After a fortnight languishing around the farm we decided it was time for a day out to Bunbury to research the place as a possible stopover for Zoonie when we eventually sail westwards and then north up the west coast of Australia. By the time we get there we will have passed Cape Leeuwin and …

I am pleased to advertise the beer that accompanied us to our retreat near Kojonup because it is a fine, strong, dark and tasty beer that reminds us of the historic English beer making tradition, and anything at the moment that reminds us of home is very welcome. Once we had settled in to our …

The locals call it Seppings Lake and we first came late one afternoon to walk the loop and see what we could find. Djarat was one of the old spirits known to the local Noongar people. He strode through this soggy part of South West Australia to create the south coast leaving his footprint behind. …

Day pod Tuesday 31st March I tried to contact the camping trip Adventure Company direct yesterday only to have emails pinged back as their addresses were closed; a victim of the shut -down. Just as well we booked the trip through Perth YHA and the manager there, Mel is systematically working through the mountain of …

We were off early heading north, eleven of us out of the 18 originally booked and Wokka, our driver, all quietly knowing that with the four square metres distancing rule we should not be there at all; but the local organisers had not received the command to cancel, so we were hopeful that as we …

Advocates for the First Nation People of Australia Bessy’s parents were two of the aborigines I mentioned that were absorbed into the newcomers life in Albany. They worked for Henry, a government representative and Anne Camfield in the new town. Anne set up a school for aboriginal children where she organised lessons that would make …

There are many aspects of professional sailing that Mark Macrae is involved in; Skippering, sail training, yacht delivery, global racing, escorting visitors like us, advice and brokerage and the more time we spent with this congenial man the more we realised his local knowledge of sailing locations and onshore facilities in Western Australia is also …

The Roaring Forties are the motorway along which the engine of wind in the Southern Ocean powers unimpeded by any land and has its head during the Southern Hemisphere winter. So this area is best left alone for those months. During the summer months from November to May, while cyclones bare down on the northern …

Our first day ashore was immensely successful. Having eaten our breakfast to the calming sounds of the indigenous Karma radio station based in Alice Springs we sped the long distance from Zoonie to the Sailing Club Ramp thinking we might find someone there, but there was no sign of life. We had made contact with …

North West to Ceduna – A Town for All Seasons We watched amazed from the cockpit as a busy little cormorant fished around just beneath the water surface while the domineering (both in size and attitude) pelican kept a close eye on his fisher. The cormorant would then raise his head above water while presumably …