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After 13 weeks on the European continent the time for goodbye was drawing near. With a flight out of Frankfurt we had the perfect opportunity to catch up with our German crew in the south west Black Forest region, and to get there from Italy we made a beeline through Switzerland to rendezvous with friends in Zurich.

Switzerland is truly postcard perfect – its also insanely expensive and in early October we were digging deep in the suitcases for thermals, coats and hats. Our quick stopover was rewarded with a drive through snow-capped mountain landscapes and a fabulous night in the company of Aaron and Tino, Aaron and Rhi being childhood friends. We were spoiled with a home cooked meal and plenty of wine as we solved the world’s problems and agreed to catch up again somewhere in the world.

The Swiss village of Andermatt

Good times!

New friends with matching outfits

Our home in Emmendingen

The Dorr Family

Next stop was Emmendingen in Germany, a lovely town we have now visited five times and home to some of Andrew’s extended family. Natalie and Matze welcomed us into their home and we had the pleasure of meeting their two boys who have arrived since our last trip four years ago (3 year old Nico kept asking about the strange way we speak!). As usual we were spoiled rotten with so much awesome food, excellent wine and wonderful company with Natalie’s parents Hans and Erika also joining in the fun. Having all holidayed together in Oz a few years ago it was great to be reunited for a few days and catch up.

Just a few hours up the road and back to the Rhine river where we started back in July, Heidke and Herbert took us in and once again spoiled us with their generous hospitality. Our time in Rheinsheim was spent eating (of course!), and catching up with the young cousins Kristin and Florian who are both at uni. With Autumn underway we also had a fun night out at a wine festival celebrating the “new wine” for the season, and in an effort to work off some pasta and bratwurst we went forest walking, visiting a castle or two along the way (well it is Germany, and they are everywhere!).

Herbert, Andrew, Heidke and a random dude…

Love a German breakfast!

Rhi & Heidke on the forest trail

Autumn tones and a cloudless sky

And just like that we were in Tobago! The ten hour flight was the easy part, getting through customs not so much. We think our gypsy passports, our intention to island hop through the Caribbean and that we had no cash on us to pay for our visas (it was stupidly in our checked luggage that we could not get to) stalled our progress into the country but they eventually let us in. From the Autumn days of Germany its fair to say that 29 degrees and 100% humidity at 7.30pm was a real shock, but not as shocking as how little our Aussie dollar stretches in this part of the world.

Tobago has some stunning beaches and we took a rental car for a lap to check them out, stopping at a beachside shack for heaped plates of seafood, curried lentils and roti bread. A drive through the island’s capital Scarborough didn’t present anything we felt compelled to get out for and the main attraction of the island, Pigeon Point Heritage Park, was closed on the day we tried to get to the beach due to a nearby earthquake that had created a mess with huge waves pummeling the coastline.

As a destination in its own right its not high on our list but it was really only our entry point from Europe and the launchpad to get to our next stop so we only had 2 nights here. The food offering in restaurants and supermarkets was limited and our credit cards were not working everywhere, which is tough when some of the ATMs don’t recognise your cards! Thankfully US dollars are accepted everywhere here so we were able to get by, although not without a conversion rate that was heavily weighed toward the locals.

The short stint in Tobago gave us the chance to start getting out of our Euro-headspace and start acclimatising to the Caribbean way of life – the exhausting heat, the outrageous cost of food and operating on “island time” which we would soon find out can make travelling here a little tricky……

Of course one day in Dubrovnik was never going to be enough, so having completed the ‘highlights tour’ with Steve and Binni on the last day of our Sail Croatia cruise we now had another 4 days to immerse ourselves in this bewitching city before we head further south.

The harbour viewed from the walls

Part of the city walls

One of many coves near the old town

The Stradun (main street) of Dubrovnik

Walking the walls is the best way to see the city at first and gives you a good understanding of where everything is. It’s actually quite small and doesn’t take too long to navigate from one side to the other, depending on how many laneways and shops you choose to explore, so our extra time here was spent exploring some of the areas outside the walls which consequently also means marginally cheaper food and drinks.

Pile Gate entrance to the old town

Banje Beach to the south of the city

A quick boat trip out of the harbour took us to Lokrum Island for a change of scenery (and Game of Thrones filming locations if you are into that) and some walking trails amongst the botanical gardens and the remains of the old monastery. On another day when we were feeling particularly active we decided to ditch the cable car to the top of Mount Srd and hike the trail to a height of 412 metres where the 19th century Fort Imperial watches over the city. The AU$48 we saved by walking was well spent on the cocktails at the top and the sunset views over the city were gorgeous.

Sunset viewed from Mount Srd

View of the old town on the way up the mountain

Equal to Hvar it is the most expensive stop on the 6 week Croatian journey, that said though we were treated to some great meals with a wide variety in menus that has been hard to find in the smaller coastal towns everywhere else. As a firm favourite on cruise ship itineraries the old town can feel overwhelming during the day when the numbers drastically increase – on one day we counted 3 ships in port which could potentially be up to 10,000 cruise ship passengers alone. It is certainly a city we would tell you to put on your travel list, although a visit outside of high summer could reward you with fewer people and lower prices.

All up we have spent 38 days in this amazing country and have quite possibly seen more of Croatia than many Croats. The scenery all the way down the coast has been spectacular; we have had too many incredible meals, cakes, local wines and rakija (the local rocket fuel) to name them all; we have enjoyed many conversations and coffees chatting with locals; and of course got to spend a week with two of our closest friends exploring some of the best Croatia has to offer. It’s been an amazing month.

