Lost in Brisbane

We have settled in, we’re finally leaving with some delays but where to?? Is New Caledonia still an option??

Latitude: 27° 26.752’ S
Longitude: 153° 06.335’ E
Brisbane, Australia

Time for my first blog post! The weeks leading up to our departure were insanely stressful and busy. Wrapping up work, packing our lives into boxes (I thought I was a minimalist, but the number of boxes says otherwise), and preparing for life at sea was more than we could handle at times, but we did it!

A huge thanks to our friends who helped us get through it all—cleaning, packing, carrying stuff, picking up stuff, dropping off home-cooked food and cutlery for a dinner on the floor, and even dropping us at the airport at 6am. We’re feeling blessed to have such awesome friends, and we couldn’t have done it without them. The leaving party was a highlight, and, of course, a tradition of mine!

Mark and I even managed to get a free upgrade to business class! It was my first time in business, and we arrived in Brisbane well-fed and super relaxed. Real excitement kicked in on the way from the airport to the harbour. Before that, we were way too tired and busy to actually feel excited.

With way too much luggage, we arrived at Rivergate Marina, where Rodney Russ, the skipper, was already waiting for us. Somehow, we managed to store all our staff away in our cosy cabin.

MV Strannik, the vessel we’ll be living on, was still out of the water for maintenance. We planned to leave for Noumea, New Caledonia, on Friday 10th May. Things weren’t looking good though, with replacement parts taking way too long to arrive. Rodney made some phone calls to speed up delivery, and a new departure date of Friday 17th May was set. New Caledonia, here we come! Meanwhile, MV Strannik was let back into the water where we waited for the last few things to be fixed on the dock before our big departure.

We’ve been busy since the moment we arrived! Re-arranging our cabin almost daily (I think we’ve got it now, but that might change once we get to the open ocean and things start falling left, right, and centre), scrubbing the deck, storing away 3+ pallets of groceries, and giving the inside a good clean. Tackling the windows, kitchen, and sides of the boat has kept us on our toes. We’ve also been taking turns cooking, tracking down electrical issues, handling maintenance, and—most importantly—buying our stash of chocolate, chips, lollies, and fizzy drinks.

What’s the best job I’ve had so far? Planning our trip in New Caledonia! Working out what to see, what to do, where to dive, where to anchor, what route to take, which islands to visit, and the best hikes—the list goes on. I’ve been studying New Caledonia for days, and I’m in my element. I don’t usually read much, but when it comes to planning an adventure and learning about the culture and history of my next destination, I can’t get enough of it.

Please somebody tell my history and geography teacher from high school – the latter would always tell me that I will get lost on the way to the toilet.  With a D average I would probably sit both exams now with an A+. The geography teacher was right though, I am getting lost but in the wonders of the world.

Anyway, we are setting sail today and the situation has changed again. We had many team talks over the last few days about the unstable situation in New Caledonia and if it would settle or get worse during our four day crossing. We have yet to decide if we are actually going to try and clear borders (to check the boat in through customs) in Noumea, New Caledonia or if we carry onto Port Villa, Vanuatu making this a six day crossing instead. For now, we put a little video together about MV Strannik our new home for the next ‘wee while’. Click below to watch and click subscribe: