2016
THE YEAR IN PICTURES
THE YEAR IN PICTURES
OMG – What an
incredible year of travelling 2016 was for us!!!
It was our 5th full year of travelling on this adventure and it’s been the most diverse so far despite only visiting Australia and Indonesia (unlike 2015 where we visited 7 countries).
It was our 5th full year of travelling on this adventure and it’s been the most diverse so far despite only visiting Australia and Indonesia (unlike 2015 where we visited 7 countries).
From New Years Eve on the NSW
Central Coast of Australia, then back to Bali and Lorelei, sailing onto Komodo,
Sumba and Kupang before leaving Indonesia and sailing to Darwin in Australia.
Exploring Darwin before
flying to Sydney.
An 8000km road trip with
Paul’s parents covering 3 states of Australia starting in Sydney, through to
the South Australian coastline and finishing in Darwin in the Northern
Territory.
A 2000 mile winter sailing
season in The Kimberley, then onto Broome (in the remote NW) before sailing
back to Darwin.
Incredible Fishing in the
Cobourg Peninsula, crossing Arnhem Land & the Gulf of Carpentaria, rounding
the tip of Australia and cruising, spearing & diving our way down the East
Coast.
Finally enjoying Christmas
and New Year’s Eve in the
Port Douglas/Cairns region.
Port Douglas/Cairns region.
WHAT A YEAR!!!!!!
365 photos in dated order
representing one for each day we travelled this year.
It’s just a snippet of the 75
000+ photos that we took this year.
ENJOY….
New Years Eve 2015/16 on
the NSW Central Coast – The Entrance Fireworks from Paul’s parents boat.
Pelicans on a sand spit,
The Entrance Lakes – New Years Day.
The Central Coast
Beaches were packed for the first week after New Years Eve.
Taking a boat trip up
Chittaway Creek all the way to the weir for our last day in Australia.
Arriving back in Bali,
our friend Wayan was there to greet us and help us get back on-board Lorelei.
Indonesian Fisherman
trying to catch a dinner in Serangan Harbour near Lorelei’s mooring.
Getting dressed up for a
traditional Barong Dance on the Full Moon.
It was not a performance
for tourists and we were the only Westerners.
Barong Dance Musicians.
Our favourite Balinese
Café – Pima and Debbie’s. Debbie showing Paul how she makes his favourite dish
– Tempe. We ate there every day whilst getting Lorelei prepped for sail.
Lisa at Pima and
Debbie’s Garden Café.
Finally we were sailing
again. A busy Harbour anchorage in Lombok.
There are no cars on The
Gili Islands so we took a Horse Ride instead.
An awesome view over the
bay and Lorelei within The Komodo National Park.
It was out of tourist
season and we had the place all to ourselves.
Lisa swimming in The
Komodo National Park.
A local Lady taking fish
to the markets.
Labuan Bajo, Flores
Island.
Sunset from the Harbour,
Labuan Bajo.
Transiting a narrow
passage to Rinca Island, Komodo National Park.
Stunning hillsides of
Flores, Komodo National Park.
A large 5m wide Manta
Ray doing barrel rolls whilst feeding, Rinca Island.
Some local kids catching
a free kayak ride, Rinca Island.
A very foggy and eerie
morning with large Komodo Dragons on the beach, Rinca Island.
Large Male Komodo
Dragons on the beach.
A very large 3m/10ft
long Male Komodo Dragon that stalked Paul when he went ashore.
A stunning sunset on our
last night at Rinca Island.
Leaving in a glass out
for an overnight run to the bottom of Sumba Island.
A nice Mahi Mahi caught
whilst trolling along the Sumba coastline
Surfing the epic Millers
Rights for a whole week with no crowds, southern Sumba coastline.
The amazing coastline behind
the surf break.
We did some day tours
into the central and highlands of Sumba
This family had a house
surrounded by cornfields.
House in the cornfields.
Planting time in the
rice paddies. They used a stringline to keep straight.
A Water Buffalo trying to keep cool on a very
hot day.
A traditional roofed
house in a Sumba village.
Many ladies were weaving
using a back-strap loom in Sumba.
Unlike the Pacific Countries, the designs were very intricate.
Lots of traditional
weaving on display and for sale.
