25 September, 2014 by Explorers

Day 3: The Sandhills to Horseshoe Bay

Despite my complaints about the weather forecast it is something we read and memorise religiously all the time while sailing – that, and the state of the tide. The forecast comes out twice a day (ridiculously inadequate frequency!) around 4 morning and night. The forecast for today is north-westerlies 10-15 knots and high tide at 9.40am (the tide floods to the south). Anywhere on the west coast of Moreton is a lousy anchorage in a westerly, so last night we made the decision to move to a better anchorage this morning. Horseshoe Bay on Peel Island gives good protection in westerlies and that lay south of us – northerlies and a flooding tide sound good when you want to head south, but it was a long trip, 16nm and we’d probably be fighting the tide after it turned for the last half of the trip. We planned to get up, have brekkie and get away about 7.30am. After the long trip over on Tuesday I was dreading it.
The north-westerly came in an hour or so before dawn. We were both woken with the boat rolling very uncomfortably – no more sleep for us. No brekkie either as I couldn’t keep the kettle on the stove it was rolling so much. As soon as it was daylight we left – at 5.45am.

Whale fluke

Mother whale and her calf.

As it turned out it was a magnificent sail. The highlight was seeing two whales, but also saw turtles and dolphins. It was so smooth sailing I even managed to cook us an omelet each for breakfast as we went. We were safely anchored off Horseshoe Bay at 10.30 – less than 5 hours -> that’s how long a 16nm sail should take!

Peel Is used to be a quarantine station and a leper colony and is now a protected conservation area. Boaties are only allowed to land at Horseshoe and Platypus Beaches, and there’s camping just inside the foredunes … but no wandering around beyond there! That’s fine – the beach was lovely and long and we went for a great walk the length of it and inside looking at the camping sites (no campers).
That evening we christened the BBQ. Started with asparagus dijonaise, followed by feta stuffed chicken wrapped in prosciutto. Delicious!

Yum! Looking forward to dinner.

24 September, 2014 by Explorers

Day 2: Tangalooma to The Sandhills

Being school holidays Tangalooma is buzzing with people. We’re coming back in a couple of weeks as guests at the resort with the crew from work so decided to move on down Moreton Is to The Sandhills. There’s the Big Sandhill and the Small Sandhill. These are sand blows that are quite massive, the Small Sandhill going 2km from west coast to east coast.
It was a short sail, 8.7nm and took us 2 hours. The sailing was delightful, fast and smooth. Just what we needed after yesterday. The anchorage was calm.
Once again though we didn’t leave the boat – did chores on the boat and rested and read books. Had a quick swim off the boat and rinsed off with the solar shower in the cockpit.

Small sandhills.

23 September, 2014 by Explorers

Day 1: Scarborough to Tangalooma

Decided to launch as soon as we could then have breakfast on the way. Our destination – the Wrecks at Tangalooma on the western coast of Moreton Island. Tangalooma is a resort, and a very pleasant one at that. Beautiful long white sand beaches and snorkelling around the wrecks, the bar, etc. The Wrecks are old ships that were scuttled to form a reef for fish, a dive location and protection for boats from westerly winds. The main shipping channel out of Port of Brisbane passes within a nautical mile of the anchorage – all ships leaving the port must head north along this channel as far as Caloundra before heading wherever they’re going. These ships create a rolly swell as they pass which is quite unpleasant, hence anchoring between the wrecks and the beach is the place to be. It can get very crowded – not good when boats are swinging in all directions as tide and wind change.

Anyway after a problem-free launch (only forgot to put the wind direction indicator on the top of the mast) we were away at 9.30am with a forecast of south-easterlies at 10 – 15 knots – perfect for a close-hauled reach to our due-east destination. Well … forecasts seem to be a bit like crystal ball gazing. We rounded the clear water beacon and headed east, and that was directly into the wind! And nasty 1 – 1.5 meter seas to go with it. To cut a long story short our estimated 4 hour sail of 15nm turned into 7 hours and 26 nm later by the time we tacked and fought the swell. The last two hours we relented and motored. We finally anchored, absolutely knackered at 4.30pm. Good start to the diet – couldn’t even boil the kettle it was so rough. I did manage to make us a salad about lunch time, and felt a trifle sea sick working down in the galley in those conditions.
No going ashore, no runs on the beach, no snorkelling the Wrecks – too exhausted. Just rested onboard.

22 September, 2014 by Explorers

The trip begins

The plan was to sail Top Shelf around Moreton Bay for two to three weeks from Monday 22nd September. Moreton Bay is reputably one of the best boating grounds in Australia with relatively protected waters ( ie no ocean swell) and lots and lots of islands and passageways to explore.

Our departure was delayed by a day due to Steve’s brother and wife coming up to spend Sunday night with us, and our return has been brought forward to the 3rd October so we can attend my brother’s 80th birthday party – so just short of two weeks. We don’t mind changing plans for family, after all they’re what’s important in life. However, having a schedule on a boat is always potentially fraught.

