Time to Explore Oz's Outback

Waiting for the train to Brisbane.

While S/V Trillium is at the spa at The Boat Works on the Gold Coast of Australia, we are off on another adventure. The good people at Everything Marine at The Boat Works is inspecting and installing new standing rig, so we are heading out to the hot, dry red dirt country of the Northern Territory of Australia. Remember that here going up north is going toward the equator so it will get hotter. While I want to see the sights up there, I am not looking forward to the heat and humidity.

 

The Brisbane River winds all through the city.

As a side note: people ask why we are getting new standing rig. We like to consider ourselves cautious sailors. S/V Trillium was built in 2001 and is in beautiful condition, but she has the original rigging. Since we are about to embark on a long and challenging eight months of sailing to Indonesia, across the Indian Ocean, around the treacherous Cape of South Africa, across the South Atlantic Ocean, up the coast of Brazil and South America and the Caribbean Island chain, we consider it preventive maintenance! And I know Dennis does not want to be stuck somewhere with major problems and listening to me complain!

 

The city is full of beautiful old trees.

We hopped onto a train in Coomera on the Gold Coast (their version of Miami) as the boat is up the Coomera River about five miles from the Coral Sea. Our first stop was Brisbane, the capital of Queensland.

It is a city of relatively new high-rise buildings of various architectural design. There is a heavy use of reflective glass on the exterior to catch the reflection from the water and changing sunlight. With more than 70 cranes in the sky, we think they are overbuilding – especially apartment complexes!

 

 
 
 































Pies and fries (they call them "chips") Aussie staples!



The Mall is a closed off street that goes for several blocks.



The market in the Botanical Garden on Sunday.

We lucked out with a hotel I found online. The Royal on the Park is an elegant older structure with modern updated rooms. The location was perfect: across the street from the Botanical Gardens, a short walk to the mall street in one direction and to the riverfront in the other.


Australia is a country of outdoor living as many of the bars and restaurants are open air. We spent Saturday afternoon exploring the area and scoping out restaurants.
 



On Sunday morning, we were greeted with a nice surprise. Our plan was to take a nice stroll through the Botanical Garden and then find a place for brunch. As we entered the garden, we were welcomed by the weekly Sunday market of arts, crafts, miscellaneous and FOOD!

My Breakfast: Potato Pancakes with fresh applesauce

We found an interesting twist for breakfast. It is a German food truck specializing in potato pancakes served in a variety of ways. Two orders plus fruit smoothies from the next vendor made for a great breakfast.

 











The Potato Pancake station.

Smoothies!



Dennis had poached eggs on his.

Following breakfast and a stroll though the art fair section, we wandered throughout the Botanical Garden. It was a lovely way to spend the morning.

We had decided not to sail into Brisbane as it meant backtracking about thirty miles. Instead, we opted to see the city from the river on the City Cat ferry and spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon just making a round trip from Eagle Pier to the Queensland University and back out to Hamilton near the Port of Brisbane. Dinner on Eagle Pier was a perfect ending for a great day.

  

Many yachts moor off the Botanical Garden.



Beautiful plants everywhere.

I just don't understand why people need to damage plants
like this. The canes were full of carvings.

Monday turned out to be a special day. Back in Vanuatu, we had met a couple of yachts in different places. An invitation from Tony Love to make contact when we got to Australia was extended. This a frequent thing among sailors. In fact, we hosted a couple from Germany at our home when they came through Lake St. Clair, having met them in the Caribbean.



Our original plan had been to sail from New Caledonia to Brisbane, so I had emailed Tony about places to leave the boat while we traveled. He offered to make arrangements for us at his yacht club, the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. Then we discovered the Down Under Rally which would let us check off the Bucket List item of sailing into Sydney Harbour! And so our plans for sailing into Brisbane were scratched.  

Dinner after a long river cruise.

After deciding to spend a few days in Brisbane before our trip to Darwin and the Red Center, I contacted Tony. He offered some suggestions on what to see and do in Brizzy. Suggesting that we meet for lunch or dinner, he and Margot picked us up at the hotel and showed us the waterfront where we would have sailed into his club. Then he gave us a tour of the yacht club and an interesting story of its history. His grandfather was a founding member and Commodore. Both Tony and his father were Commodores there.

Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron

Inside the club

Of course, we went out to see his new boat. Tony had invited Stuart, who we had also met in Vanuatu, to join us for lunch so we reconnected there as well. I found the afternoon to be one of the most enjoyable of our adventure. It was fun to see Tony's love and passion for sailing, his club and his boat. And Margot, who flies into nice places and leaves when it is passage time, is very amenable to it all. She would have to be since sailing is in Tony's genes!



Thank you, Tony Love!

