A new adventure – building a house

Post author:Gavin
Post published:November 24, 2013
Post category:Australia House building

17th of November 2013, marked 2 years since we sailed through Sydney heads aboard Squander... time certainly flies. A lot has happened in the two years, and I will undoubtedly reveal some highlights in the ensuing blog posts. Amongst many things, my house in Manly got development approval and I have decided to demolish the original shack & owner build a new one - essentially running the job myself... and to record this new "adventure" through regular blog posts. I can't guarantee the kind of exotic photos…

Lord Howe Island… a dream re-entry to Australia!

Post author:Gavin
Post published:December 18, 2011
Post category:Australia Family Fishing Pacific Sailing Travel

In 1992, I met a girl at university from Lord Howe island - Monica's stories and her then boyfriend's stories of the island inspired me to make it a must visit spot. It took me 19 years to get to "THE ISLAND" as it's affectionately called by the friendly locals. The island lived up to all of my expectations and some, it could not have been a more perfect stepping stone into Australia! - Great beaches, incredible scenery, fishing, diving, snorkeling, hiking, good food, a bowling club,…

8 days, 5 flights and the tour is well underway!

Post author:Gavin
Post published:August 27, 2009
Post category:Australia Booking flights Budget airlines England Travel Turkey

It so surreal to be sitting in an Istanbul airport writing this, having been in London for the past 2 days, Sydney, 4 days ago, New Zealand 8 days ago and sailing around Vanuatu for the month prior to that - but we wouldn't have it any other way! Our goodbye party at the Opera bar couldn't have been better. Winter disappeared for a day as Sydney put on a show with 29 degrees and sunny blue skies all around. Thanks to all of our friends (and…

2008 Toyota Prado – what a “Little Monster”

Post author:Gavin
Post published:February 2, 2009
Post category:4WD setup Australia Camping Toyota Prado

Luciana affectionately named the Prado "Little Monster". During our 7000 Km trip around South Easter Australia, The Prado was our bedroom, kitchen, storage, workshop, power station, water supply and ultimately our best friend. out of the 7000 Kms covered, approx 2500 kms was off-road, ranging from hard packed, grated roads through to driving on soft sand dunes, with tires down to 16 PSI and praying that we won't get stuck. Our Little Monster Toyota Prado was up to everything we asked of it and we could not…