Category Archives: Uncategorized

On the third of May we said our final goodbyes to our friends in the marina and bade farewell to Cairns. We were off. Our five month interval on land had come to an end, and it was time for our sailing journey to recommence. We had mixed emotions on leaving; we were both definitelyContinue reading “Farewell Cairns…Our Journey Continues…”

Cairns is brilliantly situated right near the extraordinary Great Barrier Reef, and many islands, reefs and cays are conveniently close and perfect for day or overnight trips. Spending time on the reef was one of our favourite things to do, and we loved to share the experience with friends and family when we could. MichaelmasContinue reading “Life in Cairns (Part Three)”

After a frustrating couple of days of trying to get around Cairns using public transport, taxis and our mountain bikes, we knew that we would need to buy a car for our stay. After inspecting several cars in various suburbs of Cairns, we conveniently came across this little gold Astra right in Yorkeys Knob. SheContinue reading “Life in Cairns (Part Two)”

It has been five months since my last post here. Five months since we first pulled into Yorkeys Knob marina in Cairns and tied up to our new home. Five months of life on land. Apart from a quick trip back home to Melbourne over Christmas, we’ve spent those months living as Cairns locals. WeContinue reading “Life in Cairns (Part One)”

Orpheus Island is only about 125 nautical miles below Cairns, a distance that we could, if we wanted, cover in a single overnight sail. However, there’s quite a few interesting stops along the way, so as long as the weather held, we planned to cruise up the coast aiming for a December 1st arrival intoContinue reading “Cruising to Cairns – the final leg for 2020”

Magnetic Island, or Maggie Island, as the locals call her, is about 140 nautical miles north of Airlie Beach. We decided to do the trip over four days, stopping each night at an open roadstead anchorage. We had a range of sailing conditions over the four days, so we went from motor sailing in lightContinue reading “Magnetic Island and the Palm Isles”

Blue Pearl Bay, Hayman Island After our morning walk up Whitsunday Peak, we left Cid Harbour and sailed north to Hayman Island. Arriving just before sunset, we tied onto one of the public moorings in Blue Pearl Bay and sat back to enjoy the spectacular colours. The following morning we were the only boat inContinue reading “100 Magic Miles – Cruising the Whitsundays – Part Two”

The 100 Magic Miles refers to the coastline in northern Queensland between Mackay and Bowen and the islands of the Great Barrier Reef in that area. Officially called the Cumberland Islands, the area is more commonly known as the Whitsundays. And visiting the Whitsundays has been on my bucket list for years and years. AndContinue reading “100 Magic Miles – Cruising the Whitsundays – Part One”

Well it’s been almost a month since my last post about our adventures in Keppel Bay. Since that time we’ve made our way to Mackay, which I’ll tell you about in this post and from there we spent three weeks cruising in the Whitsundays. There was not much internet or phone reception in the WhitsundaysContinue reading “Island Hopping to Mackay”

Keppel Bay is a large, fairly shallow bay north of Gladstone and south of Yeppoon. Housing the Keppel Islands, including the very popular Great Keppel Island, it also hosts the Keppel Bay marina at Rosslyn Bay on the mainland. Since the winds were increasing and the seas were picking up, we opted to go intoContinue reading “Keppel Bay”