Are you a fan of Dave Sedaris? Always a favorite, his zany travel adventures and poignantly punchy family antics have kept me laughing out loud during many sleepless nights. I've been reminded of his story Laugh, Kookaburra a few times in the last few weeks, not only because it contains my favorite description of Australia ever—"Canada in a thong"—but also for its description of the kookaburra.
Read MoreWe had our first glimpse of the Glass House Mountains sailing south from Mooloolaba to Scarborough. Ancient lava plugs that rise up to 556 meters above the surrounding landscape, the Glass House Mountains stand like sentries guarding dry land when seen from the water. Up close, the 11 peeks revealed their distinct shapes and landscapes, some home orchards or conifer farms, others wild with eucalyptus and spring flowers in bloom.
Read MoreAfter five weeks of non-stop waxing and polishing, Dominic left Helios on the dock in Australia and flew home to California last week.
Read MoreOur other favorite part of Lone Pine Sanctuary was the raptor show. They brought out a beautiful, snowy white barn owl that flew silently over the crowd and a wedge tailed eagle that dwarfed his human handler. We also saw a peregrine falcon touring the grounds while he enjoyed his raw chicken lunch. All of the birds at Lone Pine had been rescued and rehabilitated but weren't fit to be released into the wild.
Read MoreIf you're in the mood for a snuggle, let me recommend Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary just outside of Brisbane. We spent a morning there on our first day in the area with a car and were blown away by the variety of animals being rehabilitated and the furry, grey, bowling ball sized main attraction.
Read MoreOn December 5—a month ago, if you can forgive me for how behind the blog has become—we sailed 33 nautical miles south from Mooloolaba to Scarborough. Making an early morning start as there were forecasts for 25 knots of wind offshore in the afternoon, we left Mooloolaba's narrow channel under partly cloudy skies with winds from the northeasterly quadrant.
Read MoreSailing south from Fraser Island was a smokey affair—a bolt from the previous night's lightning storm had struck ground setting the island on fire. We upped anchor with the sun at 0430 to cross over a sand bar stretching between the southern tip of Fraser Island and Australia's eastern coast before the winds picked up.
Read MoreThe other friend we made on Fraser Island was the goanna, a lizard that can grow up to two meters in length. I spotted this guy as he crossed the dirt road in front of us as we hiked through Fraser Island. The climbed a nearby tree and posed for photos.
Read MoreOur most exciting sighting was the sulphur crested cockatoo, who occasionally got into territorial scuffles with the resident osprey...
Read MoreOn November 28, we left Bundaberg, stowed the dock lines, and started making way for Fraser Island. Lying just off the coast and over 120 kilometers north to south, Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and the only place where one can find rain forest growing on sand.
Read MoreOur time in Bundaberg was largely functional. We were ten days in the marina, working through our list of end of season boat projects: repairing the brightwork and adding fresh coats of varnish, polishing the stainless, cleaning rust stains from the hull, oiling the teak down below.
Read MoreWe were underway for three days between Chesterfield Reef and Bundaberg, a small town on the northeastern coast of Australia. We motored out of the reef's southern pass into light westerly winds that continued into the afternoon, and then 17 knots of wind blew in behind us bringing glorious conditions for our first evening underway.
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