Unusual megalithic style
Tombs in a Sumba village.
We spied these very old
cannons under a house. They are believed to be from a Dutch ship that invaded
Indonesia.
Traditional houses and
tombs in a larger Sumba village.
A time exposure shot of
a creek in the Sumba highlands. Lisa on a rock in the b/g.
Waingapu, Sumba’s main
city with its commercial harbour.
Lorelei is anchored on
the far left.
Paul’s Harem! A group of
teenage schoolgirls who all wanted to talk to us in English and compete to hold
Paul’s hands……Waingapu.
We couldn’t take our
Indonesian fireworks back to Australia with us so instead we let them off one
night on a remote beach in eastern Sumba.
One of Paul’s many 15
second long fireworks photos.
Refuelling Lorelei Indo
style....
L-R: Max Lisa’s
motorcycle guide, Napa our agent, Bobby the fuel store owner and his staff member.
All fantastic people that we’ve dealt with many times.
Tropical downwind
sailing from Indonesia to Australia.
Lisa trying to find some
shade.
When the wind angles
changed we went to the asymmetrical spinnaker.
Paul hoisting the Aussie
and quarantine flag on approach to Darwin.
Commercial divers
checking Lorelei’s hull for any nasty marine growth as we had been out of
Australian waters for many years.
A 40 knot storm that hit
us in Darwin Harbour whist waiting to get into a Marina.
Friends Chris, Grace and
Clint came and visited us in Darwin Harbour.
A crazy lightning storm
over the Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin Harbour.
Finally we were able to
get into a Marina.
The lock was 20m/66ft
long and we had only 30cm/1ft to spare at each end
when the gates were closed.
when the gates were closed.
Sunrise over Tipperary
Waters Marina.
A meal with friends at
Chris and Cynthia’s house in Darwin.
Our new tender which is
an alloy tinny. Going to the workshop in Darwin for a series of modifications.
Annual maintenance. It
took 16 days in near 40 degree heat to remove the rust, restore and repaint the
topsides.
On the weekend we had
fun with friends.
Paul did a photography
workshop for friends Cyn and Lindy.
Curry night with friends
on a Saturday Night along the Darwin Harbour foreshore.
A crazy storm on sunset
along the Foreshore at Darwin.
A stormy post sunset
time exposure photo of the Nightcliff Jetty.
Cyn and Lindy shouted us
a Helicopter flight over Litchfield National Park with their friend Paul who
owns Outback Helicopters. Having a rest in a paddock.
Water Buffalo running
through a small water course from the Helicopter.
Magnificent Waterfalls
in the Litchfield National Park
That night we went to
the Rodeo which Outback Helicopters sponsored.
They didn’t have a pro photographer
so Paul got the job along with a VIP pass to go behind the scenes.
Bull riding antics at
its best….
Paul went into the
stalls to photograph the riders gearing up and getting on the Bulls.
Having a VIP pass had
its advantages…..
We were invited for
Easter to Marrakai Station owned by our friends the Walker Family. A 550 00
acre property with the largest private wetland in the NT.
One of the best weekends
ever in some awesome off-road machines.
A cornered Water Buffalo
smashing through a barbed-wire fence and destroying it.
Wild Geese on the
wetlands.
Wild Horses on the
grassy plains above the wetlands.
Late arvo antics at the
station.
Lisa, Clint and Jackson
playing the Buffalo.
Cynthia’s amazing Polaris
Off-Road Buggy at sunset. Marrakai Station.
Hauling out Lorelei at
the only slipway in Darwin.
By far our worst
slipping experience ever by a bunch of drunken idiots.
Hiding in the corner
trying to get the work done ASAP so we could get outta there!!!
With Lorelei back in the
Marina, we flew to Sydney to start our 8 week / 3 state / 8000km road trip with
Paul’s parents George and Chez.
Rod, George and Chez
having our last meal together with us before we left.
The rig that was to be
our home for the next 2+ months.
Having a morning tea
break in Central NSW.
One of Lisa’s “must
do’s” of the trip – Western plains Zoo, Dubbo.
A stalking tiger at the
Zoo.
A very chilly 8 degree
morning at Cobar with frost all around the campsite.
An open cut Gold Mine at
Cobar.
Old mining equipment in
the town’s centre. Cobar.
A couple of Emu walking
around as we had lunch in the park. Wilcannia.
Recent rain had left
large pools of water on the remote roadside.
The glassy reflection
and red earth made for some great photo ops.
An oversized seat. On
top of the Mullock Heap, Broken Hill.
A retro 1960’s Milk Bar
that served awesome Milk Shakes. Broken Hill.
We took the best photos
just after sunset when all the other tourists had left.
The Sunset Sculpture
Park, Broken Hill.
Time exposure and Light
Painted photo. Sculpture Park, Broken Hill.
Some very friendly
Donkeys that loved being hand-fed. Silverton, NSW.
Just one of Paul’s time
exposure/light painting shots around
the abandoned Silverton mining houses.
the abandoned Silverton mining houses.
One of Paul’s favourite
photo places of the trip.
The Famous Silverton
Pub.
The location for the
filming of the original Mad Max Movie.
Crossing the border and
Quarantine stop between NSW and SA.
They took all our fruit and veg we brought at Woolworths the day before and at the next town brought exactly the same ones again at the next Woolworths. STUPID!!
A very cold morning in
outback South Australia.
The old open-cut Copper
Mine in Burra which is now filled with green water.
Some of the old mining
equipment on display around the old mine site.
Paul’s first ever Star
Trail photo which took 2 hours.
Taken of an old Stone
Chimney at the Burra mine site at 10pm.
Exploring Coober Pedy –
An historic Opal mining town where most of the people live underground.
Post sunset time
exposure photo of old mining equipment in the town centre.
An underground gallery
and museum in Coober Pedy.
North of Coober Pedy is
the incredible Breakaways.
An isolated and remote
but incredible landscape.
Note Lisa standing on
the edge to the far left.
Paul and George with
some of the Breakaway’s ranges in the background.
We drove down into the
lower section of the amazing landscape.
There were a lot of
Kangaroos.
The Woomera Rocket Range
and Museum was very interesting.
The very sparse Woomera
Caravan Park.
We had a very, very
windy and cold night there.
So much so that we
couldn’t put the tent up and the caravan was violently moving about, so we
hired an onsite cabin and stayed in that.
Dinner inside the basic,
but warm and not-moving-about cabin in Woomera.
An Emu running at full
speed along the roadside fence. Central Australia.
Crossing the border from
South Australia into the Northern Territory.
Uluru (Ayers Rock) at
Sunset. Note George, Chez and Lisa having drinks and nibbles in the foreground.
Taken by Paul from a
tripod set-up on the luggage rack on the roof of the car.
Dressed up at the
Festival of Light exhibition overlooking Uluru.
The Festival of Light just
becoming illuminated at dusk.
Walking through the
100’s of Kilometers of fibre optic cables at
the Field of Light.
the Field of Light.
An awesome 1 hour
helicopter flight over Uluru, Katajuta and Lake Amadeus.
Uluru from the
Helicopter.
Kata Juta (The Olgas)
from the Helicopter.
Lake Amadeus which was
unusually filled with water from the Helicopter.
With all the water, the
Sturt’s Desert Pea plants had started flowering out of season.
Arriving at Kata Juta
(The Olgas)
A small steam on the
walk around Kata Juta.
Walking around Kata
Juta.
A cute Lizard near the
Kata Juta lookout.
On our last day at
Uluru, Paul climbed to the top of the rock.
Looking back down to the
car park and the chain assisted climbing path.
Paul sitting on top of
Ayers Rock.
An amazing Sunrise at
Kings Canyon.
Dingos around our
campsite at Kings Canyon.
Without a doubt the best
walk we have ever done – The Kings Canyon Rim Walk.
We hiked down to the
pool in the centre of the canyon.
The surrounding walks
that we did the following days were also stunning.
A very friendly young
Camel that liked Paul’s cuddles.
Overlooking Alice
Springs from the Anzac Hill Lookout.
Simpsons Gap, The
Macdonald Ranges.
Rock Wallaby, Simpsons
Gap.
Standley Chasm at midday,
The Macdonald Ranges.
Some off-road fun at
Palm Valley, The Finke National Park.
A long water crossing at
Palm Valley
Glassy conditions at
Palm Valley. Note our car on the far left.
