Tag: restaurants

Touring Townsville

We loved Townsville, in the northern part of Queensland, Australia. Having good friends who live there certainly helped us love this tropical town, but that wasn’t the only reason. Townsville has miles of cycling and walking trails, an excellent selection of bars and restaurants, art and museums! We spent a few weeks touring Townsville and have recommendations if you visit. If you’re sailing Australia’s east coast, it’s likely you will.

mural, street art, Townsville
Cool art in downtown Townsville

Where Is Townsville?

Townsville is as far north as we sailed in Australia before cyclone season. It’s located on the coast in northeastern Queensland, 900 miles north of Brisbane. With a population over 170,000, Townsville is the largest settlement in North Queensland. We found a lot to do and enjoyed our time touring Townsville.

Townsville Queensland on a map of Australia
Townsville in the northeast of Australia

When to Visit Townsville

As it is part of the tropical zone of Australia, Townsville’s climate is warm. We arrived in August, wintertime, the ideal season to visit Townsville. Days are warm in winter, but still comfortable, think low 20s C (70F). We left our boat there for our trip to North America and when we returned in October, springtime in Australia, the days were hot. It gets even hotter in summer into the mid 30sC (90F).

Touring Townsville Must: The Strand

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Top Things to Do In Charleston

For several years, my mom has lived near the lovely South Carolina city of Charleston. With a slow Southern pace, access to beaches and historic sites, and a world-class food scene, visiting Charleston is a pleasure. If you’ll be spending a day or two or three, read my tips on the top things to do in Charleston.

We recently took a break from the boat and Australia and flew back to North America to visit family and friends. Here’s one of the places we loved visiting!

About Charleston, SC

tree, Charleston SC
A moss covered tree in a Charleston park

Charleston is notable for many reasons, including as one of the oldest cities in the USA, founded in the 1600s. This port city played a role in many of the country’s wars, and battleground sites and forts still surround the city, providing history lessons to many visitors. The most populous city in South Carolina, with just over 155,000 residents, it is filled with notable colonial buildings and pretty parks and gardens.

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Eating in New Zealand

One of the best parts of visiting a new place is trying the food, and in New Zealand it ended up being one of the highlights. Our experiences eating in New Zealand were overwhelmingly positive. Over six months, we sampled delicious food, local craft beer, and wonderful wine. Here’s some tips if you find yourself in this beautiful country looking for something good to eat.

You Won’t Go Hungry in New Zealand

After years cruising in barren habitats from The Bahamas to Tonga, I will never forget our gleeful first visit to a New Zealand supermarket. We felt like celebrating when we spotted the range of produce and the selection of foods we wouldn’t even eat! Our first visits to grocery stores, farmers markets, and specialty shops in New Zealand were much the same, impressing us with the variety of fresh, high quality food of all groups. We saw more fruit, veggies, bread, cheese, etc.etc. than anywhere we’d sailed the boat in a long time. From produce to dairy to meat and seafood, eating in New Zealand includes the widest choice of the best ingredients.

produce aisle supermarket, eating in New Zealand
Produce aisle in a New Zealand supermarket

Popular New Zealand Foods

New Zealand food covers a wide range of cuisines, with a mixture of influences, especially British and Asian. It’s truly global, with lots of Indian and Thai restaurants, which is good for vegetarians.

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