Steve spent Monday morning getting Top Shelf ready – fuel, water, fishing gear, new BBQ, etc. I spent the morning doing the provisioning. We’re both currently on a ‘low-carb’ diet and it provides a menu of all the food you can consume in a week – made provisioning very easy! Everything stowed and ship-shape we headed down to Scarborough Marina where we planned to rig her, sleep on the boat in the car park and launch at the high tide on Tuesday morning. This is when you start to find the things left behind – like my doona. We had dinner at the club (very average) then popped over to a friends place who lived nearby who lent me a doona. (I sleep in the forward cabin and Steve sleeps on the starboard berth – gives us both plenty of room).

14 February, 2014 by Explorers

Jenolan Caves

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Our accommodation for two nights.

Well the day has arrived and we’re here! We started the day with a walk around the Blue Lake which was formed when they dammed the Jenolan River with a weir to develop Australia’s very first hydroelectric station. This short, pretty walk starts at the Great Arch and takes you along the river to the Blue Lake, the water of which appears to be blue due to the refraction of light on the limestone deposits and bedrock of the lake, past the weir, a waterfall and back over a suspension bridge. It’s well-shaded and cool, regardless of the weather.

There are numerous tours through different parts of the Caves. We chose two – the Orient Cave and the River Cave. I won’t write much about them except to say that I was completely in awe, amazed, impressed and so very pleased we’d finally visited one of Australia’s must-see places. Please take a few minutes to look at the photos from these tours, and if you haven’t already been yourself, put it on your bucket list. View Orient Caves photos. View River Cave photos.

And so the evening of the The Opera arrived. It didn’t disappoint. The walk through the Caves to cave in which it was held was a treat in itself, followed by the closeness of our seating to the singers and the wonderful acoustics. Once more they sang popular songs from various operas which we thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately we were asked not to take any photos during the performance. To see the photos from the Opera click HERE.
Thanks Nick and Kim – it was a pretty cool gift.

Can you see Steve?

13 February, 2014 by Explorers

Bulahdelah to Jenolan Caves

Early start this morning. Headed south on the highway looking for a nice spot to stop for breakfast. Port Stephens seemed promising and a place we wanted to see anyway, so the little township of Karuah in the bay provided us with the perfect location. Karuah is noted to be a quiet place to get away from it all, with fishing and oyster farming being the major industries. We cooked our bacon and eggs on the barbeque at the foreshore watching the pelicans following the oyster farmers in to their sheds with great anticipation, and a retired couple catching bream from the jetty.

The harbour.

I felt we should support the local industry so a dozen of the most delicious, plump oysters found their way into our fridge – pity Steve doesn’t eat oysters (wink!). Karuah is a delightful little place.
Click here to see some more photos of Karuah.

You may recall that our tickets to the Opera in the Caves were a gift from Nick and Kim who read in an earlier ‘chronicle’ how much we had previously enjoyed the opera in the caves. Well … Nick and Kim take note of what I’m going to write about now just in case you’re looking for your next gift for us – we’d be happy to combine Mothers Day and Fathers Day gifts for this one (maybe even birthdays and Christmas too)!

Seeing as how we had to skirt around Sydney to get to the Blue Mountains we decided to pop into Trakka to take a look at their motorhomes. We’re keen to purchase a motorhome to continue our cruisin’ in and have narrowed it down to either the Trakka or the Horizon. Martin Poate the General Manager at Trakka showed us the Jabiru 4×4 – I’m definitely in love! Anyway no decisions yet until we see the Horizon. (Stay tuned Nick and Kim!)

So, onward and upward, and upward, and upward as we climbed the Blue Mountains. Our plan is to return to Katoomba to camp this weekend and do some of the Blue Mountains walks – but the weather isn’t looking promising. I was surprised how brown everywhere was – they sure need rain up here. When you reach Katoomba you feel like you should be at the Caves, but it’s still another hour’s drive, and the road is very windy, tight hairpin bends and narrow in places. They close the road for a couple of hours from around 11am for the coaches exclusive use. Good idea – I wouldn’t like to meet one of those big buses on that road.

Caves House, our accommodation for the next two nights is delightful. Oldy worldy – but more about that tomorrow. It was a long day today and we were both grateful to arrive and get settled into our room before adjourning to the lounge bar for a gin and tonic.

12 February, 2014 by Explorers

Woody Heads to Bulahdelah

Good, long day driving today. We don’t usually drive more than about 150K a day, so its been rather a shock to us these last two days. We’re sticking to the Pacific Highway due to expedience. Major roadworks happening in some areas, but no big hold-ups for us. Some parts of the highway are fantastic, other parts reminded us of the D’Aguilar (ie left a lot to be desired!).

We were trying to get to a campsite on the shores of the Myall Lakes, but we needed to catch the ferry and according to our TomTom directions we were going to miss it by a few minutes. Never mind – a free camp at Bulahdelah was recommended on Wikicamps which didn’t take us far off the highway and there was no rush to get there. As it turned out it was a lovely spot, right beside the Myall River. There were already a few motorhomes and caravans set up, but plenty of room for all. We selected our spot near the bridge (recommend a bit further away next time – from the noise of the occasional vehicle and the lights on the bridge), set up and went for a walk into the little village.

