Nirvana: Dec 23, 2014 Opua, New Zealand

We have settled nicely into life in New Zealand. The extremely bad weather has finally lifted and things seem more summer like. We were getting very tired of constant heavy downpours and 25-35 knots of breeze. We had forecasts as high as 55 knots, but fortunately where we are in the harbor it never got that windy.

My parents are here and also settling in nicely. They have joined the Whataingi golf club and gone golfing a few times. It is a beautiful course that overlooks the ocean. They have rented a nice 2 bedroom unit, which is half of a duplex with a very friendly landlady next door. We are going to spend Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day with them on land, then they are going to come on the boat for 10 days of cruising.

We have spent most of the last 2 weeks getting ready for Christmas and visiting with friends. We went to the Paihia Christmas Parade. It reminded us of the Ocean Beach Parade, but not as big or crazy, but still quite entertaining. Our favorite float was this one done by the high school with the principal riding on top of the spaceship.

John and Jewel Craig visited us in Opua for a day and we met up with them in Whangerei to visit an old friend of Gary's and John Craig's, Phil Johnson. Gary went to sea with Phil when he was in his 20s and Phil is one of John's high school friends. There were some old stories rehashed!

I took Jewel, Axel and Gigi on a short hike in Paihia, and as you can see they can ham it up wherever they are.

We decorated the boat a little for Christmas. We got a cute little tree and Gigi made a gingerbread house. We have been baking lots of yummy Christmas treats, like Nanaimo bars and peanut butter bonbons.

Gigi and Gary putting the finishing touches on the gingerbread house.

In the middle of all our Christmas preparations I enjoyed a ladies day out wine tasting. We visited a number of wineries in the Kerikeri area. There are some nice wineries in this region, even though it is not one of NZ's main wine producing areas. Most are just hobby wineries.

We finally left the harbor and went out to an anchorage. It was great to anchor in Otaio Bay off Urupukapuka Island and go on a hike. In the Bay of Islands most of the islands are parks, they are very hilly, have great beaches, and are covered with hiking trails. We can't wait to spend more time exploring the islands next week.

Still cloudy, but thankfully not rainy.

Axel did a report on the Kawakawa toilets for an art project for school. I added it below, as these are really cool and they are the main attraction in this small town near Opua.

Lastly I like this picture showing 3 generations together in Auckland.

Merry Christmas,

Julie

Kawakawa Toilets

Artist: Friedensreich Hundertwasser 1928-2000 born Austria

The Kawakawa toilets are a mosaic in the abstract art style. They are very, very, very colorful. They are mostly made of things like beer bottles, opaque glass, and pieces of mirror. These toilets are still functional and pleasant to use.