Photo shows a drone view of our recent anchorage at Peel island, in South Moreton Bay. It's very popular as a safe anchorage in northerly winds, typical of summer. It's not so good when storms are around, as the heavy squalls normally come from the south west, making the anchorage a lee shore.

We are back on our mooring in the Karragarra Passage, just in time before the first real storms of the year rolled through from where they developed further out west, more or less where we spent a few days touring around last week car camping with Dennis the Diesel, who, as has already been reported, had an unexpected new lease on life.



Storm cells on the radar as they roll through over the Southern Moreton Bay islands.

Thunderstorms are a common phenomenon in early summer and sometimes later as summer advances into autumn, but it's not summer yet, at least from a pre climate change era timing!

Signs of an early summer were already around before our trip to Europe, but are in full swing now. Migrant waders have already been arriving from Alaska and Siberia and have occupied the mud and sand flats up and down the east coast. Koels and channel billed cuckoos are calling from nearby Karragarra, adding their calls to those of the resident kookaburras, cockatoos, bee-eaters and honeyeaters.

Ideas of sailing north to the southern islands of the Barrier Reef have been stymied after the string of northerly winds we have had ever since we arrived back from London - another early summer sign. We will be moving down to the Broadwater (Gold Coast) anchorage in a week's time and then waiting for the first weather window for the sail down towards Sydney and, perhaps,Tasmania. This time, unlike earlier this year, we have plenty of time to anchor hop down the coast, first across the Clarence bar into Yamba/Iluka, then Coffs Harbour, Port Stephens and into the Hawkesbury, just north of Sydney Harbour.



Sundari berthed in Newport marina north of Brisbane. It was the first marina we ever used back in 1987 with Corsair while we ventured south to Victoria to earn some cruising cash.



Dennis and the rooftop tent being erected at a campsite at Lake Broadwater near the outback town of Dalby.



Fisherman themed water tank mural in Theodore on the banks of the Dawson River.



Another sign of early summer...jacaranda tree in full bloom.



Grey kangaroo at Lake Murphy.



Emus seen along the Cracow Theodore Road.



Characteristic of the outback...apostle birds, so named because they roam around in family groups of between 10 and 15.



Overview of the North Burnett River, which eventually empties out into the sea at Bundaberg. The orchards are mostly citrus, mandarins and oranges, this shot taken near the small outback town of Gayndah.