Lisa on the rim,
Thephena Gorge
Unusual rock formations
and Paul’s shadow, Trephena Gorge.
Emily Gorge, The
Macdonald Ranges.
A private Wedge Tail
Eagle experience the 4 of us did together.
Alice Springs Wildlife
Park.
The amazing bird show at
the Wildlife Park.
Historical buildings at the
heritage listed Barrow Creek Telegraph Station.
The most unusual post
box we have seen. Whycliffe Wells,
The UFO capital of
Australia.
George and Chez looking
out over the amazing Devils Marbles.
Just a small part of the
Devils Marbles terrain.
One of Paul’s Devils
Marbles night shots on a super clear night.
The Devils Marbles at
5am with the full moon in the background.
A huge and very good
looking Road Train at the Threeways intersection.
Camping alongside the Longreach
Waterhole which is on private property and not known about by the international
tourists and backpackers.
A kite feeding over the
waterhole.
Dusk over the Longreach
Waterhole.
The Bar inside the
iconic Daly Waters Pub.
The Berry Springs
thermal pools. A popular spot to drift from the start (pictured) to the bridge
800m down before walking back up and doing it again…
Lisa playing with the
local Aboriginal kids on a weekend at the Berry Springs.
At night we would take Lisa’s
blow up “Cassie the Caterpillar” and drift down the Springs on it. We got a lot
of funny looks as most of the oldies had pool noodles.
There were heaps of dark
red Termite Mounds around Berry Springs and Mataranka.
The far too popular,
overcrowded and too well manicured Mataranka Springs.
We went for a swim
anyway, Mataranka Springs.
Lisa hand feeding the
Barramundi at Bitter Springs.
Amazing limestone
formations at the Cutta Cutta Caves.
A huge Python that climbed
a tree, grabbed a Flying Fox,
fell to the ground with it and ate it whole in front of all the tourists.
fell to the ground with it and ate it whole in front of all the tourists.
Katherine Gorge.
Walking between tour
boats and gorges at Katherine Gorge.
We did a 4 Gorge tour
which was excellent.
Gorge number 3 on the
Katherine Gorge boat tour.
Paul sitting on top of
the famous Jedda Rock after a long 6 hour walk,
Katherine Gorge.
A very curious Wallaby
sitting in our campsite watching Paul editing photos on his laptop.
A family hike to the top
pools at Edith Falls.
The view looking down
from the walking track to the Edith Falls top pools and waterfalls.
Hanging under the
waterfall, Edith Falls top pools.
Arriving at the entrance
to the Kakadu National Park.
A rough 40km track into
Gunlom Falls. It took 2 hours and we broke a few
glasses in the caravan. Kakadu.
glasses in the caravan. Kakadu.
Panoramic photo of the
large lower Gumlom swimming hole.
Lisa with a huge Termite
Mound. Gumlom Falls.
The stunning infinity
pool system at the upper Gunlom Falls. Kakadu.
More of the upper pool
system at Gunlom.
Paul went up on his own
one night to photograph the pool at dusk.
A 10 second selfie over
the infinity pool.
Our campsite on a very
clear and starry night. Gunlom Falls, Kakadu.
The Nourlangie
Aboriginal Rock Art site, Kakadu.
Looking out over the
plains at Ubirr, Kakadu.
Ubirr Sunset, Kakadu.
A crazy bunch of Abo’s
crossing Cahill’s Crossing in a 2wd Car.
NOT Recommended!!!
Note the Crocodile’s
head at the left above the rock.
A large Crocodile in the
turbulent water, Cahill’s Crossing which is the border of Kakadu and Arnhem
Land.
A perfect day at the
Yellow Waters Billabong.
Wildlife whilst on a
cruise at the Yellow Waters Billabong, Kakadu.
More wildlife the next
day at the Corroboree Billabong cruise.
Sunset on the Corroboree
Billabong.
Dropping into the iconic
Bark Hut Inn.
We bumped into Jackson
and Clint at the Corroboree Pub just by chance and they offered to take us
along with George & Chez for a day at Marrakai Station.
Lisa on the Quad Bike.
It was an awesome day
out with millions of birds on the wetlands.
Lisa and Clint doing a
bit of impromptu Buffalo rustling.
