The Great Barrier Reef - A Natural Wonder

The Tropical North Queensland is a region that is filled with natural and historical significance. A place to come and learn about the Aborigines and to experience the wonders of the natural rainforests, but the Tropical North is also a place of water wonder as well as it contains the Great Barrier Reef, which offers another unique look into natural beauty and splendor that is bound to delight.

The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage protected area and is the largest reef in the world. It is home to some of the most diverse marine life, including the Black Marlin, with color combinations that will astound your eyes. The coral brings additional color to this incredible region and adds to the natural beauty of the setting.

Along through here there are lots of ribbon reefs off the coast that can be viewed from one of the many cruises available in the area or from a low flying plane. These reefs are a fascinating natural treasure, and maybe the best place to see them is where they come in closer to the beach at Cape Tribulation.

To see some of the wonderful creatures of the sea the Great Barrier Reef is the place to see, there are whales, sea turtles, dolphins, porpoises, dugongs, salt water crocodiles. And the Reef also will show you the animals that are only in this area such as the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin and the loggerhead sea turtle. Come to the Tropical North Queensland region to experience the incredible nature available to everyone.

Traveling from Brisbane to the Gold Coast there is a lot to discover in Queensland Australia, but the area of Tropical North Queensland has to rate as the most fabulous. That may be why the incredible beauty of the Great Barrier Reef is listed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world, as you can't see it anywhere else on earth.

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Fantasea Reefworld - Great Barrier Reef Australia

Fantasea Reefworld is an 86 meter floating pontoon anchored on Hardy Reef approximately 40 nautical miles from Airlie Beach on the Tropical East Coast of Australia.

Getting to Reefworld is an exciting adventure. Simply jump aboard one of the luxury air-conditioned high-speed Fantasea catamarans from Airlie Beach Marina and you will be on your way to enjoying one of the most wonderful days of your entire life.

The huge Reefworld pontoon is the largest of its type in Australia. Visitors are captivated by the beauty of the underwater playground in one of the natural wonders of the world - the Great Barrier Reef.

Reefworld is just a short trip from Airlie Beach. It provides a sheltered and protected snorkelling and swimming environment for visitors to enjoy all year-round. Fantasea Reefworld is internationally renowned for its ability to afford tourists with the highest number of colourful vibrant reef fish in their natural environment. No other Great Barrier Reef tour company can match the attractions that Reefworld has to offer.

There are literally thousands of different species of marine life to observe and enjoy. Reefworld is also known for its magnificent Queensland Groper who is affectionately known as 'George'. George frequents Reefworld on a very regular basis and is free to come and go in his natural habitat whilst interacting with divers. There is also a playful Maori Wrasse who has been named 'Wally' who loves to intermingle with visitors.

The Great Barrier Reef is of course known for its wonderful live natural coral displays and they often exceed all expectations. The coral can best be seen by:

• Swimming along on a guided snorkelling trail with rest pontoons
• Taking an underwater tour on the semi submersible 'tourist submarine'
• Experiencing an Introductory dive with fully qualified Diving Instructors
• Pre arranged Certified dive

Reefworld can supply you with your own snorkelling gear if you don't have any of your own. All snorkelling gear mouthpieces are hygienically sealed. Stinger suits are also available for protection against jellyfish and wet suits will ensure you are warm and cosy with added buoyancy for your ultimate comfort.

Fantasea Reefworld also boasts a great waterslide straight into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. You have the option to do as much or as little as you like whilst enjoying your 4 hours on the pontoon.

Reefworld pride themselves on preparing the freshest and most delicious food you will find anywhere in the world and the Fantasea catering staff begin work every day at 2 am to ensure you enjoy only the best cuisine available including:

• BBQ meat
• seafood and salad
• breads and cakes
• cheeses
• unlimited tea and coffee whilst you are on board

There are also other optional activities like scenic helicopter flights which take you over the famous Heart Reef. Or if you prefer you can choose the fly/cruise options from Airlie Beach.

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Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory

There is no mistaking Kata-Tjuta National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It is distinctively home to the iconic rock monolith that is Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock.

Located in the Red Centre of Australia, the park draws innumerable visitors yearly: to gasp at the imposing presence and changing colors of Uluru, and to explore and take camel treks through Kata Tjuta.

The park has been inscribed by the United Nations as a World Heritage site, initially for its outstanding universal natural values, and then for its outstanding universal cultural values.

Rising from the plains

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has an area of 132,566 hectares close to Australia's geographical centre in the traditional lands of the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal people, known locally as Anangu.

What makes the huge rock formations of Uluru and Kata Tjuta truly remarkable is the fact that they rise from relatively flat sand plains.

Sandstone monolith and domes

Uluru is a huge, rounded, red sandstone monolith 9.4 kilometres in circumference rising to a height of over 340 metres above the plain. Rock art in the caves around its base are further evidence of the enduring cultural traditions of Anangu.

About 32 kilometres to the west of Uluru lie the 36 steep-sided domes of Kata Tjuta. The domes cover an area of 3 500 hectares with Mount Olga, the highest feature, rising to a height of 500 metres. This area is sacred under Anangu men's law and, as such, detailed knowledge of it is restricted.

