Feb 26, 2016 Great Barrier Island and Mt. Heale Hut

After a few beautiful, then windy and rainy days in Port Fitzroy, we moved on to Smokehouse Bay. Unfortunately the bath, that is heated by a wood fire, was not functioning, and there was a total fire ban, so we couldn't have a bonfire, so we didn't get to enjoy the more unique aspects of this site. Axel was ok with the bath being out of order, as that meant he got to go more days without bathing.

Then through the narrow Man of War passage and into an area of incredible fishing. We anchored off Motutaiko Island for the afternoon so Gary and Gigi could go spearfishing. I took the kayak out to explore the nooks and crannies of the rocks in the island, then Axel and I fished off the boat and caught a few snapper. He got the only one big enough to keep. Gary speared a big kingfish (more than 1 meter) and a lobster. On our way to Whangaparapara Harbour we saw lots of blue penguins and dolphins, and we caught a kahawai.  In Whangaparapara Harbour we grabbed a mooring, that Gigi noticed was covered in mussels, so once we were secure, she hopped in the dinghy and harvested a bucket full of mussels. With all this great seafood, we had an amazing feast. 

The next day as we prepared for our big hike to the top of Great Barrier Island, we checked the mooring and saw it was chafing, so we moved to anchored off the pier, but the strong south wind made this an uncomfortable location. I checked the weather forecast, as we had cell coverage here in the middle of the harbor, and saw it was supposed to blow 35 knots, so we moved again to a better protected part of the harbor. The hike would have to wait until tomorrow. Fortunately when we woke up the next day, then wind was blowing lightly from the north, so we moved the boat back to the center of the harbor and headed in for our hike.

For PE for the kids school this month, we set a family goal to hike 20 miles, we way surpassed that goal, with our final hike being the biggest by far. Gigi did a great job describing the hike, so here is what she wrote.

            One large hike we did was an overnight trip up to the highest point on Great Barrier Island. The first day we drove from Whangaparapara to the head of the hot springs trail then walked, loaded down with heavy backpacks, 45 mins up the very flat and well maintained trail to the hot springs where we soaked before heading off on the main part of the hike. From the hot springs we hiked 3 hours through green forest and hot hillsides passing beautiful lookouts and historical sites to the Mt. Heale Hut where we stayed the night. The view from the Mt. Heale Hut was stunning; looking across numerous green hills and valleys you could see down to the ocean where several boats were nestled in Whangaparapara harbor and as the sun set the open ocean turned to gold and the hills faded into grey. The next day we walked up over 900 stairs to the summit of the mountain which provided a 360 degree view of the entire island. We hiked back down to the hut, picked up our bags, and started back down the trail we had taken the day before. At the second fork in the road we changed our course from the previous day and headed down the tramline track, stopping to swim in a waterfall on the way. In all it took 5 hours and 30 minutes from the hut to the summit and back to the boat.  The hike was challenging because of its length and steep slope and left me tired and sore, but was definitely worth it.

We are continually amazed at the engineering that the Kiwis put into their hiking trails. On this hike there were long boardwalks through the wetlands, lots and lots of stairs, and bridges over rivers. The cabin we stayed in appeared to be fairly new and was perfectly maintained. It had 2 sleeping rooms each with a long bunk with mattresses that could hold 5 people, gas stoves with pots and pans, a couple big tables for eating, running water, and electrical lights. It was a great hike, but I am definitely feeling it in my sore muscles.

Cheers,

Julie

view from Mt. Hobson

DoC hut and Mt Heale in the background

view from the DOC Hut

 

 At the summit of Mt. Hobson

Mt. Hobson is the tallest point on the left and Mt. Heale is the jagged point in front and to the right

Feb 18, 2016 Whangaroa Harbour to Great Barrier Island

The highlights of Whangaroa Harbour were having dinner at the Kingfish Lodge, anchoring with Rewa and Sequoia in Rere Bay, and hiking to the Duke's Nose, and for the kids it was jetskiing at high speeds. The final ascent of the Duke's Nose is straight up the cliff with only the assistance of a chain installed by DoC.

