{"id":5996,"date":"2019-04-30T22:38:14","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T22:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=5996"},"modified":"2019-04-30T23:37:48","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T23:37:48","slug":"aint-no-sunshine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=5996","title":{"rendered":"Ain’t No Sunshine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Whomever decided to call it \u2018The Sunshine Coast\u2019 were obviously having a laugh at our expense. Since we\u2019ve been here we\u2019ve had clouds (big dark ones), and lots and LOTS of wet stuff, but no sign of that large yellow thing in the sky.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no sunshine here, sunshine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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A wet day at Garry’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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When the tides out, it’s really out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the positive side, Garry\u2019s Anchorage is very well-protected so we enjoy some enforced boat-time over the rainy Easter weekend.\u00a0 Well, as quiet as it can be with over 18 boats crammed into this very small space.\u00a0 Most\u00a0 people on the water are considerate about others\u2019 needs for privacy and quiet, but Easter brings a special class of weekend warriors – when a powerboat named \u201cHappy Hour\u201d drops their anchor almost on top of us we groan inwardly and expect the worst. And it\u2019s pretty bad – the final straw is when they dinghy over to a neighbouring boat for drinks, but leave their stereo system on full blast so they can enjoy it from the other boat. I admit there were times in my younger years when a little bit of Neil Diamond was OK, but \u201cSong Sung Blue\u2019 takes on a whole different meaning now as we swear and curse and stand on the foredeck with arms akimbo (bitch wings, they call them!) staring them down. Finally they get the hint\u2026.sorry Neil, but I\u2019ve fallen out of love with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At least we get some spectacular rainbows<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The good thing about party boats is that they\u2019re usually very quiet in the mornings, which is my favourite time to have a cup of tea in the cockpit (if it\u2019s not raining) and contemplate the serenity.\u00a0 Easter Monday is one such morning, until the stillness is pierced by the howl of a dingo not far away.\u00a0 Only yesterday I\u2019d heard the news of a toddler being dragged from the family\u2019s campervan by a dingo here on Fraser Island, so the sound puts a chill through me (the toddler survived, unlike poor little Azaria Chamberlain all those years ago at Ayers Rock). Another howl, closer still. I scan the beach and there he is, trotting purposefully down the far end of the beach looking deceptively domesticated.\u00a0 It’s a sombre reminder that Australia’s a wild and untamed land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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spot the dingo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Garry\u2019s Anchorage we motor further north along the inside of Fraser, to Kingfisher Bay resort.  Finally the rain eases and we have the opportunity to go ashore and meet up with the crews of \u201cL\u2019Attitudes\u201d and \u201cHollydaze\u201d, who we\u2019ve been communicating with since Southport. It turns out Bruce and Tony from \u201cL\u2019Attitudes\u201d know each other from their past diving days – it\u2019s a small world!  The Resort (unlike many) is \u2019yachtie friendly\u2019, so we take advantage of their hot showers and enjoy a meal and a catch-up at the bistro – it\u2019s a fun night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kingfisher Bay resort and anchorage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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sunset at Kingfisher’s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We\u2019re getting low on food supplies, so our next stop is Bundaberg, across Hervey Bay. Last time we were here we tied up in the marina, but now we\u2019re effectively two boats it\u2019s too expensive. Instead we anchor past the commercial port and then next morning head down the long, winding (and shallow) river on the rising tide. And guess what, it\u2019s raining again\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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our anchorage just past the sugar loading sheds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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deja vu…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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riverside Bundaberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bundaberg\u2019s an interesting country town, everyone is very friendly but there seems to be an over-representation of pawn shops, barbershops and legal services. And not the place to be on a Saturday night if you want a good night\u2019s sleep – the local pub blasted out a selection of country rock (think Shania Twain and her ilk) until 3a.m.\u2026no amount of burying my head in the pillow could drown it out. Noise-cancelling headphones might be top of tomorrow\u2019s shopping list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We successfully empty our pockets and fill our food stores, replenish our fishing lures and chat with other cruisers at the public dinghy dock. Rob and Lauren from \u201cSouthern Comfort\u201d invite us for sundowners on our last night here.  Rob lived and worked in PNG for many years and has a wealth of very useful information to impart about the outer islands. As we discovered on our previous travels, it\u2019s the people you meet  and the connections you make that are the most interesting and rewarding aspects of this cruising life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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OK I think we’ve had enough rain now….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whomever decided to call it \u2018The Sunshine Coast\u2019 were obviously having a laugh at our expense. Since we\u2019ve been here we\u2019ve had clouds (big dark ones), and lots and LOTS of wet stuff, but no sign of that large yellow thing in the sky.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t no sunshine here, sunshine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-svtoucan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6B46t-1yI","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5996"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6007,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996\/revisions\/6007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}