Traditional owners

Title to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was handed back to the traditional owners in 1985 and is held by the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Aboriginal Land Trust. Leased back to the director of National Parks and Wildlife, the park is jointly managed under direction of a board of management which includes a majority of Anangu traditional owners.

On their website, the Anangu, as traditional owners of Uluru-Kata Tjuta Natonal Park, have declared they are "direct descendants of the beings who created our lands during the Tjukurpa (Creation Time). We have always been here. It is our duty to look after the land, which includes passing on its history to our children and grandchildren. We call ourselves Anangu, and would like you to use that term for us."

Tourist town

For visitors to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, the tourist town of Yulara lies just north of Uluru and provides almost all the amenities, including food and lodging, that visitors need

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Unknown Aussie strong man

Country: Australia 
Birthdate: 1976 
Height: 190cm/6''3' 
Weight: 140kg/310lb

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Australia Tourism - Travel Australia in a Chartered Jet

Most of you must have read about Tom Cruise and family visiting Australia. The private jet oned by Tom Cruise landed at Melbourne's international airport. Tom Cruise being a millionaire celebrity can travel in private jet easily and there are lot more benefits for him travelling in a private jet than the costs. For example he is safe, can travel any time he needs no time wastage at airport etc. And above all being a celebrity he can have the advantage of privacy. Tom himself is a licensed pilot and currently he owns 4 jets.

Travelling by a private jet is expensive and many people can only dream of owning a jet. But while researching online I found that one can easily travel by charter air craft at affordable cost. Take the case of Australia for example I found a websie called while offer Melbourne Air Charter services and operate throughout Australia. Company has offices in All major airports in Australia like Perth, Darwin, Melbourne, Victoria, Alice Springs etc. Business can definitely can save lots of time, increase prodictivity and employee retention by using corporate jet charters. To know more about aircraft charters you may check http://www.private-jet.com.au/ or http://www.directair.com.au

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Hunter Valley

Hunter Valley is definitely one of the must see island when you visit Australia. The warm and sunny climate of the city awaits you. But of course, there's more than just the clear skies, Hunter Valley offers many attractions for you.

There are many places that you can go to in the city. Whether you are a wine lover, an enthusiast of natural beauty and wildlife, Hunters has it all. Barington Tops is one of the most popular areas with if you are a nature lover. Here you can see a large of unspoiled cities of rare wildlife.

List of Activities You Can do In Hunter Valley:

• Wine Tasting There are over 120 cellar doors that will accommodate you daily.
• Food and Wine. You can see wide selection of world class restaurants.
• Golf. Enjoy the three championship courses.
• Hot Air Ballooning
• Arts and Galleries If you are into history, you can visit different arts and galleries in Hunt Valley
• Concerts – Witness the world class acts performing in the vineyards.
  

For those who prefer the conventional sightseeing routine, there are spectacular building that can be found in the Hunter. You can visit several galleries and museum displaying various antiques and crafts such as glassware, jewelry, paintings and sculptures.

One of the sights in Hunter Valley that is sure to get the attention of all visitors is the Hunter Village Garden located in the heart of the Hunter vineyard at the foothills of the Brokenback Ranges. You will be amazed by the colors and fragrances of the twelve stunning feature gardens.

If you are tired of touring, then you can get outside from something new to do. Feel the glorious sunrise from a hot air balloon, or horse back riding in the vineyard. For a more relaxing adventure, you can head to the beach. Hunter Valley is near the sea, expect that you can find some resorts.

Accommodation is not a problem in Hunter Valley. Whatever your choices in Hunter Valley accommodation, whether it is a simple farm to stay or a luxurious hotel, you can easily find a place to suit your taste and your budget.

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Fraser Island

Fraser Island is another impressive travel destination in Australia. This island is situated along the southern coast of Queensland, Australia and around three to four hours away from Brisbane. It is 123 kilometers long and at its widest point it’s width around 22 kilometers.

It was year 1992 when the World Heritage discovered the island. After the discovery, the place is considered as one of the world's largest island and the only place with rainforest that grows in the sand. This makes Fraser Island as one of the most rare and mysterious place on Queensland's coastline. In this area, you can see long undisturbed sandy beach flanked by strikingly colored sand cliffs. It is also a home of 100s freshwater both tea colored and clear blue lakes. Hence, Fraser Island is not just an ordinary island. It's an island wherein the Australian's rich natural heritage combine together.

Fishing

During the day, there is plenty to do in Fraser Island. There are endless beaches for swimming, playing Frisbee or beach soccer. Some of the visitors come to Fraser for fishing. In fact, an annual fishing competition is being held in here that last for a whole week.

Day Tours at Fraser Island

You can explore the beauty of Fraser Island from a bird eye view using the MI Helicopters for a day tour. In this way, you can observe Fraser's untamed wilderness, sub-tropical rainforests and crystal clear freshwater lakes. It is perfect for a couple who wants a secluded and romantic getaway.

However, it is better if you explore the scenic highlights of Frazer Island by land. You can visit different pounded beaches, rainforest and freshwater lakes. You can also witness the brilliant spring wild flowers and forest clad dunes and other wildlife settling in the island.

