Maia Update and Silly Tourist Stuff

We are sitting on a park bench outside the marina trying to get internet access.

We’ve relocated our humble abode to the Inn at Manly Harbor. It’s just a short walk from the boat, saving us money and time on transportation. Manly is a cute little sleepy town filled with salty old sailors that we hope to get to know. We are staying above the local pub where everyone seems to meet in the evenings. We’re looking forward to soaking up the local knowledge on everything from best anchorages to good shops to buy provisions.

Tomorrow is the survey and sea trial. We’ve hired a surveyor with ultra-sound so we can be confident in the condition of the steel hull. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that Maia doesn’t have any big problems. After the sea trial we have 72 hours to make up our mind about the boat or negotiate a new price. When/if the sale goes through, the real fun begins with about a months worth of projects from fixing the rust spots to building an arch for the solar panel to installing a new water filter. Dave’s coming out just in time for the fun stuff.

Enough of our boring logistics, this weekend Craig and I took a break from our odd little sailing dream to partake in some traditional tourist romps.

On Saturday we headed out to a koala bear sanctuary located just west of Brisbane. Part petting zoo, part traditional zoo you are allowed to feed the kangaroos and wallabies or get a picture taken with a koala (perhaps not so nice for the koala). A cassowary (see this link for more on this endangered bird) was on display in a well vegetated but smallish pen. In the “scales and tales” room we found snakes, adders, and frogs. In the slide show is a picture of an adder. There was a boa constrictor whose birth was larger than a standard tire. So exciting to see, but also a reminder of how many deadly critters there are in Queensland. It looks like I can't upload pictures tonight but this is the link to the park.

On Sunday we went to the Gold Coast – to the beach. It was great to frolic in the surf. The water was not as cold as Southern California but not as warm as Hawaii or Florida. It’s amazing how built up the coast is. It makes Honolulu and Miami look like small towns. OK that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the area is still filled with sky scrapers, much bigger than we imagined.