of wind and rain came through.

The winds built up and built up but we were pleased that, by now, lots of the houseboats and day trippers had cleared out of the anchorage so we were able to put out more chain to reflect the worsening conditions. And it blew like stink – forecast of 40+ knots – and we reckon we saw that at least. As the rain eased later in the afternoon we sat in the cockpit and watched this 52ft Lagoon catamaran come into the anchorage – who then tried and failed to anchor behind us four times – and then left, probably because he was embarrassed. Oh dear, not sure where else he would find shelter from this appalling weather nearby before it got dark….

Monday morning it was still blowing but was lovely and sunny. Hurrah! So we did some hand washing and then headed ashore for some coffee and cake (although I actually had a delicious smoothie). The place was deserted although we did have two lizard encounters which was fun (and they didn’t seem too keen on each other!). By the time we were ashore we had a very large neighbour anchored in the middle of the channel.

We had a nice time relaxing in the sun on board for a little while on our return to Morphie but, yet again, we were chased down below by the rain although we did at least enjoy a lovely sunset first.

Tuesday it was cold and cloudy. Then the rain set in and the wind picked back up again. Getting a bit fed up of this now!!! We stayed on board all day and just poked our heads up to check our position as the wind was swinging SSE/ESE but as there were no neighbours we weren’t really concerned. We then heard about more earthquakes just off Vanuatu and Tonga but thankfully no tsunami warnings came about because of these. Oh yes and we saw the Lady Brisbane come down the river which was nice to see.

The weather forecast continues to show rain for most of the week and, unusually, this time they seem to be pretty accurate! Oh well, never mind…. Even the sea birds are looking a bit fed up with it all! But at least the wind died down overnight giving us some respite.

Wednesday morning and, of course, the wind picked up and then it rained again…sigh…. It really was miserable out there so we both stayed down below and started downloading all the documents that we need for our visa renewals and turning them into .pdfs in preparation for uploading onto the on-line Australian Immigration system. We then started the actual process of completing the on-line form but a poor internet connection meant we didn’t have great success so called it a day! Neither of us enjoyed doing this but at least we are getting there….

Afterwards we had another quiet night on board watching more offline Netflix content.

This morning, Thursday, and it started a bit brighter with a better forecast than previously, but then of course, it started raining.

We had hoped to get ashore for coffee at least (and to get rid of our rubbish) but decided against in the end. So I’m blogging down below while Richard is in the cockpit reading. Hopefully we’ll get out of here soon!!! Oh yes and half the Australian content is missing from Facebook today because of the ongoing row so even Bureau of Meteorology weather warnings are not allowed anymore. We can obviously access them elsewhere but seems a bit heavy handed or what?!?

Anyway, bye for now, and take care everybody, sending love and hugs your way. The Covid situation at home appears to be improving with the rollout of the vaccinations so hopefully there is an end to the lockdown restrictions soon. But, in the meantime, to keep your spirits up here is a baby Australian platypus to make you smile.

Jan

Thursday (4 February) I blogged during the day while Richard pottered around doing some important jobs like working Y-valves. In the late afternoon we took ourselves off to the Pirate Ship for sundowners before returning to Morphie for dinner.

Friday morning and it was time to give Morpheus some loving care and attention. First job was to wash her down as she had accumulated quite a bit of dust on her topsides whilst we had been away. Then, having wiped her down, we used a cleaner on the topside gelcoat. Afterwards we worked on the non-slip areas of the deck and coach roof by applying a layer of special non-slip wax before washing off the residue and drying it all. We then took a bit of a breather before tackling the coach roof which was waxed and polished. And here she is looking all beautiful and clean again, although we did notice that the varnish is starting to deteriorate on the eyebrow so that will probably be our next job.

Later on we picked up our courtesy car for the weekend and headed to the doctors. Blood test results were all fine, we got our repeat prescriptions, and then headed to the bottle shop to stock up on supplies. We then had a takeout roast chicken for dinner. Have to say we both slept well that night after all that physical exercise.

