Lady Elliot Island

In August of 2022, we decided to take a very last minute holiday. We were able to get four nights on Lady Elliot, and tacked on a few days before to visit K’gari – Fraser Island. Getting There Lady Elliot Island is a coral cay at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Access […]

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K’gari – Fraser Island

In August of 2022, we decided to take a very last minute holiday to Lady Elliot Island. As we had four nights on Lady Elliot, we decided to add a few extra days and visit Fraser Island. None of our Aussie mates have been there. One even asked, “Isn’t that just a big sand island”? […]

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Mike Ball Minke Whale Expedition

To practice for our whale expedition in Tonga, we decided to do a three night minke whale trip for Queen’s Birthday. Someone forgot to tell the whales, because they were nowhere to be found ! Still, we had three great days of diving on the reef. Getting There We flew from Melbourne to Cairns, with […]

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Lady Elliot Island

Lady Elliot is located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. The island is the length of its grass runway, and contains a single eco resort. To get there, you can fly to Bundaberg, Hervey Bay/Fraser Coast, Brisbane, or the Gold Coast, and then transfer to a very small plane. For us, the […]

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Bareboating in the Whitsundays – Take Three

There are few places that we visit more than once, so it should come as a shock to most that we spent Christmas in 2015 in the Whitsundays. Yes, that makes the THIRD visit in two years. We absolutely love it there, it is an easy trip from Melbourne, and the boat we chartered in […]

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Bareboating in The Whitsundays – Take Two

(Location: The Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia) In 2015, we returned to the Whitsundays for Andy’s birthday. This time, we chartered a 41′ Bavaria and hoped to see some whales. Trip Summary Temperature: high of 23 (perfect), lows at night around 18 (need jumper/sweater) Water temp: too cold for Jennifer. Around 22c Wind: 15-25 (gusting to more […]

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Bareboat Sailing in the Whitsundays

(Location: The Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia) For Christmas 2013, we chartered a sailboat in The Whitsundays (only a three hour flight away!). We picked up the Catalina 35 from Whitsunday Escape in Airlie Beach. The boat was no more than a year old and in pristine condition. Though smaller than what we’ve chartered in the past, […]

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