What's more, you can select your accommodation here depending on your budget. There are available luxury hotels and resort for rents, even a simple camp site. If you want a feeling like at home you can set up a tent and a campfire on the beach. Just ask anything you wish, Fraser is a great provider.

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Bungle Bungle National Park

Bungle Bungle is also known as Purnululu National Park. It is one of the popular travel spots for foreigners and it was situated in Western Australia.

If you are interested to know what Purnululu means is, it's a Kiji term for sandstone. On the other hand, the origin name of “Bungle Bungle” is still unknown. This area is almost 5788 meters high from sea level. This park is popular because of its sandstone domes, that were formed 350 million years ago. You can see the domes on the edge of the range. You need to fly over the whole range to see a new area of domes in the making when an erosion happens in the center of the massif. At first look, you can easily say domes come in orange and grey combination. The banding of the domes happens because of the differences in clay content and presence of porosity on the sandstone layers.

Bungle Bungle National Park is also of great significance of both cultural and spiritual to local settlers. It was year 1983 when a film tram discovered the area, yet there are already people lived there for how many years. The government established Bungle Bungle as Purnululu National Park in 1987 to preserve the importance of the area as well as its significance to the traditional settlers.

For a stunning and beautiful experience on Bungle Bungles, it is highly suggested to visit this place during dry season. It is an amazing experience also if you walk throughout the beautiful landscape with its sandstone domes. The plains come in lush and green for they are thickly covered of bright yellow Acacia flowers.

Most of the activities in Bungle Bungle is walking. But that's part of it. You can't find the famous domes here if you don't walk. It's a good thing most of the walk is very open and sunny. And in your way, you can find jaw-dropping scenery such as domes and cliffs, chasms and rock pools. Take advantage too for sunset look out. There are two sunset lookout in Bungle Bungles. One is The Walinginjdji Sunsent Lookout which is close to the Visitor Center and Piccaninny Creek, it takes half an hour to get there.

Take your time to explore this spot, so you will enjoy the beauty of Purnululu and get the most out of it. You will never be satisfied with your one day stay in Bungle Bungles, but that's enough time in absorbing the atmosphere.

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Tasmanian Wilderness

Tasmanian Wilderness is a spectacular place to visit in Australia. It is one of the largest temperate wilderness areas remaining in the Southern Hemisphere. It was enrolled on the World Heritage List last 1982 and in 1989. Started May 2007, Tasmanian Wilderness becomes one of the destinations for foreigners.

The area of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage covers approximately 1.38 million hectares and contains almost twenty percent of the area of Tasmania. In this island, you can see the deepest and longest caves in Australia. And since this is Australia, you are going to expect a wide variety of flora and some of the longest lived trees and tallest flowering plants in the world only found in this area.

The Tasmanian Wilderness is made up of different parks and other reserves:

• Cradle Mountain
• Lake St Clair
• Southwest National Park
• Wild Rivers National Park
• Hartz Mountains
• Mole Creek Karst National Park (part)
• Walls of Jerusalem National Park
• Central Plateau Conservation Area
• Devils Gullet State Reserve
• Liffey Falls State Reserve (part)
  

If you are planning to visit one or all of them, guides of Tasmanian Wilderness are willing to tour you around. In Lake St Clair you can witness a nice landscape encompassing indented mountain peaks, icy streams, ancient rainforest, and glacial lakes. During winter, snow covered the area of Hartz Mountains. But you will amaze with the waterfalls that surround the park and with beautiful and abundant wildlife once the snow melts in late spring.

Activities in Tasmanian Wilderness

The Tasmanian Wilderness offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities ranging from extended walks through to half hour strolls.

Bushwalking

There are over 1,000 kilometers bushwalking tracks and routes in the Tasmanian Wilderness and the numbers are increasing every year. Some of the famous tracks are the Overland, Frenchmans Cap and the South Coast. With plenty f interesting sights and activities to do along the way, this will definitely be an exciting trip.

Camping

Campsites scattered around the Tasmanian Wilderness for affordable overnight fees.
Angling

After the tiring walking and camping, the next exciting activity would be angling. The popular fishing areas in Tasmanian include Lake Pedder, Lake St Clair and the Gordon River.

Rafting and Kayaking

You will enjoy seeing spectacular scenery in Tasmanian for 12 days wilderness rafting.

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Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne: The Must-Visited Cities in Australia

The country is the home of the international actors such as Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe and the late Health Ledger. It’s also tagged as the multicultural country in the south where Sydney is the most largest and populous. No need for you to doubt, Australia is one of the leading destinations when you’re looking for fun and pure escapade. 

The goal of the article is to tell you the nicest spots you must visit in the three largest cities in Australia and that include Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

In Sydney, series of attractions can be seen. These attractions range from theme parks, sports and recreation, museums, food and wine industries, art etc. A must-visit attraction is the Centennial Parkland. This is a 360-hectare open space situated just minutes away from city’s popular beaches in the east. The whole park is divided into three: The first being the 189-hectare Centennial Park, which is the home of blooming flora and fauna and other tree plantings. The second park is the 26-hectare Queens. It is regularly used for informal recreation and sports like soccer and cricket. The third is the 115-hectare Moore Park houses range of leisure activities and playing fields. Tennis, golf, netball, football, it’s all here!

In Brisbane, one of the most famous attractions is the free admission in South Bank Parklands. Once you’re here, you’ll surely enjoy the various scenes of the formal gardens, explore the insides of historical Nepalese Temple, swim and chill at their lagoon, be wowed with their the tropical vegetation and get roll on the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. You can also experience the Best Land Attractions by visiting the River Tour that allows you to cruise the Brisbane’s historical sites using a riverboat at only $55. The Frasier Island Tour is also a popular getaway among the Aussies and the tourists. For $ 150, you can tour the breathtaking beaches and exotic freshwater lakes and beaches.  

In Melbourne, your itinerary should include the Melbourne Zoo. This is the Parkville with a natural-setting feel. What’s more exciting than seeing those native species of animals like koala, panda etc. You can also attend their weekend event (Jazz at the Zoo) where there is fun-filled music and picnic all night long. Southern’s largest museum is doubtlessly of the best. You can walk through the seven main galleries and exhibits.

Of course, the Melbourne’s Pride is their Rod Laver Arena. This 14,820 seating-capacity Melbourne Park Complex is not only the venue of Australian Open (the first grand slam event of the year) but also hosts of special events like motorbike super-crosses, music concerts and the world wrestling. In fact, the Rod Laver hosted the World Championship Wrestling in 2000. The arena receives over one million visitors each year. 

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Bay Of Fires: Australia's Tourist Spot Of Tranquil Beauty

Bay of Fires is recognized as one of Australia's favorite and best tourist destination spots. Set between Eddystone Point and Binalong Bay, Bay Of Fires is famous for its magnificent blue waters, exquisite red rocks, fishing lagoons and white beaches. As a majestic wilderness coastline located at the edge of Tasmania's Mt. William National Park, Bay of Fires serves as a home to wildlife, ecology and beautiful and captivating landscapes that will make a tourist's stay a memorable one!

The eye-catching beach environment of Bay of Fires can be explored by tourists, guided by young, knowledgeable Tasmanian guides. You can go for river kayaking in the Anson River, where you will experience its elegant ecology as it winds its way to the mouth of Ansons Bay, home for eagle rays and water bays. It's a calm and protected river where you'll see the woodland and water birds set in their natural environment.

Bird watching is another activity that can be enjoyed in the place. Bay of Fires is an ideal spot for twitchers as it has a good access to several bird habitats, such as wetlands, woodlands, coastal heath and shorelines. Over a number of 50 species of birds can be spotted, including the Yellow Wattlebird and the Tasmanian Thornbill.

Bay of Fires is a good place for nature walks. Tourists can wander down the white granite sands of Abbotsbury Peninsula, where dolphins and whales can be seen. At Bailey's Rock, you can take a short trip to watch terns and gannets dive into the waters. The Eddystone Point Lighthouse is where tourists can search for hidden shell coves. You can also experience fun beach activities like fishing, body surfing and snorkeling.

Bay of Fires is truly a place where tourists can experience the tranquility and solitude of nature.

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BSA Students in Australia and New Zealand

Former BSA students had a major impact on the teaching of classics in England outside Oxford and Cambridge (e.g. Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, London). Three former students held chairs in Australia and New Zealand.

• H. Arnold Tubbs (born c. 1865; Pembroke College, Oxford) worked with this Cyprus Exploration Fund and had to leave during the final season of excavations in Cyprus in 1890 to take up the position of professor of Classics at University College, Auckland, New Zealand.
• William John Woodhouse (1866-1937; The Queen's College, Oxford) had worked on the Megalopolis excavations and then conducted a survey in Aetolia. He was assistant lecturer in Bangor and then lecturer in St Andrews. In 1901 he was appointed professor Greek at the University of Sydney. He was also the honorary curator of the Nicholson Museum of Antiquities (1903-37).
• Cecil A. Scutt (1889-1961; Clare College, Cambridge) had been admitted to the BSA just before the outbreak of the First World War. He was an assistant master at Repton for two terms (1915-16), and joined Military Intelligence in Macedonia; he was invalided out of the army in 1918. In 1919 he was appointed professor of Classical Philology, University of Melbourne (1920-55).

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Bad Day for Fishing

Current Location: Cairns, Australia
Current Position: 16º54.83' S 145º47.25' E
Next Destination: Lizard Island (Home of the 1000+ Kg Black Marlins)



We haven't had the best of luck fishing in Australia; it's not like in the Pacific islands where every trip yields a nice dinner or fresh fish taco lunch. KT calls it the curse of the freezer; We bought an Engel 12 volt freezer to keep our extra fish, and ever since then we haven't had any extra!! The only frozen fish we have is some bait for our crab traps, and that is really just a place holder to keep it from being filled with all things non-fish.