Saturday was a big provisioning run. We are planning to be on anchor now for a month and, then, after a short return to the Boatworks for doctors appointments we are booked into Sanctuary Cove again in early March. So we needed to replenish our stores. We were out for quite a few hours and it took us just as long on our return to find places to stow all the goodies onboard.

Later in the afternoon Richard decided to tackle cleaning and waxing the cockpit while I headed back to the shops as I wanted to get some new shorts / capri pants. I was surprised to find that Waitangi Day was being celebrated in the Coomera Westfield Mall and that Maoris were performing some traditional cultural dancing and singing including the haka. So I enjoyed watching that for a while – which brought back great memories of the numerous times we had spent at the Waitingi Treaty Grounds in New Zealand – before returning to the boat with my purchases. For a change we spent the evening in the cockpit enjoying some music and a snack supper.

On the dock behind us we have the YouTubers Sailing Zatara who are here as they need to get their engines replaced. They are constantly coming and going and we have noticed randomly that the males of the family go everywhere by some sort of electric skateboard or scooter, whilst the females walk everywhere. Very interesting….

Sunday we headed out very early to the laundry having got everything we could think of stripped off and into the washing bags. After getting the washing started we headed to the Galley to have breakfast.

Afterwards Richard headed out to Bunnings (because no week on the dock would be complete without a trip to his favourite shop LOL) plus to pick up some other bits and pieces that we had missed from our original provisioning list the day before. I stayed watching the laundry and used the Boatworks internet in the Cruisers lounge to do some admin work plus also to look into the Australian visa renewal process. Our current visas are good until mid March so I need to action this around the end of February but just wanted to check it all out in advance.

Reunited back on board we hand washed all our boat cloths; did the engine checks; filled up with water; and stowed everything properly down below in preparation for our departure on Monday morning. On our return we had noticed that we had a new neighbour on a Princess powerboat and he clearly didn’t make it into the slip easily in the gusty conditions – look at the damage he did to his boat on his arrival by hitting the huge pile at the end of the dock. Ouch….that won’t polish out…. Thankfully he didn’t hit us!

Very early Monday morning we returned the car. I checked the freezer temperature only to realise that it had fallen over during the night and we could not get the compressor to restart. Damn, we had just filled this up too, so we need to get this resolved as soon as possible to avoid our newly-purchased food defrosting. We rang Rene (our “go to” refrigerant guy) for advice but he is so busy that he wouldn’t be able to schedule us into his diary for another three weeks – so it was down to us to resolve it. We realised that, until this was resolved, we wouldn’t be able to leave the dock as we will need shore power to support the freezer as below a certain level of voltage the freezer tends to throw a wobbly anyway. So I went to the office and booked us in for another day. Frustrating but these things happen…..

We spent the rest of the day trouble shooting the issue to no avail initially. We decided to swap the fridge and freezer units over. We can live without the fridge if necessary but obviously we had a lot of food in the freezer that was at risk. So I cleaned both units, reset their temperature settings, and moved the food across. The fridge responded really well and started to come down to temperature (although a long way from freezing at this point) and we carried on working on the freezer unit. With a bit of mucking around with gas and pressure levels we were able to get the freezer to respond and stay on. So, once it was stable, we swapped all the food back across again and hoped for the best overnight. Phew had been a very long and frustrating day!

Tuesday morning and the temperature in the freezer box was coming down nicely but still had a way to go. And the wind was howling too. So we decided to stay another day on the dock. We had a quiet day on board and even did another small laundry run just to make sure there was nothing left that needed washing on board before we headed out LOL.

Wednesday morning and we were up early. The fridge and freezer were fine, the temperatures were set, and we set off for Tipplers anchorage on South Stradbroke Island. The wind picked up en route and, to start with, we were getting a lift from the outgoing tide until we got to the Broadwater when the current was running against us.