George having a ball
along the wetlands.
After 8 weeks we had
made it back to Lorelei in Darwin safe and sound after an amazing road trip.
Now it was an intense week to provision her for a 6 week cruise with George and
Chez from Darwin to Broome through The Kimberley.
Off we go!!! George
handling the bow line in the lock as we dropped 2.5m/8ft water height.
George and Chez’s first
overnight passage in a yacht.
Lorelei sailing under
an awesome sunset, The Joseph Boneparte Gulf.
We arrived at the
entrance to the iconic King Geroge River at daybreak after a 2 day and 2 night
crossing of the JB Gulf.
Motoring up the amazing
King George River.
Our first trial with the
new Tinny and 4 of us on-board.
Exploring the west arm
of the river.
Paul and George decided
to tackle the very dodgy rope and ladder assisted climb up the waterfall to the
top swimming holes.
The girls declined. It
was harder to get back down.
Taking the Tinny up to
the twin waterfalls at the end of the river.
Sticking the bow of the
Tinny under the waterfalls was a blast.
Cool and very
refreshing.
A big cave system of to
the side of the waterfalls. King George River.
In the flat calm conditions,
Paul taught Chez how to make Sushi rolls.
In Koolama Bay we found
some great rock formations and waterholes with small Crocodiles in them.
Amazing rock formations,
Koolama Bay.
A lively sail around the
notoriously rough Cape Londonderry.
The only place George
and Chez got seasick.
The wreck of a crashed
DC-3 plane in The Kimberley.
Chez and Paul with our
first Kimberley Spanish Mackerel, Jar Island.
George under a ledge
looking at the magnificent Aboriginal Rock Art.
Jar Island West.
Having a swim while Paul
stays on Crocodile watch. Jar Island West.
Lisa looking at some
faded Gwion (Bradshaw) Rock Art. Jar Island East.
Late afternoon at Jar
Island’s east coast.
Scrambling ashore only
to find a dry watercourse and swimming hole.
Freshwater Bay.
We had 5 large Tawny
Nurse Sharks swimming around Lorelei both during the day and evenings.
Freshwater Bay.
Looking down from the
island’s summit to Lorelei on anchor.
Prudhoe Island.
Paul with a solid and
tasty Coral Trout taken on a soft plastic.
Prudhoe Island.
The famous Mermaid Boab
Tree with carvings dated at nearly 200 years old.
The tree is estimated to
be around 1000 years old. Careening Bay.
Transiting up Purulba Creek
which was the small inlet where Lorelei was anchored. Prince Regent River.
A great day out at the
King’s Cascades. Prince Regent River.
The Black Pool at the
top of the King’s Cascades.
We had to swim across
the pool to access the waterfalls and rock races on
the other side.
the other side.
Exploring Camp Creek in
the Tinny.
Lunch on the side of
Camp Creek. Prince Regent River.
Small but powerful
waterfalls at the end of Camp Creek.
Our view of Camp Creek
on Sunset.
George and Lisa fishing a
rock bar at sunset.
Hanover Bay.
Exploring the stunning
Hanover Bay.
A typical headland
separating the different inlets and creeks at
Hanover Bay. Note how high up the high tide mark is.
Hanover Bay. Note how high up the high tide mark is.
Having a whale of a
time. Deception Bay.
Small Boab Tree on the
rocky creek edge. Sampson Inlet.
The low tide sand flats
at Langgi.
Langgi is famous for its
incredible rock formations which are exposed at low tide.
You need a bit of
imagination but the rocks conjure up lots of amazing images.
We enjoyed a magnificent
arvo and sunset at Langgi with drinks and nibbles as we waited for the tide to
come in and re-float the Tinny.
Looking out to Lorelei
from Langgi at Sunset.
The cascading overfalls
at Montgomery Reef.
We were there at spring
tides and had water heights of up to 4m/13ft difference.
Paul managed to walk
ashore after the initial super strong water flow and get some photos of the
cascading water into the inner channel where Lorelei was anchored.
The incredible and huge rock
formations at Raft Point.
The most vivid Rock Art
we experienced was at Raft Point.
Lots of whales
(particularly cows with calves) on the way to Kingfisher Island.
Glass out whilst
motoring into Talbot Bay.
