After our dramatic stop in Bali we left this tropical island, sailing south into the open sea. We were going to cross the Indian Ocean between Indonesia and Australia. Next stop Darwin, Australia.
On this trip we were 8 people on board. This was just the limit, so that it was still comfortable to live on our Bavaria 49, which is comparable to a 30 square meter apartment. This time we had enough wind, but most of the time the wind direction was against our sailing direction, and we had to tack pretty much the whole way. Also the waves were getting much bigger out in the ocean, and most of the time the waves were going against our sailing direction too, which made the boat jump over each and every wave. It was a very bumpy ride to Australia.
Out in the ocean we didn’t see any sign of civilization for days. No fishing boats and no freighters on this part of the ocean. Only water until the horizon, wherever you look. Here is a video from our sailing trip, which I took with my ipod touch.
After crossing the ocean for 10 days we made contact with civilization again. An Australian border patrol plane was flying passed us and was asking us questions via radio. We were checked 3 more times by Australian patrol boats. Then, after 13 days out on the sea, finally: “Land, ho!”. On the horizon, Australian land was starting to appear. I was very happy that I was actually going to make it from Austria to Australia without using planes. After altogether two months on the boat, I also couldn’t wait to travel on land as a backpacker again. However, I really enjoyed these last few hours on the sea, while we were approaching the Cullen Bay Marina in Darwin. My sailing adventure ended here.
But before we were able to actually leave the marina in Darwin we had to endure a very long and strict procedure by the Australian border police. More about this and how my trip in Australia continues you can read in the following posts.
Have a look at the galleries to see more pictures from our sailing trip from Bali to Darwin.
Hi Armin! I’m following your adventures on this blog..I really like it! I’m trying to get a lift from Darwin to Bali…let’s see if I manage!I looked on CS for the guy you were telling about for Find a crew but I didn’t find him…Anyway I hope I can make it to Indonesia..even though it doen’s seem that easy..Now I’m in Western Australia, so I can’t see if there’s something at Darwin Harbour
Btw I like your pictures! Are you using a special plugin for displaying them like that (like the 4 boxes, dividing the different Countries)?
Keep going!
Hi Mary!
Hmm, maybe the findacrew guy from CS is not doing it anymore. There is a race from Darwin to Indonesia once a year, where boat owners are looking for a crew. I think its around July.
The boxes for dividing the countries are the only thing where I didn’t use a plugin. It’s hand-made code. For displaying the pictures I used a lightbox plugin.
Enjoy your trip and good luck with finding a boat! 🙂
hey hows it going ,, was reading ya blog and loved it .me and a friend want to travel from sydney to london overland . the hardest part seems getting from austrlia to asia. woould be awesome if you have any more information that would help .. cheers
Hey Karl! I wrote down all the information I have in my post “How to get from Asia to Australia on a boat”. Good luck with finding a way to Asia and enjoy your trip!
Hi Armin,
I’m really interested to know how did you find the boat to Australia. Help me please, I’m in Bali looking for a passage! 🙂
I found the boat on http://www.findacrew.net. Check out my other post to find more information about it: https://www.easybackpacker.com/2011/07/08/how-to-get-from-asia-to-australia-on-a-boat/#comment-11449
I see… I cannot find anything in FindACrew now that goes to Australia… but thank you for the suggestion, I will use this option in the future!
Hey Amin,
How long did it take to sail from Singapore to Australia? I am wanting to get to Australia from Europe without flying… I have followed all the links from your page… but haven’t found anything yet :/
Hi Sara!
It took me one month to sail from Singapore to Darwin. However the wind was against us and we stayed a couple of days in Bali. If you take a look at my map you can see where and when I have been there. Enjoy your trip! 🙂
Hi Armin,
Keep looking for a ship sailing for Indonesia to Australia for months! : ( Do you happen to keep the contact of that guy from couchsurfing who has the premium access on findacrew? That may be my last hope :'(
Unfortunately I don’t have this contact anymore. Good luck with finding a boat!
Hi Armin,
Many thanks for this very interesting post!
My wife and I are finishing an overland trip from France. After a tough search we now have found a sailing boat leaving for Australia, but I’m working on finding information about a few details with which I’m sure you’ll be able to help!
– From Singapore, was Bali the only stop you made?
– I read about the CAIT, but what about your personnal visas? Did you get the visa exemption of one month from the immigration in Bali? Did you check out of Indonesia straight afterward?
– About the last leg of the trip could you confirm that you went south then east, straight into Darwin? Why not follow the coastline?
Many thanks (and sorry about the previous comments (posted against my will) that you can delete) !
Ivan & Camille
Hi Ivan and Camille,
Yes, Bali was the only stop. About 2 weeks on the sea from Singapoure to Bali and 2 more weeks from Bali to Darwin. I don’t know about CAIT. We only made a short stop in Bali. The problem was that we didn’t have any papers before we arrived in Bali. Therefore it was a bit complicated, but we got all the papers, in order to stay a couple of days, at the immigration in Bali (for a bit of extra money).
The final destination of the boat was Brisbane. That’s why we stopped in Darwin on the way, where I got of.
Good luck and enjoy your sailing trip!
Armin