Down Under in Bundy

Since our arrival in Aussie, we seem to have been missioning non-stop on boat jobs!! In between, however, we had enough time to meet, see, and appreciate some of the many advantages of life in Australia, and Queensland in particular!

The trip over to Bundaberg is generally the shortest and easiest route. Once cleared in, those wishing to head south, can pick decent weather, and stop overs, along an interesting coast. This year, many of the cruisers elected to join the Down Under Rally to Newcastle, which offered a week’s free mooring, plus proximity to Sydney. This trip is generally longer by 3 days, and can run the risk of running into southerlies.

Our decision was based more on the proximity to Brisbane, (from where we fly out en route to Cape Town), together with the safe dry storage option in Bundaberg  through the cyclone season.

Both are Ports of Entry, and some of the stories relating to the “horrors” of Australian check-in personnel and procedures are frightening! In reality, they have probably been blown out of all proportion, based upon a few clots who were silly. We, and those of the friends with whom we have chatted, found the officials all totally professional and courteous. The only inexcusable issue, in my mind, is the $380 Bio Security fee, levied whether one is compliant, or not!

The fees/fines for non- compliance are truly draconian!

Certainly, this is one of the main reasons why so many cruisers are now avoiding Australia, and going on to Indonesia directly.  

In our case, however, because we have booked to haul out for 4 months, we are being refunded that amount by the Marina! Nevertheless, our fee for the haul out and return, power wash down, cleanup, chocking, cradling and tie down and storage for the 4 months, in high security storage, will be Aus $2950.

Not Sheer, but showing the travellift.......in 2 days time for us!

Bundaberg city is about 20km from the port, and the marina run a free courtesy bus there each day which makes shopping quite easy. Having bought a new Lofrans 1500w12v windlass motor in Noumea, for about half the US or Aussie price, my first task was to track down 18mts of 50mm2 copper cable, plus a 135A circuit breaker. Both were found, but were heavy on both back pack and pocket! Removing all the old 24v wiring, and the fancy 12v/24v switch, and then leading the new much heavier wiring all the way from the batteries to the windlass was not easy, and took 2-3 days, with a few hiccoughs along the way!  Eg. New 12v  control solenoid from Noumea was a dud!

Windlass all up and running!

In the end, we have a better and safer set up, with less connections, which sounds very sweet! Hope it stands the test of time!!

The next big project was to contact Raymarine Australia in respect of my auto pilot hydraulic ram, which had failed again on the trip from Noumea. Given my previous experiences with Raymarine (Caribbean, US support and New Zealand), I was not overly optimistic. What a pleasant surprise!! Raymarine Australia referred me to Dave, of Rampant Marine, who is their agent in Bundaberg. He came around the next day, tested the unit, confirmed the terminal nature of the failure, and told Raymarine that I needed a complete replacement. Three days later it was delivered! The next day was spent installing the new unit, and we are “sweet as, and good to go”, as the say here!

Today he came by to inspect and approve the installation, and when I thanked him for his efficiency, and restoring some of my lost faith in Raymarine… he answered in true Aussie style, “No worries mate”! He will be visiting “Sheer” when she is in storage, to address and fix the other two Raymarine problems we have, which are software problems!  1) A  new A67chartplotter that will only measure distance in statute miles, and not nautical miles, and  2), an AIS that keeps “losing” close range targets!  

We also experienced another bit of good Aussie customer service! We had purchased a new Epson scanner/printer from Dick Smith in New Zealand. This unit failed in Fiji, within a months, and refused to work with new cartridges. Seeing a Dick Smith in Bundaberg, we dumped the useless unit off with them, and asked if Epson would remedy the problem. We had to track down the original invoice, which Dick Smith Australia helped us to do, and once presented to the Bundaberg branch, they gave us a full credit, even though there is no “trans ditch agreement” with Dick Smith New Zealand. We will be using the credit to buy a new Brother scanner/printer from them in March, when we get back.