It's not like we haven't been trying. Every trip I immediately put out a couple of lines and drag them right to the anchorage. All I seem to catch is seaweed, and as of the other day a boobie. Not THAT kind; the bird. Every time a see a Boobie bird it reminds me of a dodo, I mean really stupid. I know Darwin never saw these things when he was coming up with his survival of the fittest theory, either that or I would hate to see how stupid the unfit boobies act. We were sailing along, relaxing in our new beanbag chairs, when I noticed these birds hovering around the back of the boat where the lures are. They keep circling and circling checking out the lures (at least something was interested). All of the sudden they both start diving at them and missing.. diving and missing!! By now we were yelling at them trying to scare them away, this only seemed to encourage the attempts. Finally I hooked one.. damn!! He's flopping all over getting dragged behind the boat at about 4 knots. Well now the other one is jealous and starts diving at the lure 10 feet up the line from where his buddy is getting rolled through the wake.

So I start reeling him in faster (so he doesn't drown) and his friend is still diving away, seemingly unaware that the two things are related.. maybe he thought his friend was doing a happy dance about his new food and he really wanted some too. I finally got the boobie up on the swim step, I couldn't have hooked him better if I tried.. right in the middle of the beak. I had to hold him down while he was flopping around; I mean this guy was moving more than a 50 lb Tuna. And wings; they REALLY get in the way sometimes. I finally released him and he flopped back into the air to join his buddy for a little in flight conversation; like gee Bill "What was that all about?". What ever they shared it wasn't anything to do with Darwin's theory; because the other one broke flight and came back for more. I don't know maybe they thought it was fun; but if they can't catch a lure one the surface at 4 knots I don't know how they survive.

That was how the day started!! We sailed through the night and as we were pulling into anchor at 4am I pulled in the hand lines but I waited until later to pull in our rail reel (it makes noise and I didn't want to wake up KT). Well later never came. I started the engine, took down the sails and finally woke KT for the final anchoring phase. I'm at the bow when I hear this screaming for help. The 150lb test line had gotten wrapped in the prop and was screaming off the reel. YIKES!! One problem about waking KT up for a quick thing, is KT doesn't really wake up quickly. She thought she had put the boat into neutral but it was still in reverse adding more line to the prop.

Did I mention this is Croc country and most beaches have shark nets off of them; oh and jelly fish that will kill you!! I kept thinking that I didn't REALLY need to get in the water, I could look off the transom and check it out from there. The water was so murky you couldn't see the prop, or the bottom of the rudder for that matter. I tried to use a boat hook to get something off of it and the first time I got my lure back.. but it was a mess; I had to get in the water. So I donned my light wetsuit; not the most flattering piece of apparel I own but I figured that would keep the jelly fish at bay. I had KT stand on the back with a spear pole, as if that would help against a 10m Croc. I had to get inches away from the prop to see it; and it was a mess. There was a huge ball of line wrapped right in front of our feather prop blades (I'm not sure we could have move forward), and it was bar tight. I tried to cut it with a knife and it just broke off. After a couple of dives I got most of it and just had to clean up the prop shaft. It was then that I noticed it had also walked its way up the shaft, into the hull and started rubbing on the hull from the inside. Luckily it was melting (and not ripping the hull apart) but now I had a melted ball of fishing line in a very tight space in the hull pretty far under water. I had to get out the hookah hose (air hose with a pump and regulator) and go to work for a while.. in murky croc/shark invested waters. While I was under the hull I sort of mounted the prop shaft and propeller, figuring that I didn't want to leave any dangling bits for somethings breakfast. I finally cleared all the tangles and we were free to go.. I had survived, the boat was ok, but my only catches for the day were a boobie and a prop!!

So that was our worst day of fishing but we've had bad luck since we left Bundaberg coming north. One day I took my 15 foot surf casting rod into the dinghy (10 feet) and went to do a little fishing. I finally hooked into a nice dog tooth tuna (my Favorite), but I couldn't figure out how to get the fish in the dinghy with the reel out the front of the dinghy and the fish out the back. He finally got off.. uggh!! North of Percy Isle there were HUGE schools of tuna running but every time we got close they went deep or disappeared. I finally had some luck in Scawfell. I took the dinghy to the point and on the second cast (small pole this time) the water erupted into a splash of whitewater the size of the dinghy.. snap line gone.. like it was cut. I threw in my trolling hand lines and immediately caught a spotted mackerel and got it into the boat (finally dinner). As I was getting ready to head back to the boat, to finally show I haven't lost my touch, I noticed a large school of tuna in the channel. I headed out did a wide loop and whammo.. got something on one of the hand lines. I put the dinghy in neutral and it immediately started getting pulled backwards like in the movie jaws. I started hauling it in when whatever it was decided it had had enough and took off; snapping the 400lb test line like a piece of thread!! Hey a least I had something and I wasn't shut out.

The following day, after a night evening meal of fish curry, we headed out into the schools of tuna again. This time we circled outside and let them swim into the lines. We caught our first one on the first pass.. nice size and hey we had a freezer, so we went back for more. We caught a second one and as I went to gaff it, I dropped the gaff into the water.. and to our amazement it floated. Now the fire drill began.. get the gaff before it sinks. I quickly threw the fish in our fish bag and hauled in all the lures (we had three lines with five lures). Then we tried to back up to the floating gaff. Just when we would get close it would drift off. Ten embarrassing minutes later it was finally on board. I'm glad we saved two tuna; after cutting open the first its meat was littered with small little white pearl balls. I thought it was a parasite so we didn't keep that one. But the Sashimi from the other we had was wonderful.

