Jan 4, 2015 Happy New Year!!!

What a fantastic year 2014 has been for the Mitchell family. We have been extremely fortunate to be able to follow our dreams and sail through the South Pacific. We really could never have done this without the help of so many people. Thank you everyone.

As 2015 dawns we are looking forward to another exciting year of cruising.  We plan to cruise around New Zealand until April, then sail north to Fiji where we would like to spend 2-3 months exploring the many islands of Fiji. After that we will visit Vanuatu and New Caledonia on the way to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and we hope to work our way south to Sydney by Christmas 2015.

We have just spent a peaceful Christmas with my parents at the apartment they are renting in Opua. Santa was very good to everyone. Wetsuits and lifejackets were some of the many presents, but Axel also got a bike and Gigi a Kindle.

Everyone had fun with the crowns in the Christmas crackers.

After Christmas we headed out to cruise the Bay of Islands with my parents. They enjoyed the anchorages and the many great meals we shared, but unfortunately Mom got seasick and decided she didn't want to sail any more. They did stay on board for New Year's Eve, so we anchored off Russell to watch the fireworks from both Paihia and Russell. In order to stay up to midnight we had a game night and we played a ton of different games, including quarto, cribbage, trouble, loteria, picturica, and crazy eights.

Dad thoroughly enjoying himself in Whale Bay.

Gary has been spearfishing a bunch in NZ, but as you can see he needed a little more rubber to endure the NZ waters.

Currently we are anchored off Waewaetorea Island in a shockingly beautiful anchorage. The water is a brilliant blue, you can see the bottom, and penguins were swimming around Gary as he was paddle boarding yesterday. This anchorage has a white sand beach at the head of it and is surrounded by 2 Department of Conservation (DOC) islands (their equivalent to national parks), so you can hike on both of them. We have spent 2 nights here, both nights there are just a handful of boats anchored, but by the middle of the day a ton of holidaymakers come in to enjoy the bay then head out before dark. It makes it quite festive and alive.

Midday in the Waewaetorea anchorage.

Fair sailing and happy new year,

Julie