Out of Tasmania, into the Tropics
Great Keppel Island, Queensland
Sailing up the Queensland coast
Time for a little update from aboard Namani... After our return from Tasmania, we sat out a few rainy days at the dock in Scarborough/Brisbane during which it seemed as if the special effects crew of the new "Noah" movie had taken command of the local weather. It did clear however with the arrival of April and we finally slipped our lines to start our delivery trip north on 01APR. After a three-day/360nm sail we're now anchored of Great Keppel Island, north of Gladstone on the Queensland coast. We spent about 12 hours fighting the south setting East Australian Current around Fraser Island, making 2-3kn over ground when the speed through the water looked more like 5-6kn. Otherwise it's been a very nice sail and we're slowly getting our sea legs back.
Our next move will depend on the weather (what else is new..). There's a depression forming NE of the northern Queensland coast and different forecast models currently disagree how it will behave over the next week. Depending on which scenario the forecasts converge on we might either seek shelter in a near by mangrove creek and sit it out for a week or may be able to continue our trip early next week. For now we'll be enjoying a day at anchor in a very pretty little bay. We're back in the tropics again - who would have thought!
Backtracking a bit ... We very much enjoyed our 10 days in Tasmania, camper vaning, hiking, and joining forces with Nicky's Grandmother halfway through the trip. We also had a really fun reunion with Keith and Margaret, Tab's parents at their home in Launceton (they had visited us back home in Bavaria many years ago).
On the way back to the boat we had a four day stop-over in Sydney during which Nicky overdosed on opera... The evening we arrived we got to see the dress rehearsal for Madame Butterfly, performed on an open air stage on the water in Farm Cove, against the backdrop of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. What a setting on a beautiful late summer evening (thanks Jez!). Nicky bravely made it through the performance, only to be treated to a back-stage tour of the Opera House the next morning. Paul, the brother of Namani's new owner, works at the Opera House and gave us a fascinating tour through the Sydney Opera House and its history. Thanks Paul and Janet! Nicky however did go "cold turkey" afterwards - we probably won't get him near another opera for a few years ;-)
We also had another nice reunion with Philipp and Tina, Tab, Jez, Eddy and Leila, plus a short visit to Moe and Margaret before flying back to Brisbane. Thanks to all of you for making our stay In Australia such a memorable experience!
Add new comment