We arrived at Tipplers and it was flat calm on arrival and not too busy either, so that was a result. We got anchored quickly and enjoyed sitting in the cockpit for a while – and, then of course, the skies darkened and it rained on us!

In the meantime a cabin cruiser (which had tried to anchor at least three times to our knowledge) decided to drop his anchor in the channel but then backed up into the shallows which we thought was very strange, but assumed he knew what he was doing. So when the tide went out he ended up sitting on the mud and despite efforts from others they were not able to pull him out. Later in the evening as the tide came back in he was able to get himself free of the mud and re-anchored with all the other boats. We are genuinely surprised by how many boats we have seen stranded on the mudbanks during our travels – these areas are well buoyed and charted so there really is no excuse!

It was quite chilly and drizzly in the cockpit during the evening so we headed down below for a Netflix evening. But we had a lovely sunset anyway.

This morning, Thursday, and we were up early and suddenly the big supply barge came in and cut between us and the green channel marker (so he was travelling outside of the channel). Was a bit close to say the least! We decided to give him more room for his departure so, once he was offloading the trucks, we picked up anchor quickly and got set further away. Was at least a lovely bright morning.

We had planned to leave here tomorrow to head to Peel Island for the weekend (making the most of the shelter there from light north winds) and then on to other anchorages near Moreton Island. But, of course, the weather forecast changed again and there are strong winds from the south east forecast now from Monday to Wednesday at least (plus a chance of a thunderstorm too) so we might just stay here and sit it out as we have protection here plus it is good holding in mud. So plans all up in the air yet again but we will just go with the flow – we are definitely getting used to the changeable Australian summer weather.

Hope you are all doing well at home despite the snow and hope to see you all again at some point later this year. With UK quarantine rules; requirement for covid tests; banned countries list; we are really not sure how long we will have to stay here especially since some of the major ‘hubs’ (eg Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE) are also not currently letting transit passengers through to the UK either. And, of course, we don’t want to abandon Morphie without the international borders opening so that we can return to her here in Australia. So we’ll just have to keep sending you lots of love and Australian hugs until that day comes. Take care and stay safe everybody.

Jan

Thursday (28th January) we arrived into Caloundra (188 miles drive south from Bagara) and, once we arrived on the outskirts of town, did some food shopping in the local mall. It had been raining on and off all morning and the roads were very busy with lots of big trucks driving quite aggressively so we arrived feeling a bit weary. We got to our accommodation at Rumba Beach Resort at just gone 2pm so were able to check in immediately, park in the secure underground car park and then take the lift direct to our apartment. And, wow, what a place. One bedroom, two bathrooms (including a large ensuite with a spa bath), full kitchen, laundry, lounge, balcony the works. An amazing place and fully equipped with everything I could think of that we would ever need.

Having got ourselves unpacked and settled in we headed out to Happy Hour that was being advertised in the resort’s bar which sits behind the pool complex. Well this wasn’t great as the seating was not comfortable and the drinks were served in plastic glasses which would be OK if we were going poolside but not sitting in the bar itself. Oh well, never mind. After a short while we retired to our very comfortable room for dinner and a movie night.

Friday we were up early and on the road to Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah, to visit Australia Zoo. We had heard a lot about this place so were excited to finally visit. We were there 10 minutes after they opened the gates at 9am.

As well as animal exhibits there are also regular shows and photo opportunities to have close encounters with some of them. We planned our day around the main Wildlife Warriors Show in the Crocoseum and, first on our list, was to visit Australian animals. We started off walking to see the dingos – but the enclosure was sealed off as they were away on holiday (seriously) – so next stop was the cassowary, but again, the enclosure was sealed off as they were sitting on eggs right now. Next was the Tasmanian Devils and, again, the enclosure was devoid of life. At this point – hot and bothered in the high humidity – we were both wondering whether this was worth the effort and thought about asking for our money back! All we had seen at this point was a few lizards, a cute sleepy binturong and a funny crocodile statue.

