Tag: whales

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.

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Animals of Australia’s East Coast

One of my favorite pleasures when visiting new places is encountering the local wildlife. Not at zoos or in cages, we like to see the animals in the wild! And we’ve had a great time spending time with the animals of Australia’s East Coast. Picture the animals you can only see in Australia and we’ve been fortunate to get up close to a lot of them! Here are some of our best sightings and places to see animals of Australia’s East Coast.

Kangaroo Animals of Queensland Australia
Kangaroo in North Stradbroke Island

Australia’s East Coast

We spent almost four months in the state of Queensland, the second largest and third most populous state in Australia. For reference, Queensland is 7 times larger than the United Kingdom, and is home to 5.5 million people.

Queensland occupies the northeast coast of Australia, from Gold Coast up to Cairns. We sailed from Gold Coast up to Townsville, with plans to make it to Cairns next year.

Highlights of Queensland include beaches and coastlines, beautiful islands in the Coral Sea, the capital city of Brisbane, The Great Barrier Reef, and awesome animals. Although we did have a few issues with the boat in Queensland, we loved all the great sights and amenities.

Queensland in Australia map
Map of Australia with Queensland highlighted

Other than Queensland, we’ve seen animals of Australia’s East Coast in New South Wales, from Coffs Harbor down to Sydney. We’ve only been in about half of Coastal NSW, but we’ve seen a lot of wildlife.

Koalas

australians and koalas

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Haapai Tonga

Without a doubt, our favorite part of Tonga was Haapai. We only had a week to spend in this beautiful island group but we enjoyed every minute. Once we found our anchorage, we loved it so much we didn’t move. If you ever visit the Kingdom of Tonga, don’t miss Haapai.

About Haapai Tonga

Ha’apai is pronounced “Ha a pie.” Located south of Vavau, the Haapai island group includes 51 islands plus atolls and coral reefs. We spent our week there in one perfect anchorage, and also walked to the main island a couple of times.

Sailboat anchored in beautifful waters in Tonga
Sava alone in her anchorage in Haapai

After weeks waiting in Vavau for a starting engine, Haapai was just what we needed! Less populated and quieter, we found it beautiful and relaxing.

We anchored by Foa island, home to two resorts and several beautiful beaches. Just south of Foa and across a bridge is Haapai’s main island of Lifuka and the port town of Pangai.

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