It is difficult to imagine how different two years of world cruising could be.  During the first year we visited more than 20 island groups/countries.  This past year we visited only four: Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Australia.  We traveled fewer miles during the second year which gave us much more time to explore each island group.  With three months in Fiji we felt we had only scratched the surface and would love to cruise there again.  The people were friendly, the villagers invited us into their daily lives, and the scenery above and below the water was spectacular. 

The two months we spent in Vanuatu were among the most amazing we have experienced anywhere.  We arrived in Tanna and were overwhelmed by the stark beauty of Mt. Yasur.  We stood on the rim of this active volcano watching the fireworks below. The three-day Back to Our Roots festival on Ambrym Island culminated in a day-long Rom dance which was a deeply moving cultural experience.

The miles of beaches on Ouvea Island in the Loyalty group and the spectacular snorkeling around the Ile des Pins (Isle of Pines) in New Caledonia capped off a perfect season of cruising.  We left Noumea, New Caledonia in late October and arrived nine days later in Bundaberg, Australia.  This was the final destination for our second year of world cruising.  We had reached the end of another season wondering how it could possibly get any better.  But it’s probably not a matter of “better.”  Each place we go is remarkable in some unique way.  Taken together they make this circumnavigation a “most excellent adventure.”

Now we are entering a new phase in our voyage.  Though we are not half way around in miles, we certainly feel that we are now beginning the trip home.  This year we will go up the east coast of Australia inside the Great Barrier Reef then over the top to Darwin.  In late July we head off for three months in Indonesia, then a stop in Singapore followed by a cruise up the west coast of Malaysia ending our third year of world cruising in Thailand.  That will take us to at least December of 2008.  We may come home for a short visit, or we may stay in Malaysia or Thailand as we wait for a northeast monsoon to help carry us across the Indian Ocean to South Africa. In route we will visit Sri Lanka (if the violence has subsided), the Maldives, Chagos, Seychelles, and Madagascar.  In 2010 we will travel the more than 6,000 from South Africa to the Caribbean and from there on home to the East Coast of the US.  We will go around the Cape of Good Hope in December 2009 and January 2010.  After Cape Town we will sail north up the west coast of Namibia and then cross the Atlantic by way of St. Helena and Ascension Islands to Brazil.  From there it is just a hop to the Caribbean and then home.

See a Map of the Proposed Route
See a Map of the Actual Route