After crossing the Pacific it seemed challenging to find an appropriate blog post to match the adventure we’d just experienced. Now a year has passed and reflecting back we’ve explored quite a bit of Queensland, which is just a small corner of a vast country.

We acquired two Husqvarna 650 dual-sport motorcycles to explore on land. AirBnB provided a lovely Spanish Hacienda in the middle of the Queensland hinterland, and some beautiful motorcycling roads in north New South Wales.

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After 3 days and 8 hours at sea, we passed the south tip of New Caledonia, Isle Des Pine, almost half way to Brisbane.  Except for the first 24 hours, the sea condition has been excellent, just a bit breeze with gentle swells. Last night, we had to run though several layers of squalls, with lightening all over the place – a hair raising experience.  Luckily, we went through without drama. 

We could spend a night here at Isle Des Pine. But with such good condition, we decided to push on.  ETA @noon on Sept 18.

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While in Mexico, we invited Christine’s family to visit us on our big adventure.  We originally agreed to host 3, however as the excitement grew, all 8 extended family members wanted to see Gray Matter and experience the South Pacific. From faraway Cabo San Lucas, we researched on resorts in Fiji and quickly arranged them to book the Plantation Resort on Malolo Lai Lai island, adjacent to Musket Cove where we could anchor Gray Matter. Five months and an ocean-crossing later, When we met Christine’s parents, 2 aunts, 2 uncles, 2 cousins in Nadi and set out to Malolo Lailai Island we had no idea it would be one of the memorable stops of our trip.

Musket Cove is one of the most popular cruising destinations in Fiji. It is a well-sheltered cove between Malolo island and Malolo Lai Lai island, which hosts Plantation resort in addition to two other resorts and a handful private properties. Here is also home to the infamous Musket cove marina and yacht club. We had a fabulous time here. Musket cove has the perfect formula – with all the beauty and allure of the South Pacific, a well established yacht-friendly infrastructure and, once again, the most welcoming Fijian culture.

The pictures will speak for themselves, we should note that we have had less rain (1 day in 2 weeks), and moderate temperatures (mid 80s) which explain why we and many others just hang out here.

Anchorage

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As we posted earlier, we diverted to Suwarrow based on the weather.  This is one of the northern most Cook Islands.  Remote is an understatement.  Suwarrow is 700 miles west / northwest of Bora Bora – that’s the same distance as San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.  It’s another 450 miles east of American Somoa – the distance from San Francisco to San Diego.  This is not coastal cruising – all open ocean, no options.

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We finally made it to Bora Bora, often referred as the most beautiful island in the world. It is gorgeous, twin peaks, turquoise water. We did a dinghy ride all around the islands, diving and snorkeling with lemon sharks and Manta rays – Bora has the biggest Manta ray I have ever seen. Good times, although the frequent boat and jetski traffic buzzing right next to Gray Matter is a bit annoying.

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