George ready for our
Helicopter flight over Talbot Bay and the Horizontal Waterfalls.
The view from the
Helicopter over the two Horizontal Waterfalls.
Lorelei from the
Helicopter, Talbot Bay.
We were lucky enough to
be at the floating Hotel on our return from the flight to be just in time for
the daily Tawny Nurse Shark Feed.
The staff let us in free
of charge which was super nice.
Ironically the company
saw Paul’s photos on our blog and they are now using them as their promo
pictures.
It was the least we
could do for the free experience.
After watching the 900hp
tourist boat flying through the Horizontal Waterfalls, we decided to do it in
our 30hp Tinny with all 4 of us onboard.
We made it down easily
enough but only just made it back after not nearly enough HP, nearly colliding
with the cliff face and nearly tipping over in the whirlpools. Never again……
George with a good sized
Hammerhead Shark that swam around and around Lorelei for about 45 minutes. Talbot
Bay.
Exploring the end of
Silver Gull Creek.
George with 2 Trevally
on just one lure.
We’ve never seen that
before….. Silver Gull Creek.
After 8 weeks and nearly
1000 miles, we made it to Broome.
Lisa with a Pearl Diver
statue in the town’s centre.
Exploring Cable Beach in
Broome. It’s rated as one of the world’s best beaches.
Cable Beach comes alive
at sunset with its famous Camel Tours.
Camels silhouetted at
sunset.
Lisa and Chez with
Cocktails overlooking the beach for our last night together.
George and Chez flew to
Darwin after more than 3 months together.
We set sail back through The Kimberley.
We set sail back through The Kimberley.
Lisa landed this 16.2kg
Tuna on a 4-7kg outfit in Copper Mine Creek after an 80 minute fight.
Lorelei at sunset,
Coppermine Creek.
Tying the Tinny off to
handle 10m/33ft tides that day.
Ruby Falls, Red Cone
Creek, The Kimberley.
The tranquil top pools
at Ruby Falls.
Pauls panoramic of the
lower Ruby Falls.
A Crocodile sunning himself
on a rock ledge.
Sapphire Falls. Red Cone
Creek.
Some great days were had
sport fishing with light tackle.
Red Cone Creek.
Sunset over the
Kingfisher Islands.
Exploring Sheep Island
and its amazing Boab Trees.
A clump of Boab Trees
overlooking the water. Sheep Island.
The mangroves around
Sheep Island were clean and full of sea life.
Note the Turtle in the
shallows near the shadow.
A mother and calf gave
us a fantastic breaching display as we sailed silently past towards the Hunter
River.
A fantastic Boab
standing alone on a rocky heading. Ivy Cove.
Glass out in the Hunter
River.
Sight casting for Barra
at its absolute best. The Hunter River.
Exploring the Hunter
River’s creeks at low tide for Barra structure.
Paul with his first
Kimberley Barramundi.
A dirty Kingfisher that
wasn’t too scared of us in the Tinny. Red Cone Creek.
Glassy conditions up in
the protected Mangrove lined creeks.
There were a lot of
Crocodiles in Red Cone Creek.
Sunset whilst still
fishing for Barra. Red Cone Creek.
Some untouched beaches
and headlands near Rainforest Ravine.
We had read about a
complex sea cave system near Rainforest Ravine.
After a bit of
searching, we found them.
Just one of the many
pristine swimming holes on the walk up through Rainforest Ravine.
A great tree root system
in the Rainforest Ravine.
A crazy series of rock
formations along the inlet. We called it The Lost City.
Wandjina Rock Art at
Bigge Island.
A huge cave we found by
accident at Bigge Island.
A small, pristine inlet
with a stand-alone rock formation on the beach.
Bigge Island.
Croc Cam! Playing with a
Cranky Croc at Bigge Island until it jumped up high, hit the Tinny and nearly
got the camera…..
One of the few sails we
actually had whilst heading north in The Kimberley.
Sailing to Dog Ear Bay
from Rainforest Ravine.
Some fantastic Rock Art
was to seen at Swifts Bay south.
Overlooking the
Aboriginal Rock Art Sites on the water’s edge of Swifts Bay south.
We crawled into a cave
to view a series of great Wandjina artworks.
