We spent a few days anchored next to the Tangalooma Wrecks on Moreton Island. 15 ships were scuttled here to make a reef and it made for great snorkeling. We also saw the wild dolphin feeding at the nearby Resort but they didn’t allow us non resort people to get to too close which was a bummer. We also saw some turtles and had a shark attack.. will leave that for the next post! 🙂 ...

We sweatily climbed the big sand hills at Moreton Island, the 3rd largest sand island in the world. What a spectacular view from the top at 60 meters, you could even see the Brisbane skyscrapers in the distance. We then had to jump into the water which had so many stingrays and other fish. We had the beach to ourselves so it was rude not to have a little party 🥂 ...

We spent a couple of nights at Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. We were warned that sandflies would have us for dinner but luckily they were on vacation 🙂 We had to get some pool time at the Kingfisher resort to cool down.. it was hot hot hot! Leaving Fraser Island we went through the Notorious W.B.B (wide bay bar) which was a bit bumpy in 1.5 meter swell and 15 knots of wind. We were glad when we got through. Next stop Brisbane! ...

It was such a coincidence to be back in Bundaberg on exactly the same dates and as when I cleared into Australia on my previous boat in 2011. Not much had changed in 13 years, still many kangaroos in the marina!

We had such a magical experience watching a turtle lay her eggs on the beach at the Mon Repos turtle reserve. We watched a native Aussie flat back turtle climb up the beach, dig a hole about 40 cm deep, lay over 50 eggs and then spend a lot of time covering it up properly so no predators can reach the eggs. She then slid and waddled all the way down back into the ocean, job well done! We helped the rangers move the eggs to another safer hole higher up on the beach. Wish we could be here in January to watch them hatch.

We also paid homage to the famous Bundaberg rum distillery and soft drinks factory. Cant believe they have a 12,000 volt electric fence around the distillery, I guess Aussies like their rum.. a lot!! ...

Cyclone season is starting and insurance requires us to be down near Brisbane before Dec 1, so we have been in a mad dash to get down there, dodging troughs and thunderstorms and waiting for the two or three days when the wind doesn’t blow from the south to make progress. We loved Percy and Keppel islands, but could only spend one night before having to sail down. No rest for the wicked! ...

Whitehaven beach lived up to its reputation, only problem was the winds were turning north so we only spent one day there but this is the first place we are going when we return in May. We also visited Border island nearby which had some nice coral but then the March flies came and it got a bit Alfred Hitchcock. Didn’t know flies could bite!! Ouch!! ...

Running out of food we made a dash to the famous Hamilton island. It was pretty quaint, like a tiny little country with its own rules. Everyone uses golf carts to get around. We enjoyed some pool action and a date night! The marina left my wallet on life support so could only stay one night 🙂

We also visited Nara Inlet to check out some ancient aboriginal cave paintings. The cave is apparently the oldest Indigenous site on the whole of Australia’s East Coast. It was pretty cool to see. ...