Sth Africa to NZ to Deniliquin, NSW, Australia ( December 2012 to March 2013)

We left our yacht "Erica" safely berthed in Sth Africa and flew to NZ to be with family over Xmas and New Year.
Table mountain in Capetown is pretty impressive where we flew out of.

                                                                                                                                                        

We were delighted to be upgraded to Business class.. Thankyou Emirates!

After an enjoyable Xmas we headed to Cosset to do maintenance and renovations.
                                                                                                                                         
Eric will stay for 3 mths to give Cosset a facelift and spend some time with Kellie and his Mum.
I flew out of NZ in the New Year to start an 8wk midwifwey/nursing contract  in Deniliquin, NSW, Australia to boost the cruising funds.
I spent the night in the lovely Stamford Plaza Hotel in Sydney. Thanks  "Nurse at call"

An early flight took me to Albury where I spent several hours then took a coach to Deniliquin

Rail and coach terminal..Albury

Deniliquin is 280kms NW of Melbourne and 750kms SW from Sydney. The population is around 8000.
 It is situated on the Edward river a branch of the Murray river.. It is a major rice growing and farming area

Deniliquin Hospital

Maternity.... Where I work. .....There is around 100 births a year

Staff quarters

This walking and cycle way along the Edward river is very peaceful. In the hot weather we have been having it has been a popular place to swim. I enjoy a walk here every day

 Flocks of cockatoo and Galah dominate the skies coming in to roost in the gumtrees and they feed on the grain on the ground

This pretty little parrot was feeding on the grass outside the staff quarters

In the middle of town there is a very pretty park with some cool shady spots to sit and read a book
Thanks for the Kindle Ralph!

Deniliquin made it to the Guiness book of records in Oct 1999 where 2,839 Utes gathered in a muster on the plains and a festival is now held every labour day to celebrate their rural identity. A real Aussie icon. Apparently each year the numbers have increased to an overwhelming 10,000 plus and people come from all over the country for the weekend of music and festivities

A lagoon of the Edward river has been preserved in an area of red gums and bushland and there is a nice walking trail with picnic spots and seats along the way.  Kangaroos, possums, bats, tortoises, lizards, snakes and birds can be seen here.

Bron, another agency nurse and I had a great time floating down the river on blowup Lilos.
The wind predominantly blows in the same direction as the downstream current. From above the bridge to MacLeans beach is about 2km

Port Elizabeth to Port Owen, Sth Africa via Dassen Island ( 5th December to 9th December 2012)

We left Port Elizabeth on the 5^th of December bound for Port Owen via the Cape of Good Hope.

We had a great run in light winds using our great new little down wind sail then motorsailing as the winds eased. One night the phosphorescence was so intense we watched dolphins torpedoing across our bows and under the boat illuminated like skyrockets. Unfortunately it couldn't be captured on film.

As we got nearer to the Cape of Good Hope we noticed seals, gannets and kelp and the weather turned colder.

Rounding the Cape of Storms was easy in light winds. Table mountain was a distinct landmark even though she was covered in a table cloth ( The mist)

On the 4^th night we anchored in the lee of Dassen island for some sleep.

The next day after an early start we encountered several pods of Southern Right whales. They were the closest encounter we had had apart from the hits off Madagascar and Durban with Humpbacks..

We were pretty scared as they leapt and tail flapped right beside us!!

We arrived at St Helena bay and the entrance to the Berg river before nightfall and were amazed at the number of shags perched on the wall barricade.

We tied up at the marina holding jetty for the night and this shag allowed us to hold him. Maybe he had been in captivity at some stage.

The next day we moored fore and aft at the Port Owen marina alongside NZ friends Cathy and Peter of SV “Leto”. Port Owen is situated between Laaiplek and Velddrif

For the next week we scrubbed and tidied and organised flights to NZ amongst a busy social schedule. The Port Owen yacht club members have been so hospitable and helpful and we enjoyed club night drinks and a meal later in the week.

The yacht club is situated on the river flats and when the tide is in the flamingoes and herons feed in the shallow water

We also bumped into 2010 Indonesian rally friends Linda and Andy who have left their yacht in Trinidad and are holidaying here with Linda's brother over the festive season.

They invited us to the celebration of brother David's new yacht purchase. He has a lovely home with jetty and boat moored alongside. Thankyou David for sharing your special day.

Andy and Linda took us sightseeing to nearby Sun mountain with magnificent views across the plains. On a winters day the visibility is so good one can see Table mountain 175kms south.

There were a few lovely flowers. Apparently in August when they are in full bloom it is a sight not to be missed

We stopped at the village of Aurora at a quaint restaurant for lunch where David joined us on his motorbike.  A fabulous day out!

Thankyou David, Linda and Andy

Cathy just had to sit on it. Eat your heart out Ryan. There's 1300cc under the seat

Our “Erica” will be in hibernation for a few months while we return to NZ and Australia

Cruisers Notes

Dassan Island and Port Owen

The charting was not perfect here . Daylight approach only. (33*25.008S) (18*05.068E) Good holding on a sand bottom. We stopped overnight here three times on our way north and later back to Capetown and even when the wind or wave direction was not ideal we still had a reasonable night.

The next day was an easy run to Port Owen in the Berg River. We tied up to the marina holding pier in the river (32*46.699S) (18*08.998E) and then berthed at the marina on the high tide the next morning.

Port Owen is a new residential canal development nestled between several old Afrikaans towns. There are few security issues here. No barbed wire or electric fences. A nice stroll into town. Small but good supermarkets. Some marine supplies mostly for the fishing boats that operate from there. Stroll down to the YC for a beer and watch the flamingos wading. Or explore the river . We were looking forward to this. However the rules had changed and we now had to rush back to CapeTown to clear . We stopped overnight at Dassan Is, then on to CT. We motored all the way!