• Jenn J
  • Jenn J

Bali to Australia - Dec 2022

Bali to Australia - Hitting my final continent! Read more
  • Trip start
    December 9, 2022

    Trip Itinerary

    December 1, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 34 °F

    Bali (Benoa), Indonesia
    Lombok, Indonesia
    Komodo, Indonesia (Komodo Dragons!)
    Sail the Timor Sea
    Darwin, Australia
    Sail the Arafura Sea
    Thursday Island, Australia
    Sail the Coral Sea
    Cairns, Australia (Koalas!)
    Townsville, Australia
    Whitsunday Islands (Airlie Beach), Australia
    Sail the Australian Coast
    Brisbane, Australia
    Sydney, Australia
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  • Traveling is always an adventure…

    December 10, 2022 in South Korea ⋅ ⛅ 39 °F

    Flight came in late and we couldn’t make our transfer. Delta already rebooked our flight to Bali. So now we have a 7hr layover in Incheon, flying to Singapore, then to Bali. Instead of getting in at 11:55pm Sat, we get in 11am Sun.
    Flip side, I get to check out the Incheon airport and take a selfie with Pink Frog (Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo). 😁
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  • Hello Lombok

    December 12, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    Beautiful morning. Moon still shining bright at 6am.
    84 F / 29 C
    Sunny with chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

    Lombok is a 4 hr ferry ride from Bali and home to ~4 mil residents.

  • Komodo National Park, Rinca Island

    December 13, 2022 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    Day 3 -
    88 F / 31 C
    Partly Cloudy and not too hazy.

    Komodo National Park encompasses 3 islands - Komodo, Rinca, and Padar
    Komodo and Rinca have ~1,800 dragons each and a much smaller population on Padar.

    We’ll be on Rinca (Pronounced “Reen-cha”) Island.

    Fun fact - President George Bush received a Komodo Dragon as a gift. He donated the dragon to the Cincinnati zoo.
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  • What I learned today…

    December 14, 2022, Timor Sea ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Don’t try to navigate using the “North Star”, you’re not going to make it very far… It’s only visible at night in the north… The “Southern Cross” is the south’s equivalent.

    If you flush a toilet on the equator, the water doesn’t swirl, it goes straight down.
    An egg will balance on its end on the equator.
    People weigh more on the true equator.
    Ecuador’s name comes from its location on the (you guessed it) equator.

    Amazing sunset and a relaxing dip in the pool and hot tub under the stars.
    Life is Good… :-)
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  • Almost to Darwin

    December 15, 2022, Timor Sea ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Not too much to see except empty seas. I’m not used to the ocean being so calm…

    Should be arriving in Darwin at 2pm.
    Time change has me all confused. Between yesterday and today, clocks moved 30 mins ahead. Yesterday, it moved 1 hour…Read more

  • Darwin, Australia

    December 15, 2022 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 91 °F

    Cloudy. 90F / 32C
    Arrive: 2pm (12/15)
    Overnight
    Depart: 12 pm (12/16)
    Time change: 30 mins ahead

    DARWIN, AUSTRALIA

    Darwin, Australia is the cultural hub of the continent's northernmost region, the Top End. The laid-back city gl name after the HMS Beagle sailed into the harbor during a surveying expedition in 1839. The famed naturalist Charles Darwin, who had sailed on the ship's previous voyage of five years, was so esteemed that its captain n this newest discovery for him. Today, it is the largest city in the thinly populated Northern Territory state. It be rich and lively arts and culture scene, much of it centered on the MAGNT, or Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Its excellent collection of art and artifacts reflects the region and its indigenous people.

    Darwin may be far removed from Australia's other provincial capitals, but it is proudly cosmopolitan. Its varied museums highlight the diverse culture, rich history and abundant marine life. The Museum and Art Gallery of th Northern Territory, or MAGNT, showcases the region's compelling Aboriginal art from nearby islands and the in desert, featuring wood carvings, bark paintings and dot paintings. Unique crafts from Indonesia and artifacts fro Vietnam further pique the curiosity. The Royal Flying Doctor Service museum chronicles the organization's part i World War II and illuminates its current role in the bush. On the waterfront, the Indo-Pacific Marine Exhibition recreates various underwater ecosystems, each one self-sustaining with no feeding or filtration, providing uniqu insight into fascinating aquatic worlds.
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  • Sailing the Arafura Sea

    December 17, 2022, Arafura Sea ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

    83 F / 28 C (Sooo much cooler)
    Time change: 30 mins ahead

    Day at sea and a very welcome day of rest. 🙂
    Perfect day for the pool and taking pics around the ship.

    Located north of Australia, the bed of the Arafura Sea holds a key to the earliest human migrations. Around 18,000 BC, during the Ice Age period known as the Last Glacial Maximum, sea levels were much lower and the floor of these waters, known as the Arafura Shelf, formed a dry land bridge linking Australia and New Guinea. Entire populations easily walked from continent to continent, exchanging language and customs. In centuries past, wooden sailboats from Indonesian Makassar sailed these waters in search of trepangs, or sea cucumbers. Today, the sea is believed to be named for inhabitants of the Moluccas, who called themselves haraforas, or "children of the mountains."Read more

  • Sailing to Thursday Island

    December 17, 2022, Arafura Sea ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    83F / 28C
    751 nautical miles (~864 road miles)
    Arrive: 12pm
    Last tender: 6pm

    THURSDAY ISLAND (QUEENSLAND), AUSTRALIA
    Just off the northernmost tip of Australia's Cape York in the Torres Strait, picturesque Thursday Island was c home to a thriving pearl fishing industry. From the late 19th century, divers came from Japan, Malaysia and harvest the precious stone of the gold-lipped oyster. The diving has declined, but hints of Asia's rich culture The island's Green Hill Fort was built in the 1890s as concerns about a Russian invasion grew. It was shut do 30 years later and reactivated during World War II as a wireless station. Many island residents still today liv footwear policy out of respect for the spirits believed to live on the island.Read more