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Cruising From Gold Coast to Brisbane

After a week enjoying the fun activities in Gold Coast, we started sailing north. We’re trying to get to the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef where it’s warm even in the winter. The East Coast of Australia is ideal cruising grounds. We only need to sail a couple hours between stops because there are so many nice anchorages. Cruising from Gold Coast to Brisbane is about choosing which beautiful anchorage to stop in and for how long. Here’s where we went.

Leaving Gold Coast

The first leg of the trip, leaving Gold Coast, was the trickiest part. Depths are shallow in the inlet, and you’ve got to take care with shifting sands and tides. A superyacht which was also docked at Southport Yacht Club when we were there went aground in the area just north of the marina.

Sunday afternoon is a busy time to be in the Gold Coast Broadwater, and that’s exactly when we left the marina. The bay was full of pleasure boats, other yachts, jet skis, tour boats, and fishing craft. We were behind the wheel the entire time navigating all the obstacles.

sand bar, pelicans, Gold Coast — Sand bar in the Gold Coast Broadwater

Once we got several miles outside of Gold Coast, the traffic eased significantly. Later that first day, we had to navigate underneath electric wires crossing the bay between the mainland and Stradbroke Island, which was a little nervewracking. We don’t often have to navigate under wires, but we did it!

Our Favorite New Zealand Hikes

New Zealand is an amazing place for hiking, and Kiwis are hard core trampers. We spent six months between the North and South Islands and did a lot of hiking, along beaches, up volcanoes, and to wineries and glaciers. Here are some of our favorite New Zealand hikes.

Hiking Volcanoes in New Zealand

Since New Zealand is known for its volcanoes, we had to walk some of them! It means a lot of vertical walking, but there’s usually a payoff of a good view. The North Island has nine active volcanoes, and much of the land features like in Rotorua, are results of volcanic activity.

Here are some of the volcanoes we hiked in New Zealand’s North Island:

Maungawhau/mount eden, auckland

Mount Eden is a great hike to do when you spend a couple of days in Auckland. It’s conveniently located to downtown, and an easy walk to do without any hiking gear. As a result, it’s popular and can be mobbed with tourists on a nice day. Still, it offers nice views and there’s good restaurants and bars to reward yourself after the volcano hike!

hiking Mount Eden NZ — Lots of people on the footpath at Mount Eden

The Sail from New Zealand to Australia

I am still recovering from the sail from New Zealand to Australia. It was one of our longest passages and a challenging trip. The good news is we made it, and are now basking in the warm sun in Australia!

The Route from New Zealand to Australia

Our sail from New Zealand to Australia covered over 1200 nautical miles. We departed from Bay of Islands Marina in Opua, New Zealand aiming for Southport Yacht Club in Gold Coast, Australia.

Map sailing from New Zealand to Australia — Our route across the Tasman from New Zealand to Australia

Our route took us from the Pacific Ocean north up the east coast of New Zealand and then west along the north of New Zealand into the Tasman Sea to Australia. The Tasman Sea, known as “The Ditch” in sailing circles, is infamously rough due to the currents of the Southern Ocean colliding with those of the Pacific. So yes, we expected rough wind and waves and that’s what we got.

Rough Seas

From the first day until near the end of our passage, the waves were like a washing machine. Also known as confused seas, the waves came from every direction. To make it even more uncomfortable, there was no break between waves. The incessant confused waves made me sick a few times the first night and next morning, and I continued to feel sick for a couple more days. It wasn’t until late on the third day that I felt human enough to spend time inside the boat and to eat anything besides crackers.

Tag: Maps

Cruising From Gold Coast to Brisbane

Leaving Gold Coast

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