But we persevered and this time we came across some crocodile enclosures. Richard was convinced that one was a statue but when we checked later we found his mouth was now closed so clearly a living specimen LOL. We saw native snakes and then checked out the echidnas and a variety of kangaroos, wallabies and koalas.

The enclosures are spacious, well laid out, and beautifully landscaped with many of the animals roaming freely so it is possible to get up close to the many non-deadly species. What made this better (for us) was the lack of visitors so social distancing was easy to maintain. But the lack of visitor numbers must be causing some financial difficulty for the Irwin family right now. Throughout the park there were lots of tributes to Steve and his passion for conservation work.

We headed to the parrot show and I was amazed by the white cockatoo who would jump on demand, come close for a photo while I was sitting on the bench, and would chat away quite happily. He was so much fun and we really enjoyed meeting him.

Then it was time for the main show. The arena was about 20% full and whilst we were getting seated the big screen was on showing Steve in all his glory. It was sad to think of such a charismatic character taken so early. Then it was followed by a video from Bindi’s wedding which, to be honest, was a little much especially when they declared that they would be conservation partners and wildlife warriors for life as part of their vows. They were even selling this video in the gift store….. Oh well, each to their own.

The show was fun with free flying birds followed by some salt-water crocodile action. Was amazing to see these creatures just doing what comes naturally and the rangers were very brave to be in such close proximity to these deadly creatures.

After the show, and some lunch, we passed the children’s water park which was very popular with the toddlers and their parents….and moved on to the wetlands where we came across a range of birds as well as some interesting dinosaur exhibits and saw some more small critters. Check out the colours of this tiny (poisonous) tree climbing frog.

Then we visited more local animals and saw our first wombats who were largely asleep in their shady enclosures. Much bigger than we expected them to be, with huge claws! One family, doing the (very expensive) VIP thing with animal encounters and a personal tour guide / driver, did get to lay on the grass next to a wombat but we saw them moving him to this event walking through the park on a lead just like a dog LOL and then onto a cart. He didn’t seem that happy at having his sleep disturbed.

From there it was into Asia where we tried to see red pandas and elephants but the enclosures were empty. However, we did see some teenage tigers.

Then onto Africa and, first, to Bindi’s island where there are lemurs roaming free. So we enjoyed spotting these little fellows along with their other island inhabitants, giant tortoises.

Moving into Africa properly we saw giraffes, zebras, five southern white rhinos and, finally, the meerkats. The African savannah was huge with lots of room for the animals to move around in and, as is the way here, the animals are not caged so it felt very natural. They must have spent a fortune on the landscaping, it is simply beautiful.

Now to the serious question – is this a zoo or a conservation park? Well, in my mind, it is both. Some animals are clearly at risk of extinction (like the rhinos) and others are endangered (like koalas) so the breeding and release programmes are fantastic (with animals that are not able to be released for whatever reason, living out the rest of their life in the park). But others (like giraffes and zebras) are purely there for entertainment purposes. The conservation side is definitely more focused at the on-site hospital. Any wild animal that is found distressed in Queensland can be taken here and is brought back to full health and released free of any charges. This is funded by their own charity so quite a special setup. While we were there we watched a malnourished and rescued sea turtle being checked over by the vets.

Overall it was definitely worth the visit and we had a great time. This zoo is 4,000 km² so there was a lot of walking involved but, thankfully, it was mainly flat and there were lots of benches and places to take a breather during the day.

We got back to our apartment around 5pm, rested up for a while and then headed out to dinner. First we walked through the twilight market that was set up along the promenade which we expected to be artisan goods – but it was mainly food stalls with lots of people around.

Moving on we decided to go to the Drift Bar which is below our resort, overlooking the beach, but it was absolutely rammed with people queuing for tables. So we continued exploring and ended up in the Aqua restaurant sitting above the promenade. This was a bit of a find and we had a fabulous three course Italian-style meal with Richard enjoying his first glass of wine in nine months. Yum!