Two other items on the boat were looking tired: cockpit flooring which did not take kindly to a petrol spill, and the saloon table which took some abuse during our canvas sewing efforts! 

The table was stripped, and re-varnished with 6 coats, and we found in Bunnings, a super outdoor, marine, non-slip carpet! Bunnings, to those of you who don’t know, is simply one of the best hardware shops in the world!!! I could get lost in a Bunnings for weeks at a time, exploring their enormous range of products, and trying to justify to Mary why I need so many new tools and gadgets!

During the course of all our bus travels, we also became aware of quite how well Australia cater for their ageing population. The climate in Queensland is very inviting, and numerous people choose to retire “up the coast”. The facilities, retirement villages, transport systems, concessions, clinic, hospitals, recreational parks, walkways, etc are so very good.

Yes, Bundaberg probably do have a slightly above average problem in respect of “Australia’s growing obesity crisis” (a common newspaper, magazine, and radio theme here), but the quality of life is good, and the country works!

When the last PM was accused of poor management, and nepotism, he was voted out and replaced! Crime, bad driving, and litter are not accepted. Farmers use honesty boxes! People don’t lock everything, and live in fear.

In all truth, I could adjust to living here very easily……. If, they would take us…. And if we could afford it!! Two impossibly big “Ifs”!

Fishing is a must....wherever you are!

The more I read about South Africa’s decline, Zuma, Malema, the EEF, the joke that is parliament, the corruption, theft, crime, nepotism, thug politics, threats, racism, “ANC more important than country”, the economy, Rand /dollar et al, and the opinions of intelligent foreign analysts and commentators, the more depressed I get about our longer term future there.  At least we will be able to see for ourselves very shortly!

Another real privilege of our staying in Bundaberg Marina, is the huge seafood depot next door, and the availability of reasonably priced seafood. For $30, a cooked and prepared seafood platter for two, (too much for Mary and I to finish), will be delivered to your boat.

Our treat.......seafood platter!

Spanner crab.....local delicacy

Moreton Bay Bug.....delicious!

Our platter contained  the following:

2 x Spanner crabs, 2 x Moreton Bugs( Slipper lobsters rather like crayfish), 600gms king size Banana prawns, plus a whole smoked trout, lemon wedges and seafood dip.

Another surprise was the Christmas Party, (costing $90 per person, but to which Marina guests were invited free). It had a Hawaiian theme, and included free drinks, beer, wine, and cocktails, numerous pre supper snacks, prawn platters, garlic pizza’s, sausage rolls etc, followed by a choice of roasts (lamb,beef,pork), with excellent veggies.

The live music singer was also very good, with a huge repertoire, and although we retired like the old fossils we are at 10.45pm, it went on until about 1.00am.

Our final adventure was a visit to the Bundaberg Rum distillery, which has been in operation for over 120 years, and is now owned by Diageo, the world’s largest distributor of spirits and liquors.

We've been enjoying it on ice!

The Health and Safety regulations for visitors were completely anal! We couldn’t imagine how the Aussies would handle a Mt Yasur tour. It would probably be a no go zone!

No cameras, cell phones or even watches permitted , in case a spark from a battery ignited the alcohol fumes!!  Did not stop the guides wearing their watches or carrying walkie talkies!

Hence no photo’s! Apart from that, it was a good experience, and the tastings were most enjoyable. In particular, the Royal Liqueur was exceptionally decadent! A fusion of coffee, chocolate, vanilla and rum! Too bad that we can’t bring any home, as it is not sold in the duty free shops!

We now have 2 more days, before we are hauled out, and prepare “Sheer” for her 4 months dry storage.

Sheer's home for the next 4 months!

 We have to move into a motel for Friday to Sunday, from where we catch a 4.00am taxi to the airport on Monday, to start our long awaited flight home.

Still time for one last kilo of cooked prawns for $20 before we leave!!