When ARE they coming back? It’s a question my parents are being asked frequently these days. The short answer is … not yet! We’re still having way too much fun out here. If we could, we would keep sailing around the world indefinitely. Unfortunately we don’t have unlimited funds. However, life in South East Asia is quite cheap so we can afford to stay out here a little longer than originally planned.
And what DO they do all day? The other question. Well, half of the day is taken up with school, then there’s boat maintenance (never stops!) and if we’re not on passage we snorkel, dive or explore the beaches. There never seems enough time in the day.
Indonesia has been a great stop, it has consistently exceeded my expectations on many levels: the friendliness of the people, the beauty of the country, the diving and the snorkelling. If I have one complaint it is the lack of dairy produce and wine! But we can live with that.
At the moment we are in Wakatobi, a national marine park in South East Sulawesi. The name is derived from the four main islands in this archipelago: Wangi Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko. It’s a paradise for snorkelling and diving; Jacques Cousteau referred to it as ‘zee underwater nirvana’. Some of the remote islands are inhabited by Bajau communities, seafaring nomads. There virtually are no tourists around and apart from our buddy boat Rampetamper, we haven’t seen any other yachts for ages!

Rehua anchored near Hoga Island

science experiment

success!

‘Sunday Fun-Day’, out surfing behind the dinghy early morning

Hoga Island

Bajau village, built entirely on a reef

Wakatobi resort on Tomia Island

just another desert island

this one appears to be floating in the sky!

Rehua anchored in the middle of a reef system

beautiful underwater world

colourful corals

interesting shapes

vibrant colours

our buddy boat Rampetamper

pondering life while munching a carrot and watching the sunset