Kelly Turpin, Author at The Captain & The Cook

About Kelly Turpin

Kelly has a Bachelor of Ecotourism and a passion for the natural world. Before her life as a full-time traveller and freelance writer, she was a personal trainer and has also worked as a snorkelling guide on the Great Barrier Reef. Kelly has written, and published, educational children's activity books and is now dabbling at writing a cookbook. She has raised three sons, operated her own business and spent two years travelling around Australia - towing a fishing boat and living in a tent. Kelly and her hubby now live on their 45ft sailing yacht. They plan to sail slowly around the world, visiting as many places as possible.

Sailing – Karimata and Surrounding Islands

We discovered a paradise of sapphire blue seas, palm fringed islands and white sands as well as coral gardens over run by Nemo and his mates. It was amazing and it quickly went to number one on our list of favourite places in Indonesia. This tiny archipelago of little islands is a conservation area and although its hard to say exactly what that means in Indonesia the area has certainly benefited from it. The snorkelling was amazing; by far the best we have done in Indonesia so far. Hardly any dead coral, no rubbish to swim through and clownfish by the hundreds.

Kumai Orangutan Experience!

Two nights and three days of awesomeness! Awesome place, awesome people, awesome animals, and an awesome experience! I would do this trip again in a heart beat if given the chance. I loved everything about it. The orangutans and other wildlife we saw, the delicious food, the wonderful crew, sleeping on an open boat under a mosquito net, the gorgeous sounds of night descending and the raucous awakening of birds, bugs and gibbons in the morning!

Sailing Pulau Bawean

A little jewel in the Java Sea! We spent six days exploring this beautiful area. White sandy beaches, uninhabited islands, coral reefs, monkeys and friendly local people. After the big city chaos of Surabaya, Bawean was just what we needed! We left Surabaya and motor-sailed, the Java sea, into head winds as we crossed to Pulau Bawean. The crossing took 13 hours…

Sailing Bali To Surabaya (Java)

… we started the arduous saga of extending our visas. We looked up the address for Kantor Immigrasi (the office of Immigration), caught a ferry to Surabaya and then a taxi a long way out of town (out near the airport) to the Immigration Office. Once there, we waited for about an hour until we were called to the desk, where we were told that we needed to go to another office. A couple of minutes later we were walking in the rain trying to catch another taxi. Wet, and a bit disappointed, we caught a cab to another immigration office…

More of Kuala Lumpur on a Shoe String!

There is an abundance of things to see and do in Kuala Lumpur. We only brushed the surface with the things we did during our six days and nights. We stayed in Chinatown before moving to Hotel 99 in the Bukit Bintang area. Both these areas, within walking distance from each other, had good public transport and there was a lot to see and do. The public transport was easy to use… the trains more so than the buses. The many train lines have good, easy to read, timetables and a search on the web will deliver all the details you need beforehand to tell you the closest station to where you are and what train you need to get where you want to go.

Kuala Lumpur on a Shoestring!

Our trip to Kuala Lumpur was an unexpected and unwanted expense. However, as always, we are thrilled to be able to travel and see new places; so we wanted to make the most of it…. We’d just do Kuala Lumper on a shoestring! How to do KL on a shoestring? Firstly I got on the net and found cheap flights to KL and booked a hotel through Wotif that was close to public transport. The flights cost AUS $100 each return. These were the cheapest flight out of, and back into, Bali that we could find, hence going to KL. Then I googled what to do in KL and found some inexpensive and free places to visit…

Serangan, Bali

A few days after our boys left Bali we moved Thorfinn to a mooring at Serangan. Trish came along for a sail, and it was a good thing she did. During a routine check on the engine room, Dwayne found the bilge full of water. We had a leak somewhere… a very fast leak! A semi-controlled panic ensued as Dwayne set up the manual bilge pump. It was my job to pump and Trish steered the boat, as Dwayne searched for, found and fixed the busted hose…

Bali Again – Indonesia With Our Boys, Part Three

After the relative peacefulness of Gili Air, Kuta during the holiday season appeared pandemonic. The chaotic cacophony was made worse by the heat in the un-air-conditioned van that slowly made its way through the congested convoluted streets. Upon arrival at the hotel we found there had been an error in the booking and three of us did not have a room. Following a long exhausting debate over what we should, could and would do, Dwayne, Alex and I went and found another hotel room for a couple of nights. The disorder at the next hotel would have been comedic had I not been so tired…

Gili Air – Indonesia With Our Boys, Part Two

Christmas on Gili Air! After a week in Bali it was a treat to get back to the boat and head out to the small island paradise of Gili Air. The kids had been out that night and when they arrived back to the boat about 2300 we left the marina and began the eight hour sail. There was no wind so we actually motor-sailed throughout the rest of the night. I was on watch when the sun came up. It was a beautiful sight. The super-calm conditions and sleeping kids scattered all over the boat. Priceless…

About Kelly Turpin

Sailing – Karimata and Surrounding Islands

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Kumai Orangutan Experience!

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Sailing Pulau Bawean

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Sailing Bali To Surabaya (Java)

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More of Kuala Lumpur on a Shoe String!

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Kuala Lumpur on a Shoestring!

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Serangan, Bali

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Bali Again – Indonesia With Our Boys, Part Three

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Gili Air – Indonesia With Our Boys, Part Two

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ABOUT US

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About Kelly Turpin

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ABOUT US

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I’m thinking of getting an electric scooter…