Tag: Maps

A Month in Western Australia

After spending a year and a half in Australia, we still never made it to W.A. For non-Aussies, W.A. is the short form for Western Australia, the state that covers the entire length of the west coast of Australia. It’s funny that we had to get to Indonesia to visit Western Australia. We sailed to Indonesia and spent a few months there, then stopped in Lombok when the wind turned against us. That’s when we flew back to Australia. We spent a month in Western Australia and enjoyed exploring some cities, beach towns and more in this sprawling state.

The Busselton Jetty
Busselton Jetty in W.A.

Where We Went in Western Australia

Western Australia is the hugest part of a massive country. It covers over 2.5 million square kilometers, a third of Australia. It’s 4x the size of Texas and 10x the size of the United Kingdom. We knew we could barely see any of it, so we had to be selective. It was hard to choose!

Western Australia map of Australia
Western Australia on a map of Australia

We flew direct from Bali to Perth airport, shorter and cheaper than flying from New South Wales. We got off the plane in Perth and changed terminals for our domestic flight to our first and northernmost destination in W.A.: Broome.

Continue reading “A Month in Western Australia”

Visiting The Hunter Valley

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.

kangaroos in a Hunter Valley vineyard
Kangaroos in a vineyard in The Hunter Valley
Continue reading “Visiting The Hunter Valley”

Making Fast Tracks North

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.

making tracks north from Port to Townsville, map
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.

Continue reading “Making Fast Tracks North”