Return to Palm Cove
Pete and I packed our bags, checked out, and headed for our next hotel at Palm Cove, which is really just a northern suburb of Cairns. Pete had stayed at the Grand Chancellor when he was still one of the … Continued
Gardens, fish, and butterflies
That east wind kept on blowing and we decided a trip to the reef was going to be too uncomfortable. Instead, we opted for a visit to Cairns’ world class aquarium, where we could visit the reef without getting wet. … Continued
Babinda Boulders – beautiful and dangerous
Pete and I and our friends drove 60km south of Cairns to the little town of Babinda. It’s right on the Bruce Highway and I remembered noticing the sign that said ‘this way to the boulders’ or words to that … Continued
The cane harvest
We left Cardwell early, there being no point in looking for breakfast there. It wasn’t far to Tully, a much bigger place than Cardwell. Maybe we’d be lucky there. The cane harvest was in full swing in Queensland. We had … Continued
A short stop at Cardwell
From Townsville we hit the road fairly early. The place where we’d had breakfast the last time we were here was closed in a very final sort of way and nobody else seemed to be open, so we headed along … Continued
On the road
You could be forgiven for thinking this is a nice picture of a country road with views of the mountains (such as they are in Australia) but you’d be wrong. This is the Bruce Highway, Queensland’s most important road. Part … Continued
The singing ship and a moving tribute
By this time of year, Pete and I would have been somewhere else for a few weeks – overseas, interstate, or even seriously intrastate. We’d planned to be OS in April and on a Christmas cruise in December, but covid … Continued
A market town on the delta
The Amalotus remained at anchor in the middle of the river overnight. After breakfast we all piled into the tenders to visit the town of Sa Dec which is situated on the river bank. Dara, our guide, took us to … Continued
Into the delta
On this day we went to visit a village in the delta, travelling by tender through waterways that flowed from the great river. We passed fish farms raising the fresh water fish, basa. You’ve probably seen it in the supermarket. … Continued
Cruising the Mekong
We left Phnom Penh and sailed down the Mekong toward Vietnam. There would be no excursions today although guests could join the chef for a cooking class in making fresh Vietnamese spring rolls or attend a lesson in fruit-carving. I … Continued