Best of Bundaberg

We stopped into the Bundaberg Port Marina thinking it would only be for a weekend. We had work to do, which took so long, we spent over a week in Bundaberg. The good news is we got important boat jobs done, and experienced the best of Bundaberg, Australia.

About Bundaberg

Bundaberg, or “Bundy” for short, is an industrial town of about 100,000 people. Located up the Burnett River, north of Hervey Bay, it was our stop after K’Gari. Upon arriving, we noticed a lot of smokestacks and water tanks. Famous for making rum, the land is primarily sugar cane farms, with little trains moving the supplies between.

iconic Bundaberg scenery, smokestacks and sugar train
Bundaberg smokestacks and sugar train

The downtown is surprising, though, with boarded up buildings interspersed with lovely churches and heritage architecture. It’s nowhere near as exciting as Brisbane, but we had some fun finding the best of Bundaberg.

Bundy CBD buildings
The CBD has some heritage architecture
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Our Saint Lucia Favorites

We spent 3 weeks exploring St. Lucia this November. It’s a modern island with lots of amenities, from shopping to restaurants and tons of outdoor activities. Three weeks may seem like a long time, but we had a lot to do and enjoyed our time there. This post details our Saint Lucia favorites so you have an idea of what you should do when you go.

Glad We Visited Saint Lucia

As cruisers, we have a few resources and guides designed just for us. Brian likes an app where people review anchorages, and everybody has a guide book that can be “biased” by advertisers. We’ve learned to take the advice of other cruisers we know over any other source and Saint Lucia exemplifies why.

When we were in Martinique last spring, we debated where to go next. Because of some bad reviews in Active Captain about crime and aggressive boat boys, we were thisclose to skipping Saint Lucia outright. Then I saw a fellow cruiser’s very positive instagram post from Marigot Bay and we changed our plans, for the better.

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More Grenada Highlights

After three months on this beautiful island, Brian and I have had time to check out a lot of fun activities. Here are some more Grenada highlights to enjoy when you visit the Spice Island.

Friday Night Steel Band at Tiki Bar

The Prickly Bay Marina Tiki Bar provides such good entertainment that it draws a crowd of locals and cruisers most nights.

steel band more Grenada Highlights
New Dimensions steel band playing at The TIki Bar
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Speeding Through The Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands compel you to slow down, and for our first several days we did just that, relaxing in St. Thomas. After touring the Spanish Virgin Islands, we were ready for more island hopping, and that we did! A few days rest and we were speeding through The Virgin Islands.

The Virgin Islands are very hilly and filled with loads of sailors. The islands are so close together it makes for easy sailing: sometimes it only takes an hour to get from one island, nay one country, to another so you can visit a lot of places in a short time.

We took up that challenge! First, we welcomed more guests on board: Jeff and Tanya from NYC flew in last weekend and we crammed in a lot in the 4 days they were here. We visited 4 islands and hit up a lot of beach bars while speeding through the Virgin Islands.

Speeding through the Virgin Islands
Our tour of the Virgin Islands

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

Because it is the low season, we didn’t get to enjoy any tourist sites in Charlotte Amelie, the pretty port city of St. Thomas, our first stop in the US Virgin Islands. The Pissarro Gallery and Blackbeard’s Castle were both closed with no word on when that would change.

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