In the Cavalli Islands, we anchored in sheltered Waiiti Bay, and dove on the Rainbow Warrior. Kelly from Dive Zone came out to the anchorage and picked up Gigi, Gary and me for our dive on ship. The top of the ship is about 19 meters down and Gigi is only certified to 21 meters, but I think Kelly took her a little deeper so she could swim through the pilot house. It was a beautiful dive, full of fish, colorful anemones, and the intrigue of the Rainbow Warrior lore. We came back to Nirvana for lunch, then Kelly took us to Neptune's Garden for our second dive. This was a shallow dive amongst the rocks and kelp, and bursting with sea life. There were thousands of blue mokis shimmering in the sunlight, lots of urchins that we feed to some friendly striped fish, an enormous scorpion fish, and many hissing moral eels. We had a great day diving and meeting more friendly Kiwis.

Dinner at the Cavalli Islands

We headed back to Russell in the Bay of Islands to wait out some bad weather. This allowed us to enjoy the Waitangi Day festivities at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds with Brian Krell off Heidseik. This is the celebration of the treaty signed between the Maoris and the British in 1840. We saw some amazing canoes, ate mussel fritters and fry bread, and listened to a variety of NZ music. Axel liked the 21 gun salute by the NZ Navy.

 Maori canoe with Heidseik in the background.

Next we stopped in Urquhart's Bay at the entrance to the Whangerei River. We were all pleasantly surprised at the beauty of this bay. We spent an extra day here so that we could hike the headlands.

Then into Mardsen Cove Marina to see if this was where we might keep the boat when we leave New Zealand. The marina and staff are really nice, but it is incredibly far from anything, so it helped make our minds up that this is not the place for us. I rented a car and took the kids into Whangerei, while Gary finished painting the decks. We checked out the Whangerei Town Basin Marina, and I think that is where we will keep the boat. It is so handy to town, we have lots of friends there, and an old friend works in the marina office.

Next stop Great Barrier Island, 50 miles to the SE, unfortunately we had 10-18 knots from the east, but we decided to go for it anyways knowing that the next 2 days the wind was supposed to pick up and make it even harder to get there. Under a star filled sky we dropped anchor around 11 pm in Nagle Cove.

Gigi making cookies while quite heeled over during the passage.

The next day in 25 knots, we moved to Port Fitzroy. We hiked around the Glenfern bird sanctuary, and were very pleasantly surprised when we reached the old Kauri tree. We were not ready for what we saw, we were expecting to see another old and impressive Kauri tree, which we did see, but you get to walk across a wobbly suspension bridge to a tree fort lookout high up in the tree. We all agreed this was the best way to experience this 600 year old tree.

 As it was Valentine's Day, Gigi made fantastic mini chocolate cakes with a chocolate sauce to round out a yummy salmon dinner.

Gary heard the surf was up, so he grabbed his board and headed up the hill to the east coast of the island. Fortunately the 1 car that passed him had a surfboard on the roof, so he stopped and picked up Gary. Gary and Paulo got on so well that they went surfing the next day also, although it was not the best surf due to the strong winds. We have been trying to get out daily for a hike between rain showers, we have tramped the Old Lady Trail (definitely not for old ladies) and Warren's Waterfall. Today we are hunkered down getting some schoolwork done and keeping an eye on the 30 knot gusts that keep rolling through the anchorage making Nirvana heel and scattering legos. The forecast is for 45 knots outside, so we are glad we are just seeing 30 knots in here. The biggest concern is the 100 ton boat anchored up wind of us that dragged in the middle of the night. No sleep for Gary.

Once this weather clears, we are heading south on Great Barrier Island, then Coromandel Harbour, then into Auckland.

Cheers,

Julie