Now, we are getting ready to head north into the Black Marlin breeding area. I bought a rail reel just so I can see a Marlin tail walk. When we catch them on the hand line then don't put on acrobatic displays. They pop to the surface and swim just under it, or they snap the line. Anyway hopefully we'll be able to feed ourselves and with a little luck get some good video of a Marlin. Keep your fingers crossed!! I don't want another day of Boobies and Props!!

To see what we've been catching check out our catch log here.

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Driving in Australia

Current Location: Whitsunday Islands, Australia

Next Destination: Townsville, Australia

After 16,000km of driving in New Zealand I have no problem driving on the right side (i.e. wrong) of the road. In fact it feels a little strange driving on the left side now. Australia is a HUGE country (same size as the 48 states) and there is no way we could drive the entire thing during our land travel segment. First, the weather doesn't cooperate; there are cyclones to the north with flooding inland that makes it almost impossible to get to certain places. Then there are the droughts to the south. I guess the expression "when it rains it pours" was invented here, because a lot of the major roads have water markers to help drivers determine the depth of flooding even though the drought is in its fifth year. Most SUV's (called UTEs here) have snorkels which go up to the roof at the side of the windshield. This allows drivers to "keep on trucking" right through the flooded sections. The drought is so bad, at one place we stayed they touted waterfront camping sites, even though they were now about a 1/2 mile away from the edge of the reservoir.

You'd think a country the size of Australia, with all the major roads, could agree on a few standards. In Australia, state pride is a HUGE thing. So big you wonder if the state governments ever talk to each other. In the past, this competitive spirit has caused a lot of problems, like incompatible rail road track gauges which required cargo to be off loaded and reloaded at the state borders because one states trains couldn't operate on the other states "inferior" track design. As a tourist it can be rather frustrating trying to navigate around a country where you don't know the exact direction and name of every town. On major freeways you'd think they would mark North, South, East, West like in the states or at least put the next MAJOR city down that road (hey Sydney this way - Brisbane that way). No that would be much too easy; they want to make it a challenge!! It seems as if the sign designers looked at the map and chose the smallest non-bold font name and put that town on the sign. Not only do you have to scan the map in ever expanding circles from your current known location, you have to check EVERY town no matter how small, and then expand your search to include towns that are not even located on the same freeway. It's like heading south from Massachusetts towards Florida, but the sign only says "Grand Canyon"; because in 200 miles you COULD head west towards Arizona and actually get there. The signs just don't help you figure out what you'll find if you don't turn west and actually continue south.

There is one saving grace however; Australians have a thing for roundabouts (rotaries). I imagine some road designer realized it served multiple purposes, 1) no "crazy" intersections with things called lights or stop signs, 2) gives the driver multiple choices, 3) slows them down a wee bit, and my favorite (and most frequently used) .. 4) gives the unsuspecting tourist driver a place to "park it" (e.g. drive in circles) while evaluating the various options, multiple times, all while completely wearing out the left side tires. Rental cars must have to rotate tires every time they go out. I don't know how many times we circled roundabouts while I shouted out strange Aboriginal names and sign details while KT furiously scanned the map looking for some unpronounceable name. The first pass allows you to get the names sort of correct, additional passes provide map scanning time until the name is found and you determine that, "No you don't want that one". I think our record is five complete revolutions, and then we took the wrong exit anyway because people were starting to stare. It's ok because just down the road is another roundabout, you can almost count on it; that is unless you really need one!! If you want to practice go to the fair and ride the spinning tea cup rides for kids and try scanning a map. Maybe lights and stop signs are more expensive here and asphalt or concrete is subsidized, who knows.

The other thing that gets my goat is the position of the signage. Do you put the sign before the exit, at the exit past the road but still viewable, or up the road a bit with a left turn arrow in front of a smaller road? Yet another thing they don't seem to be able to agree upon. More than once we either turned too soon and ended up on the wrong small road or went flying past the exit because it was marked inconsistently. Sydney was the worst. We figured it should be pretty easy to follow the signs to the airport which happened to be right in the direction we were heading. The airport; you know the place where almost EVERY tourist needs to get to. They DO have the international airport sign, which we chose to follow. It started out fine, albeit crazy, as if you know you're supposed to be in the far right lane and turn at the NEXT intersection without any help from a sign. After a couple of cut offs and angry drivers later (they must take their training in Boston), we finally got off the freeway onto another and whammo the signage was gone. We went down the road violently scanning every sign until I happened to notice one behind us. We "flipped a bitch" (initiated a U-turn) and we were back on track again. Then we got a choice, Airport toll road or standard route. Being the cheap a@@ cruisers we are we took the standard route.. right over the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Well I knew this was wrong because we were now headed north instead of south. So we got off and turned around, paid our bridge toll and proceeded back towards the airport. This time we had five lanes of traffic to race across as the airport sign suggested we take the next exit (at the exit ramp). A couple more crazy turns and we were right back at our original turn-off. This gave us a chance to evaluate the signs, and determine that we were not insane; however the city planner or sign guy had obviously never been to the airport. I finally noticed an airport shuttle van and pulled in behind it like a sled dog following its leader and finally made it past the airport.

