It was still another 3 days before Amanda’s parents were due to arrive so with previous crewmember Josh and his friend Ben in the neighborhood the plan to head out for some diving was hatched.


While to four of us were diving the sound of boats could be heard above us and after surfacing we discovered Trevor from Gadfly, Darryl from Matana and Dave from Mirage were anchored in the next bay. As we hadn’t seen Trevor for 4 months beers seemed like a good idea. This of course led to a bombing competition with moves like the Flying Wombat, Star Horsey, Staple and the Layback all being demonstrated.



Trevor managed to lose his sunnies but with the assistance of dive gear recovered them after a 15 min search.


That night we had a fire on the beach with marshmallows before heading from Gaya around to Edgell Patches the following morning. The plan was to do the open sea dive before the wind came up but conditions weren’t great so we dropped Josh and Amanda off and returned to the general area ½ an hour later. I kept thinking if the GPS was to lose the waypoint or there was a strong current below the surface how would we find them? None of these things happened so alls well that ends well.
With the arrival of Amanda’s parents we hit the Tourist trail heading over to Poring hot springs.

They also have a rain forest canopy walk, which consists of Aluminum ladders bolted together, overlaid with planks and hung in the treetops.



Town also had its sights such as 6-foot long Monitor lizards living in the street drains and some pretty interesting cuisine being live stonefish at 10 RM per 100 grams.



After a few days I was pretty much touristed out so moved onto boat jobs giving Amanda, Derek and Janet some time alone to visit the wild life park, Islands etc. They got a good taste of local safety on the boat trip having to wear kids life jackets that won’t do up and a life ring that’s going to the bottom of the sea with the boat if it sinks.



Amanda says – I had an absolute ball with my parents here – 8 days was too short! Wildlife spotting, mountain and jungle walks, hot springs, islands – we enjoyed it all. I hope you come back to visit soon – miss you already.

A Kiwi Border Crossing

We headed over the border to Malaysia, first stop Langkawi for a bit more hiking. After the cable car, we convinced Sandra to tackle a few hundred stairs with the promise of more fresh water swimming holes. When we finally made it to the top it was swimming all round.

After stocking up in Langkawi, we headed south to Penang. I was keen to show Sandra and Karen my favourite city in Malaysia. With awesome food stalls, great history and very humorous locals we had a great time. Sandra and Karen also finally enjoyed unlimited fresh water and a bed to themselves in a hotel. What visit to Penang would be complete without a drink and free entertainment at the Hong Kong bar? The crew from Thyme met up with Michelle from Gadfly for reminiscing about the Andamans and tasting new delights.

Kiwis loose in Thailand

Sandra and Karen decided a holiday was long overdue and headed to Asia to visit Simon and Amanda on the yacht Thyme.

After kicking up their heels around Thailand, Sandra and Karen arrived in Ao Chalong straight into the arms of a bargirl. Trevor insisted this was a good place to shelter from the rain?!?!?! The tune of, “I love you my mother” and “When you happy, I happy” were set to become our mantra for the trip.

The weather put on a good show and we pounded our way Phi Phi Don in the rain. Phi Phi was beautiful but very crowded and in the evening we retreated to the quiet of the boat to watch what else but The Beach.

The next day we headed for the Emerald cave on Koh Muk. Sandra and Karen practiced steering their hovercraft around Thyme before braving the pitch black of the 200m long cave.

We bravely battled past the stinging jelly fish, through the roar of the surge in the dark, past the bats and finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel. We popped out of the tunnel into a jungle green open cave with a white sand beach. Ahhh, heaven. It was well worth the jelly stings.

With the bar set high for adventure, we had a tough act to follow the next day. Where could we find some more excitement? Koh Taratau of course, wasn’t that the setting for a survivor series? Day 1 found us exploring the mangrove creeks looking for Crocodile Cave. After a few hours, some wrong turns, a little debate over dinghy fuel levels we finally stumbled upon a run down concrete wharf of sorts. Curious we dimembarked, followed the trail and entered another cave we found some kayaks and paddles kindly awaiting our attention. Si and I jumped in and were off… just to make sure the path was safe… NO – of course we weren’t waiting to get photos if they fell in!

