Author Archives: Mark
Down Under Sports
Sports Being close to Brisbane has a couple of advantages. Besides having access to marinas, chandleries, and boatyards—the things most cruisers seek—we also enjoy awesome restaurants, food markets, a wide variety of grocery stores, and top-notch shopping. But here’s something you might not have thought about: sports. Outside the USA, American football, baseball, and basketball […]
Seeing Koalas in the Wild
Guess what we saw in the wild? Koala bears. Not just one, not two—we saw eleven of those eucalyptus-munching fuzzballs. Seeing koalas in their natural habitat has always been on our Australia bucket list. And now: ✔️ Koalas. ✔️ Kangaroos. ✔️ Emus (okay, they weren’t originally on the list, but we’re claiming them anyway). How […]
Sailing Breakthroughs
Each Generation of Sailors and the Breakthroughs That Changed Cruising Forever Let’s face it: sailors are a rare breed. Adventurous, resourceful, and often stubborn as a jammed halyard. But every generation of full-time cruisers has had its own “game changer”—a breakthrough that redefined life afloat. So hop aboard as we sail through time, […]
The Outback – Part II
I recently had a conversation with a woman in Winton, Australia. She and her husband had only just decided to make Winton their permanent home after several years of exploring the vast expanse of the country. Out of all the towns they visited, this was the one that resonated with them most deeply. When I […]
The Outback – Part I
We went to the outback. And, I’m not talking about The Outback Steakhouse. On the subject of the restaurant chain, after being in Australia now for a couple of months, I can honestly tell you there is nothing Australian about that chain. There are no “Bloomin’ Onions” or “Aussie Fries”. And, certainly no Foster’s beer. […]
Airlie Beach and Some Really Fun Stuff
After a fabulous couple of days watching Kangaroos on the beach, we continued our journey northward. Our next stop is Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach is a tourist trap. Not that there is anything wrong with that. What is there to do there? Tourism stuff. Reasons for a tourist to go there: First, it has access […]
The Hunt For Kangaroos – Part II
Link to Part I I can begin this post by saying we’ve seen kangaroos. Sadly, they were dead ones. A good portion of vehicles here sport what they call Roo Guards. Judging by the number of vehicles we see fitted with these, it might be a safe assumption that when driving country roads, hitting a […]
The Hunt For Kangaroos – Part I
As I mentioned here previously, it’s nice to be back in a place where we can get stuff done or buy what we need with choices. We’ve spent the past couple of weeks lining up some contractors to do work on the Puffster. We are finding our way about the Brisbane area nicely and really […]
What do we think of Australia, so far?
We are in a bit of a ritzy area. There are a ton of homes located on canals with large boats behind them. Over the holidays, the private piers were decorated and as we passed over a bridge, we were treated to rather pleasant festive views. Because we are in a nice area, things tend […]
Redcliffe and Bundaberg
After our first week in Australia, we have learned a thing, or two. For those that really know me, you know I love music. I listen to just about anything and when my iPod (yes, I still have one) is on shuffle, there is no telling what will play. In my library, I have almost […]
Australia!
We have arrived safely in Australia taking about 5 days to cross the Coral Sea from New Caledonia to Brisbane. The whole trip was rather boring. Boring on a boat is a really good thing. It means no bad weather, nothing broken, decent sleep, no seasickness, and good food. Cindy read two books and I […]
Loving New Caledonia
Unlike most islands we’ve visited so far in the South Pacific, New Caledonia has a large boating population. The marina we call home at the moment is massive and 99% of the boats here are owned by locals. And, this is just one of many marinas. What does this mean for us? The short answer […]
We’re in New Caledonia
After the last post, I think I need to make sure this one is slightly more upbeat. We happily put Fiji in the rearview mirror and made our way to New Caledonia. This is a French Island. Lately, there has been a lot of civil unrest here due to a minor group pushing for independence. More […]
Violated in Savusavu
As you read this, I will ask you to keep in mind that we are always very polite and accommodating to officials. We understand they have a job to do and we are respectful of their job. During our almost 10 years of full-time cruising and in our previous part-time sailing life, we have […]
Birthdays on the Ocean
I am happy to say we finally have Nawi Island in the rearview mirror. We wound up waiting for our part longer than expected. Fiji customs held up the windlass part for 9 days for no apparent reason. Cindy found a senior contact at DHL and asked them to investigate the delay. Fiji customs said […]