Free camp at Bulahdelah.

The highway bypassed Bulahdelah about 6 months ago, and from all the signs in the shops (eg We’ll keep trading after the bypass. Please come back and support us.) it appears it was a major concern for the community. Anyway, it is a lovely little town, and we wouldn’t have stopped here if the highway traffic had been going over that bridge just above our heads all night … so they lost some customers, but gained others.

Click here to see a few pictures of our Bulahdelah stay.

11 February, 2014 by Explorers

Off to the Opera

And so another adventure begins.

At Christmas Nick and Kim gave us tickets to the Underground Opera Company’s Opera in the Caves for the Jenolan Caves. I think they must have been reading Cruisin Chronicles from when we were at the Capricorn Caves. Anyway we are delighted about the gift, because firstly we loved the Opera in the Capricorn Caves and we really want to see the Jenolan Caves. I’ve never been there and Steve was just a little boy when he last came.
We’re planning to take about 10 – 12 days to do the trip, bringing our kayak and walking shoes with us, and staying in Arty (our roof top tent).

So, Day 1: A late departure from Brisbane as I had a Lactation Consultant’s luncheon to attend. We got away about 2pm and headed south on the Pacific Highway. Nothing much really to report on the way down. We got into the National Parks campgrounds at Woody Head a hour or so before dark, were set up in a few minutes and went for a walk around the headland. Lovely spot – small beach but beautiful views around the bay and up to Evans Head. After dinner we went for another walk on the headland – magnificent evening, 2/3 moon, lots of stars and the ocean sparkling.

The camping area was very large, lots of caravans – now the school holidays are over looks like the retirees have taken over. Facilities, etc were all very good and well-maintained, $27 for the night, plus 20c for a 2 minute shower, and “Don’t” notices everywhere – too caravan-parkish for us!

Woody Heads

3 November, 2013 by Explorers

Day 32: Home

We had a lovely time with Patrick and Sally in Gympie, then turned our heads for home.

Altogether a wonderful trip with lots of variety – lots of walking, lots of friends, lots of great scenery, campsite gems discovered, luxury and celebration and finally home to spend time with family, prepare for Christmas and the New Year and plan our next trip.

2 November, 2013 by Explorers

Days 30 & 31: Opera in the Caves then Gympie

Starting where I left off, at Waterpark Creek Camping area, we had a good rain downpour our last night there, and very pleased to report that Arty kept as dry and warm. It delayed our departure the next day though as we didn’t want to fold the tent up wet. While waiting for it to dry we got to talking to a couple who were wandering around the campsite taking bird photos – twitchers! Both had decent cameras to capture lovely photos – fast and with good magnification. We are seriously tempted – need guidance Deb!

Headed back through Yeppoon to Rockhampton and The Caves. Tonight is the night for Opera in the Caves. The Caves has a camping ground – bonus … just walk back to our tent after the show! Sounds good, except that an unpowered site cost us $30, camp kitchen didn’t have a cooktop, the kettle didn’t work at all, no hot water, no internet and the lights are on an automatic setting and they didn’t come on until after we’d made our dinner in the dusk! Not impressed and definitely won’t be recommending this spot to anyone.

Darian Di Stefano-Johns, Baritone; Glenn Lorimer, Tenor; Susan Ellis, Soprano; Louise Dorsman, Mezzo-Soprano.

Hard to show perspective of the towering roof of the cave.

However – the Opera in the Caves. Wow – wow, wow, wow! It was amazing, surreal, fantastic, incredible. Loved every second of it and didn’t ever want it to stop. Yep – you’ve probably guessed that we enjoyed it. The singers were fantastic, the venue (the Cathedral Cave) outstanding. There were about 50 in the audience, which was about 2/3 capacity, there was just a single piano and the singers (a baritone, a tenor, a mezze soprano and a soprano). It was so personal and so awe-inspiring to have these incredible singers right beside us, their voices soaring to the tops of the cave. And a few bats flying around added even more atmosphere. We’ll definitely be looking to see where their next performances are. We’ve got our sights on their Jenolan Caves performance and their Mt Isa in the mine performance – maybe even the Spring Hill in the water reservoirs too.

Click here to view more photos of The Opera.

Well that concluded our last real camping day. Today we’re heading for Gympie to spend the night with our friends Patrick and Sally. We’re currently in Childers having driven the last leg from Bororen. It was very stressful driving with so much road works happening – not so much being delayed, but more the continual changes to speed limits – 60, 40, 80, 90, 100 (briefly) and backwards and forwards on those speeds all the time … then the cars behind you that see no reason to stick to 80 for many km (neither did I frankly, it seemed pretty average 100 territory); who then roar past me at the slightest opportunity that may or may not be safe and speed away. Not happy Jan! Either make the speed limit what they want, repeat it often and then police it, or leave it at 100 which we all expect.

Finished lunch now, with some peanuts from the Peanut Van and maybe a Mamimo icecream.