Nirvana: Jan 3, 2016 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

After our 15 day sprint in the boatyard we headed out for 2 days in the Bay of Islands, so Dario could enjoy some of NZ, and we could have a little break before our guests arrived for Christmas. We spent 1 night at Roberton Island and 1 night off Russell. Gary and Gigi went spearfishing and she shot her first fish. She was super excited and so were the rest of us.

Gigi's first fish she speared

Roberton Island from the lookout

On December 22, Dario left us for travels in Australia. It was hard for us to find enough words to thank him for all the help he provided while in the boatyard, and for joining us for the passage from New Caledonia to New Zealand. Gary misses his companionship.

That evening the Downen family, Joan, Ken, DJ (16), Rachel (15) and Max (12), joined us for Christmas. Joan and Gary went to high school together many moons ago. After a tough flight and long drive up from Auckland, they decided to get a room at a local hotel, but Max joined us on board. The next morning the rest of the family moved onto Nirvana and we headed out to Urupukapuka Island. We motored as there was almost no wind, and got lucky and saw a huge pod of dolphins. Once at the island we went for a nice hike, then returned to Nirvana for a relaxing evening.

Gigi and Rachel hiking on Urupukapuka

The following morning the Downens explored the beach while Gigi and Gary, with boat driver Axel, went diving for scallops. They managed to quickly gather 80 scallops. So yummy! I stayed on the boat and finished Christmas baking.

In the afternoon we moved 2 anchorages over to Waewaetorea Bay to join the other kid boats, Fluenta, Honey, Field Trip, and Perry. Field Trip graciously hosted everyone for Christmas Eve cocktails.

Christmas morning Santa found Nirvana with stockings for all the children and plenty of presents. We followed present opening with our traditional Danish brunch, which was a hit with Joan, but the rest of her family wasn't too sure about it. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, hiking and enjoying the beach.

On Boxing Day, Gigi and Gary went spearfishing and she speared 2 fish and Gary got 1. She is really enjoying the spearfishing. Later that day we joined the other kids boats for a pot luck dinner on the beach.

The following day we headed into Opua to make it easier to leave for our trip to Rotorua. We pulled into the dock to unload everything and wash the boat. The Downens headed off ahead of us, and Gary and I took the boat to Russell to put it on a mooring there. By the time we finished, and were on the road heading south, it was nearly 5 pm. We realized we wouldn't get to Rotorua until very late at night, so we called the hotel to see about late check-in. That was when we realized the reservation was not correct and there were not enough rooms for both families. Since it was peak holiday season, there were no other rooms in Rotorua, so we had to bail on going there. So that night we stopped in the nearest town, Warkworth, and caught up on our sleep.

Since Sheep World was just down the road, we stopped there and really enjoyed feeding the animals and watching the show they put on. Both Gigi and Axel got to help shearing sheep.

After a night of rest on the boat we decided to head north to Cape Reinga, since we had a rental car. We drove up to Ahipara, which has a surf spot called Shipwrecks. To get to the surf spot you drive your car over the rocks and down the beach, there are even speed limit signs on the beach, as it is considered a government road in NZ, even though it is a wash at high tide. Unfortunately the surf was really small, but the kids took the boogie board and sledded down the sand dunes. Hugh, the owner of the cabin we rented, greeted us with a huge already cooked lobster and a couple of muffins, we didn't need anything more for dinner. The following morning he brought us mussel fritters. One of the other occupants said that Hugh was a great fisherman and he loves to share his catches, so it made up for the fact that the rental units were a little basic.

Dec 30 we headed up to Cape Reinga, the northern most point of New Zealand in spectacular weather. The Cape is beautiful, but the kids liked sledding down the sand dunes much more. The dunes are massive and they had some crazy rides. We stayed that night at the very cute Pukenui Hotel, then back to the boat in Russell for New Year's Eve. We joined Fluenta on Varekai for cocktails, but the party got interrupted when an expensive 70 foot sailboat drifted by. All the guys jumped in the dinghies to try to help. They started the motor and hauled up the anchor chain, but found out that it had lost its anchor. By this time 2 other guys and the police had shown up. The police tracked the owner down in a local bar, and they helped him take the boat to the dock in Opua. Gary is considering diving to see if he can find the 50 kg stainless anchor. At midnight we watched fireworks put on by Paihia followed by Russell.