For the next 2 days we wore ourselves being attacked by green ants and plunging through thick rainforest trying to find a waterfall. Finally on day two of the expedition we came across the cool freshwater pool and falls. We all jumped in keen to cool off only to be surprised by an attack of thousands of tiny fish.

I think we might be starting to wear them out…

Southern Visitors

It had been over a year since I’d seen my parents and I couldn’t wait for them to arrive. I’d managed to wangle a few days off work and had an action packed week planned for them. We started on the evening they arrived with a movie on the lawn at the Darwin waterfront.

We hit the road bright and early, planning to explore Kakadu from the north to the south. The first day we started with Ubirr, which included a river crossing in the 4WD. It was a first for me and all the talk about bow waves was getting me nervous. I turned to my mum, “are you nervous”? She flippantly replied, “about what?” Oh well, if no one is worried maybe my concerns about getting stranded or washed down a croc-infested river are unfounded…




With the crossing safely behind I us, I kept a keen eye on the rain clouds in the distance as we explored Ubirr rock art and the scenic views across the wetlands. The artwork was amazing although it was a change being behind barricades with interpretive signs after the Kimberly’s. At least still being the wet season we had the place to the views, the peace and quiet and ourselves was amazing.

The next morning we headed to Gunlom for a hike to some freshwater falls. It was a top walk and well worth the effort in the heat. Luckily we had mum and dad to test for crocs before we braved the water!

The heat was almost unbearable, but we pushed on explored every trail, hill, lookout and art site around Gunlom and Nourlangie. By the end of the day we were all exhausted! Can we keep up the pace tomorrow?

After some discussion we decided we were all still keen and wanted to embark on the long drive south to Yurmikmik, followed by a 10km hike before driving back to Darwin. I was hoping being so far out of the way this was going to be the highlight of our trip and I was not disappointed. The walk was beautiful and scenic and once we reached motorcar falls the waterfall was in full flow with a beautiful clear pool at the bottom to cool our weary bodies. Here’s a little clip of our day.





Exhausted we limped back to Darwin. Mum and dad spent a few days cruising around town while I returned to work in an effort to appear dedicated. The following Friday, with another day off work scheduled we headed south to explore Litchfield this time. After the seclusion and isolation of Yurmikmik we had been spoiled and now found Litchfield a bit too pre-prepared.


Unfortunately dad had got too far into the spirit of the falls and had a fall himself on some slippery rocks. While he recovered I towed mum under Florence in a pool toy. Last I heard before she disappeared under the pounding water was something that sounded like, “I’ve just washed my haaaiiiirrrr!!!!” Eventually she popped out the side looking a little like a drowned rat with a huge grin on her face.

All too soon it was time to say Farewell. It was clear the bush-walking bug had bitten them both so I was trying to convince mum to come with me on the big Jatbula hike I was planning later in the year. She left keen but non-committal – watch this space.

Eaten Alive in Hinchinbrook

My parents arrived at Cardwell on on a steaming hot day by train to find Thyme anchored about 2 miles offshore in the shallow bay! After two bumpy wet trips in the dinghy, crew and passengers were ready to set off on a fishing exploring adventure. We motored into the wind, south through the Hinchinbrook Channel to anchor our first night in Gayundah Creek where Simon and Dad were hoping for some hot Barra action. For those of you not familiar with Hinchinbrook, it's one of the most scenic calm waterways in Queensland, protected by the dramatic peaks of Hinchinbrook Island on the east and the rugged Cardwell ranges to the west. It's an area of wetlands and mangrove filled channels, rising up to lush tropical rainforest and mountains reaching 1,000 metres. The marine life include crocodiles, dugongs, turtles and of course is famous for it's great fishing including (hopefully) Barramundi.