Actually, our first contact came when he noticed Grosse Pointe Farms, MI on our stern. He was sailing a boat called S/V Patriot, a Swan Chicago-Mackinaw racer, which he bought in Chicago. See how small this world really is! He recently sold S/V Patriot and bought another boat from California. One of the most wonderful things about the yachting community is the connections we make. While we will probably not see most of them again, as sailors we have shared something that just can't be fully explained to others. But they will always be special in our memories.

  My saying is: "Until our wakes cross again ..."

Back to Oz and Ready to Sail

These we clouds on the horizon that had me confused!

After a wonderful two week adventure in Vietnam and Cambodia, it was time to get back to the boat. Actually I was ready to slow down and rest up! The heat and humidity were very draining and the tour schedule kept us moving every day. It was a fabulous experience!

 

Upon returning to Sydney and catching a train to Newcastle, we were anxious to provision and prepare the boat for our sail north along the eastern coast of Australia. The coast does not have many bays in which to snuggle into in the event of bad weather. One must go into the rivers that meet the sea. Unfortunately, most of those rivers have bars that must be crossed. That made for interesting route planning.

Looking back at the shore along our route to Port Stephens.

Since we are cautious sailors, we spent time speaking with locals and the Volunteer Marine Rescue guys to learn more about the conditions we could meet and how to cross the bars. The light, wind and tide all need to be favorable before attempting a crossing. Needless to say, we were somewhat apprehensive!

Not exactly sailing weather! But beautiful.

We left the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, our home from many months, before sunrise and had a very peaceful motor trip out of the river into the sea. The sky was very interesting as there was a layer of fog sitting just above the surface and it gave an eerie effect. In fact, there was a bank of clouds sitting right on the surface to the south. At first I couldn’t get my bearings because it looked like land with hills and trees. It was like a mirage on the water.

We were planning to stop overnight since it was just the two of us. Unfortunately, our timing wasn’t right for the first two places we thought we would stop. We were advised not to cross the bars at the wrong time so we kept going. As usual, the wind was not our friend! It was from the wrong direction and not enough to give us great speed so we motor-sailed.

The beach at Coff's Harbour

We also had the southbound current against us as I think we went too far offshore. We later learned from the locals that closer to shore the current flows north at a much slower rate than the main south-bound current. In addition, we were having trouble getting any speed out of the engine. We have 110 hp Yanmar diesel engine that should have moved us right along. So between the current and the below par motoring, we were not making good progress.



Trillium at the Coff's Harbour dock

Our only choice was to keep going overnight and find a place to stop the next day. Since the engine was under performing, what was to have been an overnight trip to Coff’s Harbour became a three day trip. We did manage to make anchorage at Trial Bay and tied up to the Volunteer Marine Rescue’s emergency buoy having explained that we had engine trouble. When Dennis asked if it was safe to dive under the boat in this anchorage, the VMR person replied, “We haven’t seen any grey suits out there today!” We took that to mean that sharks are in the area at times, but none had been spotted that day!



Dennis, Beverly and Dean hiked up to the top of the hill.

After a good night’s sleep, we left early the next morning so we could make it to Coff’s Harbour marina before dark. Dennis suspected the engine problem was really a propeller problem and he wanted to dive to confirm that theory. He figured the propeller was covered with barnacles from sitting in the harbor so long while we traveled. It turned out that he was right and we had the prop cleaned when we reached our destination in Coff’s Harbour Marina.

Harbour view from the top.

Our niece, Beverly, and her husband, Dean, were meeting us at Coff’s Harbour to sail up to the Gold Coast. Dean is from Australia and they had a trip to visit his parents planned so our dates coincided perfectly. It is always fun to see family and friend out where we are! We had fun for a few days in Coff’s and then on the overnight trip up to Southport on the Gold Coast.
 

Nowhere to anchor overnight.

Actually, we did our first bar crossing with Beverly and Dean on board – and it was quite memorable! We reached the Gold Coast Seaway at the mouth of the Coomera River after a long sail with a little seasickness for one of our guests. Actually, I kept it under control with just a little queasiness! After calling the VMR to get instructions as to when we should cross over, they told us we could do it NOW! Yikes!

It was mid-tide and quite wild. I gave the wheel to Dennis because I didn’t think I was strong enough to hold the course in the churning water. I had fully expected to be told to wait outside for a couple of hours. Apparently, they VMR thought our boat was big and heavy enough to ride through it. Or maybe they just wanted to be entertained watching us! It was a wild ride.

 

Land Ho! The Gold Coast

Needless to say, we were all happy to be over the bar inside the Gold Coast Seaway and at anchor in what is called Bum’s Bay! A nice dinner and good night’s sleep was welcomed! Beverly and Dean were going to leave us for a few days to explore the area of South Stradbroke Island where Dean had spent time in his youth.