The scenery is amazing and varied but the most interesting side effect is driving amongst the wild life. Kangaroos and Wallabies are cute but some of the big Red Kangaroos are HUGE, with arms the size of my legs standing six feet tall. They have this incredible knack for standing right on the side of the road. I guess that is where the best grass must be. When they move it's usually right before you get there and then "boing boing" like a pin ball in a machine seemingly changing directions in mid-air. You never quite know where they're going to end up next. Luckily we never hit one but we've heard LOTs of stories and saw plenty of road kill. I don't think Aussies even slow down anymore. Once we were driving down some out of the way freeway frequented by logging trucks. I thought a tree branch had fallen off the back of a truck until it started moving. It was a HUGE lizard that took up the entire lane.

We survived our trek from Brisbane down the coast to Melbourne, our drive around Tasmania, and the trek back from Sydney to Mooloolaba. Would we do it again? .. in a second. You just have to adapt to the conditions and learn to use the roundabouts for a holding pattern. Oh and don't try to correctly pronounce the Aboriginal names until the navigator actually finds them on the map.

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The Forth Season Begins

Current Location: Great Keppel Island, Australia
Current Position: 23.159º S 150.955º E
Next Destination: Brampton Island / Whitsunday Coast

No, we didn't sail off the edge of the world. We have just been extremely lame in regards to keeping up with the BLOG. It all started with our land travels – we just couldn't be bothered with finding an Internet cafe while trekking along the east coast from Brisbane to Melbourne and exploring Tasmania. (Sorry I won't be covering that journey in this BLOG – you'll have to visit our website) After we finished up our land travels we just seemed to have too much 'work' to do. Now, I know you are thinking what 'work' could two unemployed people on permanent 'vacation' possibly have – but really there is much to do after leaving the boat for six weeks. On top of that we both got new (really used but new to us) computers, and so there was tons of file transfers and OS setups, etc etc. Sure, I could've written a BLOG during that period, but really, did you come to a travel BLOG to read about the best way to optimize your XP environment? I think not.

For those loyal fans (ha ha) out there, you are in luck – we are cruising again. Which in theory means that our BLOGs will become more consistent, and hopefully a bit more entertaining too. After ten weeks of living the land life (to which we owe extreme thanks to Mark, Anne, Georgia & Jack, who gave Billabong a safe home during this period), we are back on the 'road' again. We are attempting to high-tail it to the Whitsundays, but so far we aren't moving too fast thanks to some crappy weather we are waiting out. It's blowing 30 knots and we have 15 foot tides to deal with so the wind against tide can make things very uncomfortable if we don't get it right. In the week since we left we did manage to get as far as Great Keppel Island. It's a terrific island but the anchorage is extremely rolly. We'd move, but there is nowhere nearby to move to (huge bummer). So instead we are holed up here waiting for better weather so that we can get on with it. Luckily there are worst places we could be stuck. Keppel Islands has quite a few hikes and terrific beaches, so when we get fed up with the rolling, there are at least some things to entertain us ashore. Yesterday we enjoyed a terrific four-hour hike around half the island, with some great look out points and a visit to the

nearby resort. Our departure from Mooloolaba on April 30th marked the beginning of our fourth year cruising. Seems crazy to think it's been that long since we left the States – for us it has gone by like the blink of an eye. This will be an exciting year for us as we make our way North to Darwin (Australia), and then on through Indonesia to Thailand. We will miss the South Pacific, but are excited for what lies ahead.

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Road Map Tasmania Photos

3/14 - 3/22 Tasmania




Hobart, Cradle Mountain, Bay of Fires, Freycinet Peninsula, Mt. Wellington, Bruny Island, Huon Trail, Richmond



Tasmania back to Mooloolaba & Billabong:

3/22/07 - 4/21/07

On March 22, 2007 we flew from Hobart, Tasmania to Sydney, where we stayed with our friends until the 28th (in their lovely house in Pittwater).  On the 28th and 29th we drove like crazy, covering over 1,000 km in the two days.  We only intended to stay with Steve for a week, but before we knew it three weeks had flown by!!!  Finally, on the 22nd we returned to Billabong for good, spending the next week getting her back in shape and ready to go.

By the way Steve is a great boat builder -- check out his website at: www.marshalldesign.blogspot.com .

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Road Trip Sydney to Melbourne Photos

3/5/07 - 3/13/07



3/5 - 3/9 Sydney to Wilson Promontory

Kiama, Jamberoo & Kangaroo Valley, Jervis Bay, Depot Beach, Narooma, Tilba Tilba, Bermagui & Moon Bay, Eden / Boyd's Tower, Buchan Caves, Lakes Entrance, Wilson Promontory


3/10 - 3/13 Phillip Island to Melbourne

Phillip Island, Great Ocean Road & Otway National Park, Melbourne

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Land Travels: Camping, Caves, and Crazy Times

We are having a grand time trekking through the Eastern side of Australia. Billabong is safely docked in Mooloolaba and as of the 20th of February we have been putting on the kilometers in our rented “campette” campervan. As of today we have made it just past Sydney, less than 1,000 km if driven straight … however we have driven over 2,500km! We have explored the coast and the neighboring hinterlands; traveling flat coastal breath-taking views to mouth-gaping dramatic mountain roads. Australia is yet another beautiful country, and we are yet again thankful for the opportunity to be here.