Saturday morning we were up early and decided to try one of the resort pools. But OMG it was way too hot as there was no breeze.

I had a dip in the lap pool but we soon called it a day and headed to the beach armed with our new shade tent.

We got ourselves set up and even enjoyed bobbing in the sea – which dropped off into deep water pretty quickly. Then, later in the afternoon, the currents got really strong and we struggled to hold our position. We then realised that people were turning up just to drift along in the currents – so we joined in. It was fantastic fun and we understand why the nearest bar is called the Drift Bar now LOL. It was tough to get out of the water at the end so we just launched ourselves towards the sand bar and, when we hit bottom, we crawled out. I had to get assistance from Richard to stand up but then we walked back down the beach and did it all over again…and again….and again. Was really good fun.

Later on we returned to the hotel pool complex where we bobbed with a cold drink in the jacuzzi but found the water way too hot. So we returned to our room and had a bubble bath in the spa bath instead! Cleaned up we then headed out to the (still busy) Drift Bar for a couple of drinks before returning to our apartment with the best fish and chip takeaway we’ve had for a very long time.

Sunday we returned to the beach for another lovely sunny although windy day. There is a very shallow non-navigable bar (for keel boats anyway) into this beach from the top of Bribie Island to the mainland. That said, we did watch the coastguard going out to sea through the surf and across the bar. Quite exciting! Whilst relaxing on the beach we watched a number of huge ships that were going up the coast – amazing that the ship channel can be that deep so close to the sandbars.

There was a king tide that day so the current was running even faster and we drifted along at about four knots! Here is Richard showing how it is done LOL.

After a lovely day enjoying the beach we headed back to our apartment for another bubble spa bath before going out to the Drift Bar for a couple of drinks before returning back to our apartment for dinner.

Monday morning we packed up our belongings and checked out of our apartment. A great trip and we had thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Caloundra. But we had timed our departure perfectly as the heavens opened and the rain was so heavy we had to pull over to the side of the road for a little while as the visibility was so limited. We got back to Morphie around lunchtime, pleased that all was well, unpacked, returned the hire car, re-opened the sea cocks and that was it for the day.

Tuesday we spent the whole day down below as it was raining heavily most of the day. Richard, in a very small gap in the weather, headed out to buy a longer snubber line, chafe protection and a new hook while I blogged. And that was it!

Wednesday morning we were up early to collect our Boatworks courtesy car and head to the doctors as we both needed to have fasting blood tests done. Mission accomplished we had breakfast out in the mall and did a bit of clothes shopping – a new swimsuit for me and shorts for Richard. The rain had stopped but it was very hot and humid with the threat of a thunderstorm later.

Back on board and I rested up for the rest of the day while Richard swapped out the engine impeller, cleaned the engine compartment, then put in a clean ‘nappy’. Later on, we headed to the Pirate Ship for sundowners and met up with the crews of SV Zofia and SV Mischief. It was a real nice change to have some company. They were staying there for a BBQ dinner so we left them to it and came back to Morphie and listened to a few tunes before turning in.

So that’s it for now. Our plan is to leave the Boatworks on Monday (if the weather forecast doesn’t deteriorate) and go back out on the hook for the month. So we need to provision up again and give Morphie’s topsides a wax and polish before we leave.

We are pleased to see that the vaccine roll out is speeding along at home so we hope that you are all coping well with the restrictions and that there is light at the end of this very long tunnel. Stay safe and well and here’s another Australian hug to make you all smile.