We were picking up Greg Smith from Everything Marine at The Boat Works to guide us up the river to the boat yard. The Coomera River is very winding and shallow so we appreciated Greg coming to point out the correct turns and branches of the river. The river is lined with homes, many with docks and boats in front of them. It is a very peaceful and pretty area.

The trip up the river took two hours.



Once at The Boat Works, we made arrangements for the new standing rigging and other work. Our goal was to have the boat updated and inspected for anything that needed to be serviced before we head up to Indonesia and across the Indian Ocean. We have a lot of challenging sailing ahead of us and we don’t want to have any failures. We left S/V Trillium in good hands and took off to explore the outback of Australia for nearly two weeks!

Exploring Siem Reap

There is every kind of street food imaginable!

After two weeks of experiencing so many different things in Vietnam and Cambodia, we needed a couple of days to unwind and explore Siem Reap before heading back to Australia. This has been a fascinating vacation. And one I never would have thought about taking except that our Australian visa dictated that we needed to leave the country at the end of 90 days. It seemed smarter to stay on this side of the world so here we are!

Pub Street is the heart of the restaurant district.

Once we left the luxury of the Mekong Princess, we moved to the Park Hyatt in Siem Reap. Love the Eggs Benedict for breakfast! It is located a few blocks from the action in Siem Reap. The main street for wining and dining is Pub Street. There are many different choices for the palate available here all day and well into the night.



Every establishment is "open air" so we could take in the sights, sounds and smells of the restaurant district. There were many choices for street food. I am a little shy about it as I don't know what it may do to our systems so we tend to stick with restaurants - although Dennis is often game to try things!

You can even have a "fish pedicure!"

There are shops selling clothes, crocodile skulls and things made from their skins, beautiful fabrics, spices and almost anything else you can imagine. There is a large bazaar market place as well. Like the others we have visited, they can be overwhelming to the senses. Too much stuff packed into tiny spaces - not for me! I like to quickly walk through, but not really take time to shop. I know I am missing out on really good prices, but I don't have room to store "stuff" on the boat.

So many choices for the palate!

You can get massages, have your nails done at really cheap prices and even have pedicures on the street. One type of pedicure is where you sit with your feet in a fish tank and let them nibble at your feet to remove calluses, etc. Not for me! My feet are too ticklish to let them do that.



As for food choices, there are so many. In most places you select something on display and they heat it up and bring it to the table. In others, you cook your own in a pot of broth. Of course, there are many places where you order from a menu. We have found the Cambodian cuisine to be very good. Some times I amaze myself at what I have tried and how well I like it. I am not a picky eater, but I am selective!

A typical street: motorcycles, few cars or trucks.

We spent a few hours visiting the students and craftsmen at the Siem Reap Artisans Angkor
Arts and Crafts Workshop. These workshop centers were developed to help young rural people find work near their home villages. By providing professional skills to provide educational opportunities, they are able to maintain their traditional Khmer arts and crafts.

Students creating Cambodian art.

Created near the end of the 1990's, Artisans Angkor provides training in good working conditions and social advantages to its employees. There are 42 workshops in Siem Reap employing over 1,300 people, including more than 900 artisans.

Only a two minute walk from the Old Market and Pub Street, you are welcomed to enter the world of traditional Khmer handicraft. Upon arrival at this charming place, a friendly Cambodian guide invites you to follow him for a free guided tour of the workshops in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, or Khmer.

I was pleased to see they wore masks and safety glasses
when working. The students are learning how to take
care of themselves while producing their artwork.

First our guide explained great story of Artisans Angkor, from its origins as an educational project to today’s thriving social business. Then, walking peacefully from one workshop to another, we had the opportunity to admire the knowledge and techniques of the artisans in stone and wood carving, lacquering, silver plating and silk painting.

And, of course, the tour ends with the main showroom for a look at the diversity of pieces made by hand by the artisans. The works were exquisite and not at all like handicrafts found in island markets. These products are high end and sell for high prices.

Handmade Buddhas

The coconut shell bowls are hand painted and lacquered.
These are not the cheap ones you find in Pier One or Dollar Stores.

Golden Buddhas are treasured

The first step in carving a stone statue.

One other local visit was to a school. We have had the good fortune to visit a number of schools in both Vietnam and Cambodia. It is delightful to talk with the children and listen to their English. They are working very hard to improve their English language skills. They often performed songs for us. Again, the schools are consciously working to teach traditional arts, crafts, music and dance to retain their cultural heritage as well as English.
The last school we visited also had some vocational training programs. One class was sewing and the students made a number of items for sale. We purchased two of their cotton waffle-weave bathrobes. They will be perfect summer robes once we are back on land. And they were willing to make them to order, adding length and pockets! The robes were delivered to our hotel within 48 hours.

The children everywhere love to sing for us.

The children do gardening on the wall using plastic bottles!