One thing we have learned about the Australian’s is that they sure do know how to camp … and they don’t go skimpy! More than once on our cruising journey, I have found that I’ve had boat envy … sometimes a wee-bit jealous of the big, more luxurious boats (more properly called yachts). I still remember the day I stepped aboard a beautiful 70 foot sailboat and was handed a chilled glass of white wine in a REAL wine glass! I never thought such envious thoughts could be found in camping too. We look quite pathetic in our tiny ‘campette’ (basically a small van with a bed and camp-stove) when we pull into a campground and are surrounded by HUMONGOUS camping setups … some of these tents are bigger than the average home! We’ve even had more than one local comment on how small our little guy is! And so, as we drink our barely cool white wine from lovely blue plastic cups, I can’t help but stare longingly at the campsite next to us as they drink their fully chilled wine, in the protection of their net enclosed social area, in, of course, a real wine glass!!!

But of course for us life is grand, and even if we tend to be a bit envious here and there, there is no time to dwell on it as the sites are just to numerous and wonderful to care about how one got there to see them in the first place!

Our favorite Australian site to date is the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains National Park (just west of Sydney). Honestly, I can’t even begin to describe the wonder and amazement of this magical place. I never would’ve guessed that caves could be so interesting and beautiful. Both of us have tried to come up with expressions and descriptions, but it is useless … they were (are) just amazing and no words or photographs will ever do them justice!

Besides great hiking and walking, superb views and lookouts, and exploration of towns and cities, we have also experienced one of the highlights (according to Lonely Planet) of Sydney … the Mardi Gras. Now this isn’t to be compared to the New Orleans Mardi Gras … this is the Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and boy oh boy is it the most unique and, er’, interesting parade I’ve ever seen! We were lucky enough to be in Sydney for this great festivity, and even luckier to meet up with our friends on Island Sonata. There are some things that just can’t be written about this parade, less I’m kicked off this BLOG site for pornographic material!!! About half a million folks attended and it was quite a scene to take in, especially some of the ‘outfits’ or lack there of. If you can handle the crowds it’s something not to be missed should you be in town during the event.

Next up we’ll continue our travels south, to Melbourne, where we’ll board a plane to fly over to Tasmania, spending nine days on the island before returning to Sydney, and eventually Billabong back in Mooloolaba.

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Road Trip Brisbane to Sydney Photos

2/20/07 - 3/4/07

2/20 - 2/23:  Brisbane to Coff's Harbour

Mt Warning National Park, Tenterfield & Bald Rock NP, Washpool / Gibralter Range, Yamba, Coff's Harbour, Sawtell



2/23 - 2/27:  Dorrigo to Broken Bay

Dorrigo National Park, Nambucca Heads, Trial Bay / Southwest Rocks, Crowdy Bay, Port Stephens, New Castle, Pittwater/Broken Bay, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park



2/28 - 3/01:  Blue Mountains

Wentworth Falls, Leura - Katoomba, Blackheath, Three Sister's, Jenolan Caves

3/2 - 3/4:  Sydney

Including the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

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Brisbane to Melbourne, Tasmania, and Back Summary

As much as we love cruising, sometimes it's just good to get off the boat, and sometimes it's the only way to really see a country.  Australia is HUGE.  Even after looking at maps and devouring guides we still didn't have a feel for just how big the country is.  It wasn't until we started driving, kilometer after kilometer speeding by, that the true size of the country began to sink in.  In the end we couldn't possibly do everything or cover all of Australia; we just didn't have the time (or money).  So we decided on renting a little campervan and driving the east coast, from Brisbane to Melbourne.  Then we flew to Tasmania, spending a week circumnavigating the island via another rented campervan. Finally we flew from Tasmania to Sydney to hang with friends, then did a mad dash, driving back to Mooloolaba in a two day period.  We stayed with our friend (and previous owner of Billabong) in Yamba (near Mooloolaba) for three weeks (lovin' the land life) before returning to Billabong and our life at sea!

It seems we covered a lot of ground, and saw a lot of sights ... so much that we figured we'd deviate from our normal journal style entry, providing picture journals of our trip instead.

The maps below highlight our travels in black.  Links bring up various photo-journals, divided in hopes of making them manageable in both size and attention span!

Road Trip Summary:


Brisbane to Melbourne:
          2/20/07 - 3/13/07
          3,650 km driven

Tasmania:
          3/14/07 - 3/22/07
          1,145 km driven

Sydney Area (just hanging):
          3/22/07 - 3/28/07

Sydney - Mooloolaba Return Drive:
          3/28/07 - 3/29/07
          1,060 km driven

Total:   5,585 km

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