Photo shows 3 emus defying the odds in farmland early in the morning near the mighty River Clarence, NSW Northern Rivers.

Eeny, meeney, miney, mo....with which boat should we go? We are down near Sydney on the New South Wales Central Coast after a fast trip down the Pacific Highway from the Gold Coast. We put Saraoni into a berth in Port Bundaberg last Thursday and hired a car for three weeks and have already seen 7 boats, located between Scarborough in Moreton Bay and Southport in the Gold Coast. We are now nearly 1300 km south of Bundaberg and in the rapidly developing part of the Australian East Coast - the best way to see this area is by boat as the roads, residential and camping areas are already overcrowded.

The NSW coast is a part of Australia, south of the Southport Seaway in Queensland, which is open to the ocean swells and is punctuated every so often by a river mouth or harbour with a barred entrance. Port Stephens, just north of Newcastle, is the first easy harbour to approach in swelly conditions.

We have been as far south with Saraoni as Yamba on the river Clarence, our southernmost turning point just after purchasing the boat in Queensland's Whitsundays. The Tasman in June 1998 was in malevolent mood and a providential offer of a job in Darwin's Kormilda College meant a return to the far north for three years rather than a winter crossing to New Zealand.

As far as the search for a Saraoni replacement, no yacht we have seen has been perfect..... for the price (!), so we have made up a list of preferences. We are looking at 2 more in the Pittwater, just north of Sydney tomorrow, partly because we are taking our broken Parsun outboard under NZ warranty into the Sydney Parsun dealer for a replacement. We reckon that we will make an offer on a new boat within the next few days and have, as all good yachties should have, plan A, B and C ready!

Watch this space for developments!



Cocky near Wynnum in Queensland having a chuckle at human pretentions.