Jan 17, 2015 NZ Update

On January 4th we headed north to the Cavalli Islands and Whangaroa Harbour.

We stopped briefly at the Cavalli's on our way north, but stayed a little longer on our way south. The islands are remote, undeveloped and a national marine park. We had a great anchorage the first night in Waiiti Bay of Motukawanui Island (the largest island).  There was a beautiful sandy beach with great hiking trails leading up from it. The DOC have a rustic cabin and aluminum boat that you can rent if you don't stay on a boat that looked pretty amazing.

Then north to Whangaroa Harbour which is a stunningly beautiful fiord. It is a popular holiday spot for the tranquil anchorages and great fishing. We picked up my parents from the small harbor and headed out to the cozy anchorage of Rere Bay. The bay is surrounded by unique rock formations, has a river that is navigable at high tide, and radiant blue water. The water had finally warmed up enough to entice most of us in for a swim.

  

The entrance to Whangaroa Harbour

On January 6th Axel turned 10!

We celebrated with cupcakes that Gigi made and going out to dinner in Whangaroa. Earlier in the day we went on a breathtaking hike. We climbed up the Duke's Nose. It was not a long hike, but quite a vertical hike. The last part of the hike you have to scale up a rock face with the help of chains that are bolted into the rock. From the top we had the most gorgeous views of the fiord.

 Scaling the rock face with the help of the chains

The Duke's Nose with our anchorage in the background

We stopped at the north end of the Cavalli Islands on the way back to Opua. On our way there we caught 2 kingfish trolling and Gary dove and got 2 lobster. So we celebrated Axel's birthday in America with a great feed.

A day after getting back to Opua, we headed to Russell for the tall ships race. We raced in the modern classic boat fleet which consisted of boats built between 1950 and 1975, which encompassed a wide array of very different types of boats. There was also a tall ship and anything with 2 masts fleet. We had a great start and sailed a good race, but the ridiculous rating they arbitrary assigned to us ensured we finished last. The race course took the boats on a tour of the Bay of Islands, weaving in and out of the islands.  Aside from the unfriendly rating the race was really fun and the after party was even more fun. For the dinner, a hangi was prepared. This is a traditional Maori feast that is cooked underground. It takes days to prepare the pit and all the wood for the fire, then all day to cook the food. The special part of the meal were the massive mussels and the bread stuffing. It was really delicious!

We have been slogging through a lot of school this past week, and unfortunately we have a bunch more to do next week. Although after that we are going to tour the South Island for 2 weeks with a campervan.

Cheers,

Julie

 The Hangi pit and fire covered with rocks and metal

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

Videos

Here are some awesome videos that we can finally upload since we now have good internet.

The most friendly turtle at Minerva reef.

http://youtu.be/hfLU7BtSoyM

Gary spearing a fish at Minerva reef

http://youtu.be/iNnpo10qv-0

Swimming with blacktip reef sharks and lemon sharks at Bora Bora. Gigi likes to chase the black tip sharks.

http://youtu.be/hQ9LxZ3lPLQ

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.

Amazespace

This is a different art project space created by many artists including school children.

This is a scultpure made by mosaic tiles that reminds me of art in San Diego. There are real plants growing in it.

Selfie in the mirror mosaic.

This mural was created by school children.

Dec 13, 2014 Settling into New Zealand

Since we arrived we have been extremely busy.  We spent about a week and half at the boat yard dock, Gary worked tremendously hard. Numerous other yachties couldn't believe how hard he was working.  And of course it rained about half the time making things more challenging. I spent that time trying to help the kids power through 1 month of school in 1.5 weeks. We still have a little to finish, but the big package is done and shipped to the school in the US. I'm not sure who it was harder on, the kids or me, but it was really trying.

It has been raining a lot and significantly colder than normally at this time of year, so we are eagerly awaiting some nice weather. My parents are nicely settled into a place up the hill from the marina and we just moved to a long-term mooring. My parents had initially lined up a different rental unit, but it didn't come with power or TV and looked a little spartan. The rental we found for their first few days turned out to be way better and they can have it for the majority of the time they are in NZ. Plus the landlady is super friendly, a fantastic cook and goes out of her way to make sure they have everything they need, so they are pleased with this rental.  We have benefited from having them so close and with a well equipped kitchen. All the weight we lost through the South Pacific may come right back with Mom's good cooking and Dad's flowing wine.

Next week we will finish the rest of the school work and prepare for Christmas. We probably won't go sailing until after Christmas when we plan to spend 4 nights out in the Bay of Islands. Hopefully by then it will stop raining.

Today we finally did some site seeing. We went to the Whaitainga Treaty grounds. It is the location where the Maoris signed a treaty with the British that was intended to give both parties equal rights in the country. It was a stunning property, with many significant buildings and the largest dugout war canoe in the world. The canoe was made from 3 giant kauri trees.

We participated in a Maori welcoming ceremony. They selected Gary to be the white man Chief and the Maori group greeted him. Their first greeting was a sharp war spear inches from his face. Quite shocking. They also performed a number of their dances, including the Haka. It was a wonderful experience.

As much as we are enjoying NZ, we are back into the western world lifestyle with phones, internet, TV, etc. The kids are happy with these changes, but Gary really isn't and I not sure I want to get sucked into the always connected, busy lifestyle. The tropics were nice as you didn't have a choice, you just had to slow down.

Cheers,

Julie

Dec 1, 2014 Onshore and busy in New Zealand

We were extremely fortunate to have the calmest passage from Tonga to New Zealand that anyone has heard of for years. There were times that we wished we had a little more wind, but fortunately that didn't last too long, and fortunately we did not have to put up with nasty weather. Thankfully we had beautiful sailing for most of the passage.

We spent a lot of the passage making food as we knew that NZ biosecurity does not allow a lot of foods into the country. They are trying to stop the spread of certain insects, rodents and lizards. Even with our best efforts NZ biosecurity confiscated all fresh fruit and veggies, fresh and cooked meats, eggs, dry beans, wheat berries, popcorn, honey and 3 coconuts forgotten in the dinghy. We filled 2 enormous garbage bags. Needless to say our fridge was completely bare after that.

As we sailed into the Bay of Islands we were greeted by an enormous pod of dolphins. Hundreds of dolphins rushed to greet us, jumping and frolicking in the waves, better than any Seaworld show. They came swimming from all angles and only turned inches from the boat the ride our bow wake. I have never seen dolphins make such sharp turns. 

After we cleared customs we attempted to proceed to the slip the marina provided. We told them multiple times how much we draw (in feet and in meters) and they said no problem getting to that slip. Needless to say we ran aground well before we reached the slip. Fortunately it is soft mud, but it was a falling tide so I jammed it in reverse and churned up the bottom to get off asap. We proceeded to anchor almost in the start line of the Wednesday night racing. As boats were circling around us, one offered to take another person, so Gary hopped on. Too bad he picked the slowest boat in the fleet, but he had fun. Ronnie had sailed his 27 foot POS from San Francisco to NZ, but before he left CA he sold the engine to get some cash and make more room for his surfboards.

After racing we went to the Opua Cruising Club for dinner. It is a really awesome, small, friendly sailing club. It was a busy night with all the Wed night racers and all the cruisers who just had all their food confiscated. Very fun!

The next night was American Thanksgiving and the Opua Cruising Club put on a spectacular dinner with entertainment for the American cruisers. It was special that they went to so much effort for non-members. The highlight of the night was the entertainment, a group of local ladies that sing acapella and have won many awards (they were very good), performed a number of songs for us. For dessert, all the cruisers brought a dessert to share, there was way too much and there was a fantastic variety. It ensured that we could over-eat just like is always done in the US for Thanksgiving.

The reason it has taken a few days to get the blog out after our arrival has to do with all the things that I have done. I have setup a bank account, got phones for Gary and me, figured out the long-term car rental for my parents and us, got their rental unit squared away, gone grocery shopping, done massive amounts of laundry, done some schooling with the kids, bought Gigi pants that fit her (he has grown a lot),… Gary's list is similarly long and my favorite projects he has done include buying and installing a brand new stove and installing a battery charger that works on NZ 240 volt power so we can plug in instead of running the motor to charge.

Axel taking a break from errands in Paihia. Everything is so green here.

Sadly we say goodbye to Harrison as he heads back to Canada for ski season. We have definitely lost the heart of music from Nirvana. We and the South Pacific cruiser fleet will miss Harrison. 

Before he left we spent the day touring Whangerei. The kids really enjoyed the amazing playground. We all liked the fact that the river and marine basin is right in the heart of town. We met at least a dozen cruisers that we knew on the docks.

Tomorrow Gigi and I go to Auckland for a few days to get my parents and see a little bit of the city. My parents are renting a place here in Opua for 4 months. We plan to use this as a base and go touring via boat and car from here.

Now that we have been here less than 1 week, but accomplished about 2 week's worth of projects, we have found that all the Kiwis we have met are the nicest people. We have had to deal with them for challenging issues and they are still the nicest, cheeriest people. I am really looking forward to our stay here.

Cheers,

Julie

Photos from Minerva Reef

Panorama of North Minerva Reef from up the mast.

The slow/no sailing from Tonga to Minerva Reef.

A huge tiger shark visited our boat while Gary was cleaning fish. Our screams of excitement and terror drew all the other yachties to visit and join in the screaming.

Some of the fish Gary speared with David.

 The parrot fish Gary speared.

The enormous lobster Gary caught and Gigi is showing off. She caught 5 on her own, but not quite this big.

 The lobster haul. They caught about 75 the first night and about 65 the second night.

My birthday celebration on board Nirvana with 35 guests in the middle of the ocean (well at Minerva reef). Very memorable!

Harrison entertained the crowd.

The kids played like wild hyenas.

Our brief stop at South Minerva Reef. There was only 1 boat in the lagoon there.