Tiritiri Island is a bird sanctuary where the conservation efforts
have been extremely successful. There are beautifully manicured DOC trails zig-zagging
across the island, with lots of informational signs to help you identify the
different birds. The sound of the song birds is robust, differentiating this
island from the rest of the country where the forest is almost silent. We saw some
unique, endangered birds on this island, such as the takahe.
Since we enjoyed our time out at Great Barrier Island so much, we decided to go back. We met up with Varekai and Fluenta in Bowling Alley Bay. Gary and Max took Nigel out for his first time spearfishing, and they were all very successful. Although the photo doesn't show it well, Max's kingfish is bigger than Gary's, but both are enormous. With all this yummy fish we had a fantastic potluck dinner on Nirvana.
Victoria filleting her dad's kingfish
Crew of Nirvana and Fluenta
We woke up our second morning in Bowling Alley Bay to an uncomfortable
southern swell jostling us at anchor, so Fluenta and us moved around to Port
Fitzroy, and Varekai headed off to Auckland. Brian Krell on Heidseik joined us later
that afternoon. We enjoyed more hiking around Port Fitzroy, then Fluenta headed
off to Auckland, and Brian and us headed over to Kaikoura Island for a hike. At
the end of the hike we ran into some friends from the Bay of Islands, and they
told us there were 6 free, hot showers. I have never seen 5 people move so
quickly to check out showers. We didn't bring anything for showering, but there
was some soap there, so 15 minutes later everyone, including Axel, was clean.
It felt so awesome.
The next day Gary speared a bunch of blue moki near Anvil Island
and we headed into Kaiaraara Bay. The bottom was a slick black mud, so we dragged
a huge distance until the anchor finally set. It was a windy rainy night, and
the rain continued through most of the next day, so we didn't start our hike
until late in the day. When we got back to the boat, it was dragging, so we moved
back to Port Fitzroy. That night the winds picked up to about 35+ knots and it
poured down rain. The following day the conditions worsened. Every time I
looked at a forecast, the peak wind speed and swell size were higher and
higher. That night was the worst night of the storm. It blew 50-60 knots. One
big gust caused a glass bottle to fly over a container, off the counter and smash
on the ground. The gusts were so intense they caused the entire boat to shake. Around
5 am the sunbrella on the genoa decided it wanted to go its own way. At first
light I went up the headstay to lash the genoa so that the damage didn't get
any worse. It was raining so hard you were soaked as soon as you went outside.
It was quite a storm. Then by mid-morning it was all over and the bay was
completely glassy. It was amazing how it just instantly turned off.
After many days of intense rain and wind and being trapped on the
boat, we rented a car to explore the island. We wanted to see the beautiful
beaches on the east coast, go for a hike, Gary wanted to surf, and we all wanted fresh food.
Due to the storm, no ferries had come to the island for days, so the stores
were completely out of fresh veggies, fruit, milk, eggs, bread,… Our first stop
was at an organic farm and they offered to put together a box of food for us.
We also checked the store in Claris, and found they were looking quite bare of
food. Who would have thought that opening a box of veggies would feel like
Christmas. Even the kids were excited, more for the fresh carrots and melon, but
not the beets.
Windy canyon
Yesterday Gary and Gigi went spearfishing in the broken islands.
Gigi speared a big butterfish and a red moki, and Gary only speared a tiny fish.
She was pretty excited to have caught all of dinner, and to get way bigger fish
than Gary. We anchored in Smokehouse Bay and smoked the fish onshore. We also
got to have our first camp fire since we have been in New Zealand. The kids
have been dying to make s'mores, and we shared this fine American treat with a
bunch of Kiwis.
Today is Easter, and the bunny did manage to find Nirvana (the kids
had been quite concerned). Tonight we will have a traditional Kiwi Easter dinner
of lamb chops, enjoy some of that fresh lettuce, then top it off with our favorite
Canadian dessert, Nanaimo bars.
Cheers,
Julie
No comments:
Post a Comment