There is a symmetry to our stay in New Zealand. We arrived on 5th November 2023 in time for summer and we are preparing to leave exactly five months later in April 2024, before winter kicks in. We arrived in the Bay of Islands and checked into Opua. This week we will wave goodbye to the Bay of Islands and check out from Opua heading for Sydney Australia.
We were so excited after our 8 day sail from Fiji to arrive in New Zealand. Our very good friend Pat who was at our wedding and lived in the same property as us in Tooting in the 1980s was on the dock to greet us, even though we had to go into quarantine. Pat and her husband Peter had been following us on marine traffic and jumped in their car once we got within an hour of the coast. I was almost sick with excitement, as we had been discussing whether we would just rock up on our boat to see them, for the past 7 years.
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| Sighting land after a long passage from Fiji |
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| On the quarantine/ bio security dock. They are rigorous on entry into NZ but we are quite used to it now and are prepared to handover foodstuffs |
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| Its a long time and Ed looks very different to when Pat and Pam last saw him |
The first thing to say, unsurprisingly is that New Zealand feels quite a lot like home. Apart from the obvious ease of apparently speaking the same language, much of our experience here reminded us of an earlier version of the UK; when people had time to chat to each other, you could leave your bike unlocked and people fall over themselves to help you. We have been struck by the many at length conversations we have had with complete strangers. Yes New Zealanders certainly can talk, but it's fun.
We admit that we found the accent quite difficult at first. Vowels seems to be transposed in terms of sounds. It took us a while to keep a straight face when people kept mentioning their big dicks and I had to get the guy in the chandlery to write down the name of a company that sold cooker parts after asking him to repeat it several times. I thought he said it was called French Stick which seemed an odd name. Turns out it was Fridge Tech. Silly me.
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| Resting on Pat's big 'dick' with stunning views of Mangonui out over the bay |
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| Pam, Pat, Dale and Peter visiting Viridian |
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| After following our travels over the last 7 years, we all went out for a sail on Viridian |
One of the main reasons we went to New Zealand rather than across to Vanuatu was because we have never been to New Zealand to see our very good friends living in Mangonui in the far north, who we have not seen for decades. Miranda and Jake flew in from London to meet us all. This was the first time we had seen Pat and Pam since the children were very young, so it was really special to spend Christmas together and for Ed and Miranda to introduce their partners Jake and Moere. We had an amazing time staying at Pat's lovely home with spectacular views and meeting her husband Peter. Then Christmas Day in Pam and Dales' breathtaking home was a real treat which we won't ever forget.
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| happy days together |
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| Christmas Day swim in Pam and Dale's pool |
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| oysters to die for |
Miranda and Jake had Budgy Smuggler matching Viridian swimwear made for us all as a great Christmas present. Mine is not the bikini!
We kept being told how busy everything is, how crowded the anchorages would be over the holiday period, but frankly compared to our European experiences, it's deserted here. There are so many anchorages, it's not difficult to find solitude. There are some stunning homes with spectacular views on the extensive coastline.
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| Very busy anchorage at Mansion House |
And it is truly beautiful and unspoilt. We have only managed to explore the North Island, so we will have to return to do the South, but its a delightful reminder and blend of the best scenery in Scotland, Wales, The Lake District and Cornwall and Devon.
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| Stunning scenery everywhere |
Part of the reason for our failure to get to South Island is linked to boat works and maintenance. We decided to take advantage of the sophistication of the marine industry here to do some upgrades, including replacing our generator, having our engine bay re-lined, some window seals needed attention and we had some plumbing and gas work done too. All of that has gone smoothly but has taken some time in scheduling and has necessitated us being around on board more than we had planned.
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| Removing the old generator which has served us well |
So we have made lots of forays out from the boat into different parts of North Island by hire car. Everything has been great but there have been some absolute highlights to mention.
We really enjoyed visiting the Whaitangi Treaty Grounds and learned a lot about the history of this beautiful country and particularly appreciated gaining a better understanding of the Maori perspective and culture. There a was an enactment where they need a volunteer to be a visiting Maori chief and of course you can guess who volunteered. I was rewarded with a front row seat for the production.
