We arrived at Port Bundaberg Marina (Queensland, Australia) around 9:45 am on Thursday (25th October) after a slow, relaxing, mostly motor-sailing passage from Noumea, New Caledonia. As forecast, winds were very light (at times absent) so to conserve fuel we mostly kept the engine at low speed, adding at least one extra day to the trip.

It has been wonderful to arrive here in very pleasant, sunny conditions and we are excited about being in Australia, at last. Since we have arrived we have been tired and busy; catching-up on our sleep and trying to get food, phones, and fun organized. The official inspections so far have been thorough but friendly. We still await our “Timber Inspection”, the comprehensive examination of all of our woodwork for termites (a boat made in Florida almost 30 years ago is at high-risk). This will involve moving most of the contents of the boat around so that all the wood can be inspected. We have no concerns about termites but it will be quite a major task to move 10-years’ accumulation of stuff around...“boat Tetris” as the Biosecurity Officer neatly termed it.

The marina here is very similar to Marsden Cove Marina in New Zealand in being rather isolated but it is not surrounded by an expanding, expensive housing development. A quick bike-ride takes us to Burnett Heads with a small grocery store, ATM, and Post-Office and a bus-ride takes us to Bundaberg. We have no phone or unlimited internet access yet (hopefully on Monday) as the Australian requirements for identification for a SIM card are rigorous...hence this late and limited blog-post and delay in email responses.

The locals have been very friendly. We have seen wild kangaroos (Randall’s first). Identified at least a dozen bird species that are new to us (without even seriously trying yet). Started the large loads of laundry and extensive boat cleaning. Enjoyed a BBQ social at the marina (every Friday evening) with the many other foreign visitors who came early on the “Go West Rally” (more about that later and main events start next weekend). Listened to loud, live rock music, got Randall a corndog, watched children taking camel rides, and oohed and aahed at an excellent firework show at the Burnett Heads, annual Lighthouse Festival. Not a bad start to our “Down Under” experiences!

(As too often, more details and photos to follow...eventually).