Photo taken using the drone last year showing Sundari in the Gold Coast Broadwater near Sea World. We are in the exact same spot again!

It's been a while since we posted a blog, so here goes. We are back on Sundari, anchored just off the beach near Sea World in the Gold Coast, not far from where the tragic helicopter accident involving the 2 colliding Sea World helicopters occurred. This anchorage is almost unbearable over busy weekend and holiday periods, but we have persevered as it is sheltered and safe and it's easy to get ashore and do the stuff that us boaties have to do.

This mainly means repairing things on the boat that have broken down and improving parts of the boat that make it more comfortable or efficient. The current jobs have included repairing the freezer and one of our 3 outboards, installing new galley equipment and solar panels and spending money on a new, small inflatable dinghy for use where the tidal ranges make using our large RIB difficult. All a bit boring compared to tripping around, but we are getting ready for our next adventures.

We sail up to Moreton Bay in a day or two to check out our mooring and piece of land on Lamb Island, then head off to nearby Stradbroke Island for some diving, swimming, kayaking, cycling and maybe even some croc spotting! Later next month we have to fly over to NZ to dispose of all the stuff in our storage shed in the Bay of Islands that has been languishing there since we sailed from Opua in June 2017. We also have a yachties get together near Whangarei involving survivors of some of the Sail Indo rallies, one of which (2008) we participated in.

This year we have dedicated to trying out our almost unused dive equipment up the Barrier Reef and possibly in PNG if we make it that far. Sister Sue is flying out for a few weeks on the boat so have that to look forward to as well. Covid and distance have made contact with family reduced mostly to emails, Facebook and phone calls. The Queensland sailing season more or less ends by November, so this year we may keep sailing south to New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria for the summer. We are also making plans to revisit SE Asia for wildlife and a trip either to East Africa (Tanzania, Uganda?) or western South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

The last of La Nina is playing itself out in North Queensland and NZ's North Island. The forecast is for a complete switch to a moderate to strong El Nino. Not good news for farmers, and it will probably increase the bushfire risk on land, but it will be a relief for us yachties as it means dry conditions and weaker trade winds, so hopefully pleasanter on the water.