The Hunter Valley wine region is the birthplace of Australian wines, and is a beautiful area. A top day tour from Sydney, the region has scenic landscapes, gourmet food and drink, parks and other activities. I recommend an overnight visit. We liked visiting The Hunter Valley so much, we went twice.
About The Hunter Valley
The Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions, and the most prestigious in New South Wales. With over 150 wineries, breweries, and cideries, it’s a very popular weekend destination. The number and variety of quality restaurants is just as big, another reason to go.
We liked Port Macquarie, don’t get me wrong. But after months in that winter wonderland of rain and floods, once Go was ready, so were we. With our visas on the verge of expiring and the cold weather continuing, we started making fast tracks north. Townsville, just under 1000 knots north, was our goal, and we made it in good time.
Making Fast Tracks North: Our Route
We planned our route beforehand, and made some slight modifications due to – what else? – wind and weather. Our route was straight to Coffs Harbour, then an overnight to Gold Coast, our first stop in Queensland! From there, it was going to be an easy sail inside the islands to K’Gari and up to meet our friends in Scarborough Marina, outside Brisbane.
After celebrating Brian’s birthday over two nights in Scarborough, we moved north to Mooloolaba for one memorable night. Then we jumped to Double Island Point, Hervey Bay, and spent two nights in the marina near Bundaberg.
All the stops on our 800nm sail from Port to Townsville
After Bundy, we sailed to Great Keppell to Island Head Creek to Curlew Island, then two nights in Mackay with a quick reprovisioning and off again to the Whitsundays.
After our “Worst Wave” incident, Go was stuck in Port Macquarie for almost five months. Go was a mess. Everything got soaked from our windows being smashed in. Our electronics, engines, books, appliances, and more. We knew early on that getting Go back on the water would be a massive effort. Here’s what it was like.
Getting Insurance Approvals
The good news was that we got Go to safety in the marina in Port Macquarie. In between trying to get the insurance company to help us, we cleaned and dried what we could and moved off the boat for a few weeks.
We tried to dry things out the best we could but we were hampered by the seasonally terrible weather. Over the period we were there, Port Macquarie had floods at least twice, and a lot of rainstorms. With our smashed front windows it was hard getting and keeping things dry.
Go’s cabin after being smashed by the worst wave
Once our insurance company realized the size of the job, they sent an assessor to look at the boat and report on the damages. He took a few weeks to submit a report and then we waited. We went onseveral trips while for insurance.
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