We sailed back through Sydney Heads at 2200 on 19 December 2012 after 4500 miles of coastal and ocean sailing since we left Melbourne. It was a wonderful trip, which saw us sailing from Melbourne to Sydney in November 2011. We stopped in Sydney for 6 months because the first and most beautiful grandchild in the universe (what else?) was born in March 2012 and so we didn't turn our attention to the next leg of our adventure until June. We had intended to sail from Sydney via Lord Howe Island to New Caledonia but the lows of the Tasman Sea kept defeating us. Finally, we sailed 250 miles north to Coffs Harbour and so entered the Coral Sea in June and arrived in Noumea 8 days later.
After enjoying the delights of French colonialism - the wine, cheese and ambience, including the Bastille Day Parade which was fabulous - we headed east to Vanuatu. This was the highlight of the trip without doubt! The volcano and culture of Tanna, the turtles and dugongs of Lamen Bay, the beauty of the Maskelyne Islands, the diving and World War 11 relics on Santo were only surpassed by the welcome of the wonderful Vanuatu people. We were reluctant to turn New Horizons towards Bundaberg in late October but were pleased to be home with family and children for Christmas.