Arriving in Australia and Cruising South to Sydney

By Ulla & Pelle - s.v Loupan of Sweden

Most boats don`t arrive in Australia until later in the season, but we had chosen to arrive early to do a little land cruising. So soon after arriving, we left Loupan in the Bundaberg Port Marina and flew to South Australia for some wine tasting in the Barossa Valley and a lovely trip along Great Ocean Road.

It was then time to return to Bundaberg as we wanted to take part in the Down Under Rally Welcome Week. Leanne and John did a terrific job of making us “feel at home”, and meeting the other rally participants was a great pleasure. The information John shared with us during the series of East Coast Cruising Seminars was very well presented and has since proven to be of great value. The ‘Surviving Down Under Seminar’ that included a lesson in Aussie Slang was also fun but, at the same time very informative.

And I must mention the prizes that the Down Under Rally Partners provided. There were so many major & minor prizes that were won. In fact, I think nearly all the Go West Rally participants that attended the Welcome Week had at least one win.

We loved the introduction to the Aussie culture that The Down Under Rally shared throughout Welcome Week, which commenced with an authentic Welcome To Country Ceremony and was followed by a great welcome party.