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| The visiting 'chief' waiting respectfully to meet and be accepted by the real chief |
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| The visiting chief posing with some of the performers |
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| fabulous carvings inside |
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| Very long canoe carved from the huge tree below |
In a land famous for wineries its hard to single out any particular one, but after quite a lot of testing, our favourite turned out to be the the Marsden winery in Keri Keri, which for some reason we just kept visiting. The food was excellent as well. If you ever get to Keri Keri, the Makana chocolate factory is also a must. Do not leave without vast quantities of the macadamia nut brittle.
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| Visit 1 |
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| Visit 2 |
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| Visit 3 |
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| Visit 4 |
In a land of interesting coastlines and multiple islands, our favourite anchorages were at Great Mercury Island and at Mansion House Waiheke
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| Several concrete bunker style houses built into the hill with super yachts parked outside on a very quiet island. Bit blurred as we were not allowed to get close |
Auckland was a great city to be moored up in. We got a great recommendation for a tiny marina in the heart of the city called Pier 21. We were in striking distance of shopping, art museums, fantastic restaurants and a gym.
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| View from the Sky Tower in the centre of Auckland. Viridian is parked in the red circle. Very convenient |
We met up with other friends from the UK who we haven't seen in a long time. Steve and Bridget who moved to Auckland 15 years ago joined us with Pat on Viridian for dinner.
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| All old friends from the Tooting days |
Mark and Kim from the UK happened to be on holiday in NZ whilst we were in Auckland - so we spent New Years Eve together eating dinner and playing cards on Viridian and then went to Victoria Park to watch some rather disappointing fireworks.
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| Greg reuniting with Mark after quite a few years |
Next we met up for lunch with Kevin (of our Atlantic crew fame) and his wife Mandy who also just happened to be visiting family in Auckland. It's amazing how many people we have accidentally connected with on our travels and managed to persuade to play one of our card games on board Viridian.
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| Kevin and Mandy - we reminisced about our Atlantic crossing |
Speaking of card games we got a new game called Five Crowns from Pat for Christmas. It's now become a firm favourite. Miranda also bought us a new Shit Head hat as a Christmas present. Here is Ed modelling it.
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| He doesn't look delighted about it |
We spent quite a while in Tauranga getting our generator delivered and fitted, so it was great opportunity to join the gym. Thanks to Nicki and Tash for some stunning Body Pump and Circuit classes. It was sad when we had to move on.
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| Great Gym and classes in Tauranga. Shout out to Tash and Nicki at City Fitness |
New Zealand is riddled with volcanic evidence both past and present. so we delighted in breathing in some sulphurous hot springs and walking the volcanic trails in Volcanic Valley. Rather alarmingly we heard about a hot geyser that killed quite a few tourists and we were reminded of the White Island disaster more recently, so we scuttled past some bits rather quickly.
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| Pretty stinky and hot! |
I wasn't sure about whether I wanted to go to Hobbiton, in case it was a bit cheesy; but it turned out to be enchanting and a real highlight. Greg rudely commented that I could easily live in one of these houses without ducking my head.
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| Definitely worth a visit to Hobbiton |
New Zealand is known for its outdoor sports, making the most of the spectacular features, so Greg in particular took advantage of several opportunities to go white water rafting. Our good friends Mel and Brian on catamaran Go were also here so it was great to do some activities together.
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| Loads of opportunities for White water rafting |
Other interesting places were Napier with its art deco architecture, the spectacular Hamilton Gardens - well worth a visit; and strangely we really enjoyed the Whangarei clock museum which was right next to the marina. We had no idea there were so many types of clock. Fascinating.
So it is was with mixed feelings that we moved on. We are always excited at the prospect of new places to visit but leaving New Zealand was particularly sad as we are not sure when we will see our friends next.
Although we have been to Australia before and sailed the Whitsundays, it was not on own boat which makes a difference. We are looking forward to sailing into Sydney Harbour in a few days time; to meeting up with Ed, who has been completing his Yachtmaster qualification in Sydney since January, and catching up with more friends from the past who we haven't seen in many many years.
Goodbye New Zealand. Thank you so much. We are feeling happy and ready for our crossing to Australia.
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| Goodbye New Zealand. It's been fab! |
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