Jan

Tuesday (26th January) – Australia Day – we were on the road by 7am heading towards our destination Bargara which was 269 miles and five and a half hours drive away. We weren’t sure whether travelling on a public holiday would be a good idea but we were delighted to find that, apart from around intersections to major towns along the route, the roads were pretty quiet. Richard drove first and then, after a couple of hours, we stopped at a ‘rest’ stop for a bathroom break. Richard went first while I stayed with the car. Then I headed into the unisex facility and, of course, I forgot to look at the ceiling before I sat down. But I soon realised I had the company of a huge hairy spider looking at me. I exited left as quickly as I could and told Richard about it – being very brave he headed in there to have a look. OMG this beasty was about the size of his hand and, of course, we had no idea whether it was venomous or not. Doing an identification check now and I think he was another giant Huntsmans. Have to say didn’t enjoy the encounter much LOL.

Quickly leaving the rest area behind I drove on towards our rented apartment in Bargara along the main Pacific Highway. About an hour away from our destination we left behind the main road and found ourselves in farming country travelling on twisty and bendy single-lane roads. The crops are varied (with much of the land given over to sugar cane production which goes into the manufacture of Bundaberg rum) and macadamia nuts, ginger and figs are available throughout the year. Other crops like melons, lychees and mangos are in season now and the harvest looked plentiful with lots of farms advertising temporary jobs and accommodation to help with the picking. The unintended consequence of the Australian border closure is that there aren’t the usual temporary supply of Pacific islanders or international backpackers and students. This is a big worry for the farming community and, in Queensland, they are desperately trying to resolve the situation with specific quarantine suggestions that would allow temporary workers in and stop the harvests being lost. But time is running out for some crops.

We arrived into Bargara around 12.30pm and located the Koola Beach apartments. I popped into reception to see if we could leave the car in their secure underground car park whilst we went out to explore before official check in (at 2pm) but were told, to our delight, that our room was ready and they let us take immediate possession. What a result! We parked the car and headed up in the lift direct to our apartment. We let ourselves in to find we had been allocated a two-bedroom unit so lots of space and very nice and well-equipped it was too. The only disappointment was that we overlooked parkland rather than the sea but we were only there for two nights so it didn’t really matter.

We relaxed in the air conditioning for a couple of hours then headed out for a walk. We found ourselves in the middle of an Australia Day party with lots of competitions for the kids and numerous food trucks. We had a snack whilst we wandered around and then left the park to check out the beach. Was a really hot and humid day.

Moving on we walked the promenade which followed the shore towards the main town of Bargara which was a fair walk away.

When we got to the town we headed to the Bargara Beach Hotel which had an outside veranda bar open to non-residents. So we had a couple of cold ones there while we debated dinner, not really fancying any of the offerings that we had come across. So we left the hotel and continued looking until we came across a small Thai restaurant so settled on that. We had a nice meal and then asked if they could call us a taxi – but the cab company didn’t pick up the call – so we decided to walk after all. Arriving back to our apartment we had a night cap in front of our large flat screen TV in the air conditioned environment which, for us, was a bit of a treat.

Wednesday morning and we awoke to a very cloudy and grey day. It definitely wasn’t a beach type of day so we headed inland to Childers. This town came into existence as a service town for the sugar cane fields and has a wealth of historic buildings. This, combined with the age of the unusual Brazilian Leopard Trees which line the main street, had led to it being dubbed Historic Childers, the National Trust Town. It is full of quirky sights, including some unusual statues, historic buildings and a link back to Oxfordshire with it’s river Isis and town of Childrey.

We enjoyed visiting the town and stopped for tea in an old Post Office building. Walking the high street we checked out the old medicine bottles in one of the museums and then spent some time in the military and memorabilia museum, before coming across the most moving war memorial to those who had served and been lost in past conflicts.

Having had a great morning out we headed back towards Bargara, around 40 miles away. On the way we decided to check out the Mon Repos beach and conservation centre where we had tickets that evening for a turtle encounter. Was nice to get a glimpse of the beach in the day time.

After checking out the beach, I used the basic public facilities and, this time, I remembered to look up but instead of a beasty I found a wild koala fast asleep tucked into the rafters of the roof. Amazing!