Goodbye for now Croatia, you will appear in our passports again one day for sure.

Exhausted and dehydrated (from both sun and alcohol!) after a week sailing the islands with friends, we returned to the island of Hvar with nothing left in the tank! Possibly not our smartest move to return to party town, but without our late night dancing posse we took the chance to catch up on sleep and sample the many, many excellent restaurants and bars on offer in this gorgeous town.

Restaurants and bars line the stairs and alleys

Markets and bars along the harbour

The main square and St Stephens Cathedral

Our local beach near our apartment

Regularly referred to as the Ibiza or St Tropez of Croatia with the superyachts to prove it, the prices and quality of venues in town are high: still being August and peak tourist season we were paying Sydney prices for seafood, gourmet hamburgers, coffee, cocktails and green smoothies (getting the healthy stuff in where we can!). There is no question that some of our best meals after 5 weeks in Croatia were on this island. We also barely touched the sides which will of course mean a return trip one day….

We didn’t just eat though. There are so many day trip options to other islands in the area and we were keen to see the Blue Cave on the island of Bisevo, very close to Vis that we had visited the week earlier. With only 10 people on our boat we had a day of cruising around secret beaches, swimming in the Green Cave and we saw the protected Blue Cave which you enter on timber fishing boats having to get your head between your knees as you enter. The cave is illuminated by the sun for a few hours in the middle of the day and the colours are spectacular.

A random beach on the island of Vis

Boat cruising ans sun loving

The Green Cave off the coast of Vis

The appropriately named Blue Cave

With our Croatian adventure almost drawing to a close with a few more days ahead in Dubrovnik, we said farewell to island life and rented a car on the mainland to continue our trip south along the last stretch of the Croatian coast. Of course it wouldn’t be an Andrew-designed roadtrip without a diversion to somewhere, and so we found ourselves in our 76th country – Bosnia & Herzegovina, for a quick stop in Mostar.

The UNESCO protected old town of Mostar is approx. 2.5 hours from Split and worth a night or two to wander the quaint streets and the mini-Grand Bazaar. The famed  Stari Most (Old Bridge) of Mostar was built in the 16th century and tragically destroyed in 1993 during the Balkan wars. Rebuilt in the late 90’s it is an engineering feat and incredibly steep to walk up and over.

During our stay we watched a few brave (insane) locals take the 24m plunge from the top, after first procuring money from the tourists who waited along the edge of the fast flowing river to watch! Doing some research we came across a statistic that suggested 5% of tourists who have attempted the jump in recent decades have died, including a young Aussie just a few years ago. Suffice to say we watched from the sidelines only!

A view with our AU$37 dinner!

Mostar viewed from the Stari Most

The Dervish House at Blagaj, close to Mostar

Whilst brief it was a nice intro to B&H and our guesthouse hosts could not have given us a warmer welcome or been more helpful (they drove us to a laundry then collected it on our behalf so we could go exploring!). You can get to Mostar on a day trip from Split or Dubrovnik but having had the opportunity to eat, drink and explore it was worth the effort of getting here alone. A great little gem!

Ahhhhh Port Douglas. Oh how we love you! It is our third visit and delivers the goods everytime! The food, the cocktails and coffee and the offer of golf and massages made this the perfect way to re-enter civilisation after our 10 day safari up north. To sweeten the deal our foursome was expanded to include our great travel companions Diane, Danny and the gorgeous Saskia before G-PAC departed for home.

2 mojitos and a martini with a view

Cocktail hour at Barbados Bar

Tropical dessert at 2Fish – best seafood in town

Godmother and goddaughter dining out

Just an hour north of Cairns the little village of PD offers a gateway to two world heritage listed areas with the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation a leisurely 2 hour drive north and the Great Barrier Reef accessible from the marina. As we travelled north and crossed the Daintree River (where we spotted a salty croc!) we were alert for cassowary sightings (nil) and keen for an adventure, which we found in Cape Tribulation with the crew at Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours.

Rambo took this photo

Gaz views the rainforest from a new angle

Walking through the centuries old rainforest is incredible, but flying through the canopy on ziplines adds a completely different perspective, particularly when you are hanging upside down! This was great fun and an awesome way to experience the Cape Trib area, and the locally made Daintree Ice Cream and swimming in a natural fresh waterhole finished off our Daintree experience.

From rainforest to the ocean we boarded the sleek Silver Sonic vessel at the Reef Marina for a day out on the reef. This option is not the cheapest day trip out of PD but offers a small crowd of approx 80 (compared to other vessels that take out over 200) and we got to stop at 4 different sites throughout the day. We have been fortunate enough to snorkel up here before, as well as other locations in Oz and around the globe, and the GBR is still our number 1. Visible from outer space and the largest living structure on the planet, it’s pretty hard to beat.

Reef sharks, turtles, barracuda, eels, a groper and too many other species to name – we had a spectacularly clear day with water temp in the high 20’s and unbelievable visibility. It was Gary’s first time to the reef and a special experience for us to share that with him. Every Australian deserves the chance to see this magical underwater world, and equally we all share the responsibility of preserving it.

Coral, and more coral

The boys go exploring

A huge starfish!

Crystal clear visibility

Parrot fish on patrol