Destinations:
It's been a delight to experience so much of this area. I show dates on destination stories because conditions may have changed significantly below the water line since I visited. Adverse events such as cyclones, bleaching, Crown of Thorns starfish, moving sands, etc., can cause rapid deterioration. Undoubtedly, climate change is making it harder for corals to recover, but places can turn from ugly rubble to beautiful and pristine when conditions are good. This wilderness is forever changing.
Louisiades… cruising September 2016
Papua new Guinea (PNG) starts where Far North Queensland finishes, and the best safe cruising can be found not far away amongst the Louisiades archipelago to the southeast of the mainland; where Islanders lead a peaceful life and sail large traditional sailaus for fishing and trading between islands. We departed from Cairns September…
Our 2016 PNG expedition –September to mid December.
We are just leaving on our spring 2016 cruise to the Milne Province of PNG which is about 1000km northeast of Cairns Australia. We will be soon immersed in a very different culture visiting many small villages scattered among the hundreds of small coral islands of the Louisiade Archipelago. Our boat is chock full…
Magdelaine Cays –Coral Sea –posted August 2016
Magdelaine Cays are a pristine, untouched wilderness. We soaked it all up during 12 days of sensational exploring. Magdelaine North turtle graveyard. We arrived in early December 2013 and carefully picked our way thru shallow coral heads to a well-protected anchorage about 300m behind a strip of smooth sand. It looked peaceful, but on landing,…
Daru PNG West province charity cruise -posted july
Was Daru and PNG’s Western Province a basket case? The area was often described as lawless, poverty-stricken and disease-ridden, where corruption was both normal and pretty much essential. In 2012 major flooding had destroyed many of the coastal villages food supplies. There was no better time for us to both help out and to see the…
Willis Islets — Coral Sea — posted June 2016
Willis Islets — South Willis Island weather station We dropped anchor behind a small coral islet with a strange looking building perched on the top of its six-metre high peak. I thought it would feel weird seeing civilisation out here, but every map of the coral sea shows the Willis Island manned weather station,…
Coringa Islets — Coral Sea–posted June 2016
Coringa Islets are comprised of Chillcott and South West Islets and are part of the large nature reserve(green zone) that also take in the Heralds and Magdelaine Cays. They are 50nm east from the Heralds Cays, 70nm west from the Diamonds islets, 45 nm south from Willis and the Magdelaine Cays. It feels like nowhere…
Herald cays — Coral Sea — 2013 – 2022
Herald Cays The Herald Cays is a 200nm cruise eastward into the Coral Sea from Townsville and Cairns and a nature paradise. Travelling at eight knots from Townsville, we reached them with nightly stopovers at Myrmidon and Flinders Reefs. No need for night…
Lockhart River for cruising boaties – posted May 2016
We enjoy visiting Lockhart River, a coastal Aboriginal community on the eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula. It is an important supply stopover for us when cruising to the top and back, or when we are just poking around diving and exploring the northeast fringes. Lockhart River is also the name of a river located…
On the sand in the blue – Lockhart River to Cape Melville-posted May 2016
Nothing beats being on our own little sand patch in the middle of the ocean. And there is no better place to experience these beautiful natural places than the area between Cape Melville and Lockhart River. -A veritable smorgasbord of sand cays, sand…
Alone on the Great Barrier Reef – Cruise/dive Townsville -posted May 2016
An occasional solo trip gave me the taste for alone time in the middle of nowhere. But as I stood on the back step of Flash Dancer kitted up with scuba gear and stared out at the stormy sky and the black deserted ocean I wondered…