March 27, 2026

ADELAIDE the capital of South Australia is known as the "City of Churches " and is a hub for festivals, food and wine, situated  between the Gulf of St. Vincent and the Mount Lofty Ranges. It was founded in 1836 and named for Queen Adelaide.  They used excellent city master planning, that still holds today, and makes it so welcoming. The City is completely surrounded by protected park lands and contains four large parks within it's boundaries. The City streets form a perfect grid, running from the mountains to the sea and extend out through the park lands, to allow easy flow inand out of the suburbs. 


Above is the view of the City of Adelaide and the surrounding park lands from atop Mount Lofty Summit.

We wanted to cover a lot of the out lying areas around Adelaide today, so we signed up for a Viator tour for the best of South Australia. Surprisingly we were the only ones from the Ship on the tour and it was nice to spend the day with 2 other couples, who were Australians from other States, here on vacation exploring. Our guide Peter was super knowledgable and chatty. The tour loop took about 4 hours driving time, but it was spaced out over 9 hours, with plenty of time at 4 different stops to explore. Our first stop was at the summit of Mount Lofty, where there is a historic obelisk or column erected to celebrate Matthew Flinders discovery of the summit.

By Pat Patrick June 24, 2026
Today we arranged to see Siantan Island by hiring a local Captain & boat owner to take us, along with 2 lovely young ladies, we met at the Tourism office, who spoke great English. The ladies found the Captain and we negotiated a price of 1,200,000 IDR or $67 USD to take four of us out and about, for 2 hours. Since the forestry on the island and the soil is gigantic hard boulders, almost all the villages are on the water on stilts or the edge of the coast. Excavation cost would be a huge premium and best done with equipment, they don't possess.
By Pat Patrick June 23, 2026
The ANAMBAS ISLANDS REGENCY, is a remote Indonesian archipelago in the South China Sea, part of the Riau Islands Province known for its stunning clear waters, pristine reefs and rich biodiversity. It is located between Singapore and Borneo and consist of over 200 islands of which only 26 are inhabited. Tarempa is the administrative center of the Islands and is located on Siantan Island. We are anchored, about a 15 minute tender ride, from the Tarempa Wharf . Our first day here, was all about celebrating our friend Terri's Birthday!
By PAT PATRICK June 21, 2026
Bosco and I went back to the Marina Bay Sands, Marquee Night Club for Dancing on Friday night. We got to the club around 11pm and they stayed open till 5 a.m! There was a little bit of a cue to get into the club, but I had bought our entry tickets online prior, so we went through quickly.