On return to our apartment we headed down to the complex’s small pool and jacuzzi area and enjoyed relaxing in the water – we had the entire place to ourselves.

Back in our apartment we got ourselves cleaned up and changed ready to head out back to Mon Repos for the evening when Richard looked out from the balcony to see large kangaroos in the park – so we spent some time watching them.

Then it was time to head back to Mon Repos for the ‘turtle encounter’. We were very excited about the prospect of seeing turtles but, of course, there is no guarantee with wild animals.

Mon Repos supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the Eastern Australian mainland and has the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific region and is critical for the survival of the endangered loggerhead turtle which is officially classified as ‘vulnerable’.

During November to January female turtles lay their eggs on Mon Repos beach (which is closed to the public from 6pm to 6am during turtle season) and from January to March young hatchlings dig themelves free and run down the beach to the sea. They then have to swim offshore for a number of days before they can have their first feed. Loggerhead turtles are omnivorous feeding mainly on bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Young loggerheads are vulnerable as eggs to predators such as lizards and then on their perilous sea journey until they reach adulthood at around 30 years of age where their only real predator are sharks because of their size. It is estimated that only one in a thousand hatchlings actually survive to maturity. The loggerhead sea turtle has a low reproductive rate with females laying an average of four egg clutches in a season then producing no eggs for two or three years after. Each clutch can contain up to 130 eggs. They have a lifespan of 47-67 years and can weight up to 450 kgs in weight measuring around 90cm when fully grown.

Climate change has impacted on the gender distribution of these turtles in the wild as the hotter the sand the more likely that the clutch will produce female hatchlings. The Mon Repos rangers are trying to conserve the population but they only interfere with the natural way by relocating eggs that have been buried below the waterline (where they would perish in the nest) and, to address the gender issue, they have built some shaded areas so that these clutches produce male turtles. Otherwise it is just as nature intended….

Anyway, we had arrived at 6pm for our 7pm encounter as the on-site parking was very limited and the off-site facilities were a long walk away. Of course we hadn’t checked our phone for text messages until we were there completing our track and trace registration. That’s when we found out that we should have arrived at 7.15 for our Group 4 encounter to ensure proper social distancing at the centre. Never mind, we weren’t the only ones, and we got chatting to a couple originally from Belfast which was nice.

We looked at the exhibits and took our own allocated table and waited and waited. And then we were called to the beach. Luckily it was the night before full moon so it wasn’t too dark. The ranger explained that she had spotted a couple of turtle noses sticking out of the sand quite high up the beach and she wanted to explore this clutch. Well, the mother turtle must have had a hell of a job getting this far above the waterline and digging this narrow tunnel into the hard-packed sand filled with vegetation roots. The ranger just swept away the top impacted layer and, suddenly, all these little bodies started appearing. They were left to escape naturally and then collected and moved into a ‘holding’ area so that they could be counted – this clutch had 98 hatchlings which gave us the opportunity to look at them closely. Only the rangers are allowed to handle them.

Afterwards we lit the way to the sea with our torches, the ‘barrier’ was removed, and they all ran to the sea (including across our feet at times). OMG what an experience – felt quite emotional and just hoped that they would beat the odds.

Encounter over we were walking back along the beach to the centre in awe at the power of nature and suddenly we were told to stop and not move our feet. Another clutch had dug their way to the surface and were heading towards the sea – it was a good job it was a moonlight night otherwise we could easily have squished them! What an unexpected bonus.

Back at the centre we were given certificates although the waiting time of almost two hours was the ‘official’ time rather than the actual time we had been waiting of course. A great souvenir though.

We then returned to our apartment for the night.

Wednesday morning (27th January) we were up early, packed and checked out to drive back down the sunshine coast to Caloundra for the second part of our adventure. You’ll have to wait for the next blog for the rest.

Bye for now. Stay safe and well folks.

Jan