During the summer holidays in New Zealand we would usually be sailing our boat Wildwood up to the Marlborough Sounds and cruising around with our friends for a few weeks. This year however our friends James & Elisa asked us if we would like to join them in Japan for an adventure there instead. It…
About a month ago I was looking forward to slowing down, a few Christmas parties, and a bit of a tidy up at work before knocking off a few days early to start the celebrations. They say a week in politics is a long time, and so just one day later, I was organising 22…
I consider myself extremely lucky to live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. In the South Island alone there is just so much to explore and discover, even for someone who has lived here for most of my life. I am also extremely lucky to have an amazing group of friends…
After leaving Monsieur Chien on Ile Casy, we set sail for the Isle of Pines. This is the Southernmost Island in New Caledonia and it is absolutely stunning. We visited last year and were keen to go back, despite it being a hard upwind 9 hour slog in 25kts of breeze for about 50 nautical…
New Caledonia is like a little slice of the French Riviera right here in the South Pacific. Last year we had been lucky enough to be invited to go and sail on a friends yacht for a week and this year we were even luckier to be invited back again! We weren’t joining the yacht…
They say the best cure for post holiday blues is to plan another holiday! Just as well ANZAC weekend closely followed our Easter Adventures in Australia. It was a last minute booking, which left us struggling to find some accommodation. However the perfect place turned up at just the right time, and we were confirmed.…
You’ve gotta love holidays like Easter. It’s like a long weekend, only longer. It is acceptable to eat unacceptable amounts of chocolate, and it is a perfect excuse for another adventure! Time to tick another trip off the bucket list. The Great Ocean Road. We dragged the kids out of bed in the middle of…
Following our Great Ocean Road trip (post to come) and prior to heading up to Uluru, we had a few days exploring Melbourne. I was completely absorbed in a book by Rob Mundle – Flinders. Mundle writes fantastic historical and nautical books, and his book about Flinders is no exception. This incredible man followed in the footsteps of…
I feel like I have been a bit misleading to my readers in my previous posts about Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon… In those posts I showed beautiful pictures of the amazing scenery, punctuated every so often with our smiling faces. In reality, it was more like this…
After a great day exploring Uluru, we were ready to adventure further afield. About 50km in the distance, still in the same National Park is Kata Tjuta – the Olgas. This literally means ‘many heads’ and that is exactly what they look like – similar kind of rock to Uluru, just a few more of…
Astrolabe Sailing 