Paul had to lie in
Wallaby poo and shell middens with a 10mm lens to get the photos. Swifts Bay
south.
Our first rain storm in
over 3 months!! We were sooo happy. Swifts Bay.
A great overhang in a
hill that was full of Rock Art with some of it being huge.
Swifts Bay north.
Paul wanted to do a
series of dusk/night shot with Boab Trees.
We found the right spot
with only a few days to go before the end of The Kimberley trip. Very happy with the results.
A star trail / Boab Tree
photo that took 2 hours of exposures.
At 10:30pm we were
finished but got stalked by a Crocodile each time we tried to cross the beach
to get to the tinny.
After a slow 3 day gulf
crossing we made it back to Darwin and the marina safe and sound after our
fantastic 4 month Kimberley Adventure.
We splurged and went to
the Parap Markets on Saturday morning for Paul to have Mary’s famous Laksa for
breakfast.
In Darwin we visited the
Aviation Heritage Centre.
It has the only B-52
Bomber on display outside of the USA.
We did lots of bike
rides around the city.
The foreshore has lots
of excellent bike/walking paths and a lot of history.
We did a 3 day camping
trip to the Litchfield National Park.
First stop was the
Magnetic Termite Mounds.
Having a relaxing and
uncrowded swim above the waterfalls at Florence Falls.
The Buley Rockholes were
packed with kids in the popular centre section, so we hiked further up the
watercourse and found our own quiet location for a swim.
Our first night’s
campsite near Florence Falls.
The Cascades are a 4km
round trip walk which discourages most people.
It was uncrowded and
beautiful and we spent most of one day there.
A Termite Mound with
Attitude, Litchfield National Park.
The Wangi Falls was
packed with tourists so we didn’t stay too long.
On our last night we
went back to the Magnetic Termite Mounds to get some dusk/night photos.
For our last weekend in
Darwin we went out to Dinner with our Darwin Besties – Chris, Cynthia, Grace,
Clint, Jackson and Lachlan.
We left the Marina and
sat on anchor in Darwin Harbour waiting for the right weather window to transit
the 150nm run to the Cobourg Peninsula.
The harbour sunsets over
the Stokes Hill Wharf were varied and stunning.
Lisa with a trophy sized
Barramundi in the Cobourg Peninsula.
We caught over 30
Barramundi in a week.
The bays and rock bars
of the Cobourg also produced excellent sport fishing.
Victoria Settlement – a
British established colony that failed
after 11 fateful years in Port Essington.
after 11 fateful years in Port Essington.
Lisa fly fishing for
Barramundi.
Lisa with a meter-long
Giant Threadfin Salmon.
Lisa with a 70cm
Barramundi caught right on Sunset.
Sailing into Gove past
the Bauxite loading terminal
Melbourne Cup luncheon
at The Arnhem Club – Gove/Nhulunbuy
The Gove local Spearos
coming to dinner on Lorelei.
Chris & Phoebe, Jade
& Aaron – super nice people….
Spearfishing from
Chris’s boat at the Bromby Islands out from Gove.
Spanish Mackerel all
round for Lisa, Jade, Levi and Chris.
Arrived home from
spearfishing to find 2 huge Mud Crabs in our
cockpit thanks to Aaron.
cockpit thanks to Aaron.
Gove’s harbour foreshore
is a boaties boulevard of broken dreams thanks to the cyclones. Paul’s time exposure photo at dusk.
Having the Gove crew out
for Sunday lunch and an arvo sail.
8 Adults and 5 kids
under 7 – fun times….
Aboriginal artists doing
traditional painting – Yirrkala Aboriginal Community.
Chris took us off road
for a day filled with fun and adventures.
Little Bondi Beach –
Nhulunbuy.
Sailing across the Gulf
of Carpentaria.
Daybreak on day 2
sailing east.
Sunset on day 3 – no
wind so motoring.
We picked up a
hitchhiker… A Booby Bird that stayed on-board for 16 hours.
Standing on the tip of
mainland Australia – Cape York.
We climbed to the summit
of York Island and could look back down over the tip of Australia.
On our way down the East
Coast we passed our
friends John and Kat off Katfish.
friends John and Kat off Katfish.
We sailed to the Escape
River to seek protection from a strong wind warning that lasted a week.
