Year: 2016

A Dogs Life

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Hi everyone, Diggles here…. or Digby when I’m naughty, which is only about 50% of the time, tops! I’ve got a story to tell about my fabulous life…so here goes. I was born in Geraldton to a family full of girls, and miniscule discipline. I got away with MURDER!! Maybe my limited attention span didn’t help, but early training was a shambles and I sort of did whatever came to me, blaming it on puppy exuberance! Sucked them in a beauty! Eventually, through career opportunity (or sheer desperation) my family moved to Indonesia and I was shipped off to a younger sibling on the other side of the country. What a great place, sea, sun, sand…and half an acre of opportunity to live in! And those opportunities were boundless, all that fencing to conquer, sooooo many holes to dig, a treasure trove of new neighbours to greet, again and again! Shoes to collect, so many shoes, mainly left foot ones for some reason?? I worried about my new family so much I occasionally brought back …

Barefoot Bareboating the Whitsunday Islands

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“With palm-fringed white sand beaches surrounded by clear blue waters, the Whitsunday Islands are the epitome of a tropical paradise.” So says the QLD-tourism Australia regarding this most beautiful stretch of Australian water. 74 islands encompass the Whitsunday’s, but a fair proportion of those are tiny, uninhabited specks. The main Islands are, from the south looking north, Shaw, Lindeman, Hamilton, Whitsunday, Hook, and Hayman. Easily the best way to explore paradise is by yacht, and there are plenty of choices to spoil you. The two main venues for charter are Hamilton Island and Airlie Beach, the later being our home base. ‘Bareboat’ chartering, as they call all hiring of yachts, both power and sail, is a thriving industry with the marina at Airlie filled to overflowing with eager vessels. We again used Whitsunday Escape, this being our third charter with them, and our weapon of choice was a 35 foot Bavaria, which is perfectly suited to couples. How easy is bareboat charters people have asked, and the answer isn’t always clear. If you have previous experience, …

Honfleur

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  Honfleur, summer escape for overheated Parisians, playground for wealthy Russians and Belgians, ferry adventure for the Brits and perfect pit stop in Normandy for the weary traveller. A maritime delight, perfectly positioned at the mouth of the mighty Seine, Honfleur has enchanted generations with her beautiful harbour, playful shifting light, and seafaring history. An easy two hour drive west of Paris, or maybe a ferry trip across the ditch from Portsmouth to Le Havre, then over the spectacular Pont de Normandie (the sixth largest cable-stayed bridge in the world), Honfleur is comfortably within reach. We travelled up from Bayeux and the D-Day beaches, entered from the south, meandering down the hill into the village, stopping only to park our car at our B&B, before walking down to the old town. Centred on the 17th century Le Vieux Bassin, the charming old dock at the heart of the town, four and five storey wood or slate fronted buildings, then smaller stone buildings encroach on the cobblestone lanes that surrounds the harbour, restaurants around the edges …