With the weather forecast not looking the best we opted to remain in the Hinchinbrook Channel exploring the mangrove creeks, fishing and of course finding ways to try and avoid the overwhelming number of marchflies, sandflies and mosquitos that were intent on driving us mad! A wise move given dad hurt his back early into the adventure and had to be shipped around in a makeshift wheelchair. There was no shortage of entertainment though with foredeck cocktail parties, evening games (or should we say gritty and dirty battles boys versus girls... proud to say the girls won), daily fishing and crabbing, gourmet adventures with the fresh seafood, star gazing and a lot of catching up after so long!

If catching Barra was based on determination, then dad would have caught bucket loads, but unfortunately we were only graced with one at our table - which of course Simon will keep reminding us of. The one we got though was a good size and fed the four of us, cooked to a delicious Christine Manfield recipe. We kept a keen eye out for crocodiles, particularly given our only mode of transport was an inflatable dinghy, but we spotted none. We spent nearly a week on the boat, with no opportunity within the creeks for getting off and stretching our legs. The Haven provided our first walk and we were all grateful for the change of scenery and a quick dip in the freshwater creek in the company of mud skippers was a welcome relief from the heat.

All to soon, mum and dad were due to catch their train home and they endured one last wet and rough ride in the dinghy to Cardwell. It was sad to see them go, but we were grateful for the visit and had a great time! The line of the week was from dad, "We were itching to get here, and scratching to get home!" No doubt the bities have left a lasting impression... literally.

The Kiwi Connection

We were so excited when Sandra and Karen decided to visit, and what better place to be than in the Whitsunday’s. Unfortunately they brought the Kiwi weather with them and we had strong winds and the coolest days since winter. Looking on the bright side, at least they had to wear clothes on the beach.


I’m not sure if Sandra and Karen had images of sunbathing on white beaches sipping cocktails? Hopefully not, as the activities included clambering through the bush in search of pink ribbons, climbing mountains, playing archery and scaling coconut trees to name but a few. The milk from the coconut was lovely and sweet on the first hot day we had… the day after you got home!




Now I know where Simon gets his rebellious nature from! I thought I was going to have to bail Karen, Sandra and Simon out of gaol after they blatantly ignored the no access signs in an attempt to see the Hill Inlet lookout. We decided after their near escape from the law to visit Whitehaven instead, enjoying the only sunny day picnicing on the beach. So you don’t feel short changed, we went back and took a picture of the view for you.

We had a great night out at South Molle with our friend Des in company, went oystering, visited Aboriginal caves and spotted whales.




We had a great time and hope to see you back soon!

The Outlaws

Well its been a extra busy last 2 weeks where time spent on the boat has been very minimal, hence not much blogging.

Friday before last Mum and Karen came for a visit opting to stay on the boat with us. Weather watching revealed that Friday and Saturday were going to be good however it was downhill from there. The plan was formulated. Friday and Saturday nights on the boat, else where for the remaining time to prevent cabin fever setting in.

We started out by heading to the fish market, anchoring overnight collecting a feed of prawns, oysters, lobster, fish etc and continuing to middle harbour.

After a number of Amanda's secret recipe cocktails, countless bottles of wine and beer our creative ideas began to flow. Starting with nail painting (Karen's attempts x 3, Mums toe in jar method and Amanda's nice colour hogging), moving on to putting down some crab pots, people watching via high powered binoculars (how can we forget Princess and Smoking Half Shot), ending with a late nite swim.

We awoke the next morning to the weather that had been predicted - a cold 30 knot southerly. We rugged up and collected our crab pots to find 2 huge blue swimmers and headed home over a breakfast of blue swimmer, prosciutto and roast tomatoes.

Once the boat was safely moored at "home" we packed our things and headed off to the city for an indulgent stay at World Tower. We were booked into a 3 bedroom apartment on the 71st floor with views of the Harbour and towards Bondi.

Once we were settled in, we headed off for dinner at Beer and Wine Co at Darling Harbour followed by a relaxing spa back at the apartment on the 61st floor.

We all had a great weekend filled with laughs, too much food and wine, sun and surf and a bit of luxury. The only bad thing was to get up on Tuesday and leave the apartment for Thailand...