So we went fishing up
the river and lost more lures than we caught fish thanks to some hard-fighting
GT’s and Mangrove Jacks.
Mid-week we were invited
to the Torres Pearl Farm for lunch and a tour.
There were 3 yachtie
couples and Rusty & Bronwyn – the farm’s owners.
Sunset from the pearl
farm’s main wharf – just seconds before the rain hit….
For Lisa’s birthday we
put the crab traps in and were rewarded with 2 large
Mud Crabs which made excellent fresh Chilli Mub Crab.
Mud Crabs which made excellent fresh Chilli Mub Crab.
Sailing south we had to
dodge and weave around a lot of reef systems.
Anchored up at the tiny
sand island of Morris Island overnight.
A large 4.5m/14ft Crocodile
sunning itself on Morris Island at daybreak.
An awesome sunset from
Ingram Island.
We arrived at the
Flinders Group after a solid week of travelling south.
We stayed for 5 days and
explored the area.
The Yithuwarra
Aboriginal Rock Art sites on Stanley Island.
We found the rock
inscribed from the crew of the English survey vessel
HMS Dart in 1899, Flinders Island.
HMS Dart in 1899, Flinders Island.
A great sunrise as we
transited through the channel between Stanley and Flinders Island.
After 5+ years we were
back at our favourite place, Lizard Island and the gateway to the Ribbon Reefs.
Finally we could swim without fear of Crocodiles.
Back diving with new camera
housings after over a year of no diving.
A large school of Big
Eye Trevally (Jacks) at The Cobia Hole, Lizard Island.
Lisa found a rare Solar
Powered Nudibranch – our first one in Australia.
We emailed Lisa’s photo
to the research station.
Paul scored 2 “hard to
photograph fish” in the one frame.
A Red Emperor and a Snub
Nosed Dart.
Climbing to the peak of
Lizard Island known as Cooks Look.
The view from the top is
stunning.
Catching up.
Paul and Captain Tony
together again on the bridge
of the dive live aboard “Spirit of Freedom”.
of the dive live aboard “Spirit of Freedom”.
The Chinaman’s Ridge
walk has excellent views over Watsons Bay.
Catching up with Anthony
and his friends on his charter cat Liquid Desire.
Paul hiked up the Cook’s
Look trail at sunset to photograph
Watsons Bay at dusk.
Watsons Bay at dusk.
With strong winds, Paul
kited for a week at Lizard Island.
Kiting in Paradise!!!
Kiting over the reef.
Kiting with Sharks…..
When the wind subsided
we went out to the Ribbon Reefs to dive.
Lisa up close with a
large Olive Sea Snake.
We saw many schooling of
Barracuda and Jacks overhead.
Lisa modelling for Paul
on a pinnacle.
Paul filling tanks at
6pm when it was low tide and calm conditions.
Lisa finding some great
Emperor Shrimp.
This one was 4mm long
and the white splotches are grains of sand.
Lisa modelling with some
large Giant Clams that are decades old.
Racing south to get to
Port Douglas before dark.
With fees up 200% at the
marina and hundreds of boats now anchored in the inlet,
we had no choice but to anchor in the channel within touching distance of the mangroves.
we had no choice but to anchor in the channel within touching distance of the mangroves.
Pete our favourite
rigger, inspecting and tweaking Lorelei’s rig.
Not wanting another
night in the mangroves, we got out to the Low Isles just before an awesome
sunset and in time for Christmas day..
Christmas lunch at The
Low Isles – Caesar Salad and Seafood Vol-a-vents.
Kayaking with large
Nurse Sharks at Woody Island, The Low Isles.
Nurse Sharks feeding in
the mangroves in only 40cm of water.
After Christmas we went
back out to the reef and spent a few days Kayak Spearfishing at St Crispin
Reef.
We returned south and
did an overnight stop at the Low Isles and had a terrific
late arvo kayak on sunset before sailing onto Cairns.
late arvo kayak on sunset before sailing onto Cairns.
We arrived in Cairns
just before New Year’s Eve.
Lisa with the coloured
trees on the Cairns foreshore.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016/17
from the Cairns foreshore……
WE HOPE YOU
ENJOYED OUR “2016 YEAR IN PICTURES” !!!