April 22, 2016 Farewell New Zealand and Nirvana

March 28 we left Great Barrier Island and sailed NW to Burgess Island in the Mokohinau Islands about 25 miles away. The island group consists of a few isolated rugged, rocky outcrops, the biggest hosting a picturesque old light house on its peak. We anchored on the SW side, and Gary and Gigi hopped in the water to spear fish. Soon the wind shifted and came straight into the bay, making the anchorage untenable. We headed around to the other side of the islands looking for better shelter, only to be beaten to the only feasible spot big enough for Nirvana by a power boat. As it was 6 pm, we thought we would try 1 more spot, but as we started to go into this narrow rocky pass between 2 islands, the steering chain broke. After a brief moment of panic, Gary turned the boat around with the autopilot, so we were no longer heading straight for the jagged reef. At this point we realized we had only 1 option, to motor/sail 30 miles to Whangarei. Of course the wind was on the nose, so we decided to just motor. As we reached the entrance to Whangarei River, we decided to anchor outside in Smugglers Cove, so we wouldn't have to deal with trying to turn around the point in all the current in the river, with just the autopilot steering. 

The following day Gary spent many hours replacing the steering chain. Fortunately we already had the spare chain, as we had this same problem in Fiji, and had Sam bring us a spare from the US. Also it was fortunate that this problem didn't occur in a reef pass in Vanuatu, New Caledonia or during the big passage to New Zealand as this maintenance issue was not deemed important enough to get attention earlier.

With the steering fixed, we did a little sea trial then headed into Urquharts Bay. We spent 2 days here enjoying the wonderful hiking and eating the 40 scallops that Gary dove for.

It was finally time to head into Whangarei Town Basin, where we will leave Nirvana while we are gone. This involves heading 12 miles up the Whangarei River at high tide and passing through a lift bridge. It was a melancholy trip as we knew this would be the last journey on Nirvana for us. It was also exciting as many of our friends were in Whangarei and we were looking forward to being in a town again. Of special note, Gary's friend of 35 years, Phil Jonhston and his fiancée Naylene were tied next to us on the dock.

The next few weeks were a blur of boat projects, packing and shipping home our belongings, and cleaning out Nirvana so she could be left presentable for perspective buyers. We sold off many of the toys we had on board, like the kayak, dive tanks, surfboards, books, DVDs, etc. and gave lots to charities.

As we were giving things for other cruisers to bring to Fiji to help the villagers in the Lau Group that got hit so hard by Cyclone Winston, Gigi decided she wanted to do more. So she baked a lot of cookies, and with the help of her friends and brother, she raised $255 from 2 days of sales. She donated the money to SeaMercy, who with the help of a US Rotary group matched the money 3 fold, so her $255 in cookie sales all of a sudden became a $1020 donation. That is huge and can really make a difference. We are so proud of her, she was thrilled with the outcome of her work, and she realized that 1 person really can make a difference.

Elizabeth (Field Trip), Gigi and Ella (Varekai) selling cookies to raise money for Fijian Cyclone Relief

To give Gary a little space so he could varnish and paint the galley, the kids and I finally went to Rotorua to check out the sights. We had a brief, but action filled few days in Rotorua. We stayed at a nice holiday park that had mineral hot tubs to soak in at the end of our busy days. As you walked to the beach at Lake Rotorua, you needed to stay on the path as hot water was venting out of the ground all around. We went to Rainbow Springs and saw kiwis and other native birds. Wai-o-tapu was a geothermal wonderland, with bubbling mud, water flowing over the silica terraces, the champagne pool, the devil's bath, although Axel was not fond of the sulfur smell. Everybody devoured delicious food at the night market in town. The local park offered more geothermal wonders and a great playground. We toured the Rotorua museum. And we went to Hobbiton. I loved the immaculate gardens, Gigi loved seeing all the spots from the movies, and Axel liked the ginger beer in the Dragon's Breath Pub at the end.

Kaurai Park in Rotorua

close up of the silica terraces

the silica terraces

The devil's bath, yellow-green from the high sulfur content

 Hobbiton

Dragon's breath pub enjoying a ginger beer

Dave from Rewa threw us an awesome going away party. He was rafted next to us, so the party spread across both boats and the dock. Unfortunately it was a rainy evening, but with the help of many, we had a few tarps draped over the dock and everyone stayed dry. Plus cruisers really aren't worried about a little water. We borrowed the BBQ from the marina, people brought lots of salads, and both Gigi and Victoria made yummy cakes. The most awesome feature of the party was that Dave projected the new Star Wars movie on his mizzen. This was a hit with both the kids and adults.

 

Max, Julie and Phil

Even though we did a lot of work on Nirvana while we were in Whangarei, we really enjoyed spending time with our friends that we had met over the past 2 years cruising. We shared many dinners with Dave from Rewa, and every morning Gary and he went for coffee and talked politics. We loved catching up with Field Trip and Varekai, the kids play together as much as they could. They even made a movie when Fluenta was in town. We had a few dinners with Phil and Naylene that were fantastic, but I wish we had even more time to spend together.

Naylene at their property manning the BBQ

We will miss Whangarei, but we will really miss all our good friends that we have met during our travels. We are so lucky to be able to have spent so many good times together in so many different countries, and in so many stunning locations, it is a camaraderie that is hard to find.

Of course not all was smooth in Whangarei. The last day was a whirlwind of cleaning and stowing to leave the boat. We had to catch a bus at 4 pm to Auckland, where we were to spend the night on Fluenta, who was to drive us to the airport in the morning. As 4 pm approached, Gary got more and more stressed realizing he wasn't going to get through his long list to pack the boat away for an indefinite period of time. About 30 minutes before the bus he decided he just couldn't make the bus, so he decided to stay and finish his work and then hitchhike later that evening. Thankfully this reduced his stress level, but increased mine, which peaked the following morning when he still was on the boat in Whangarei at 7 am. I called around to arrange a ride for him, but thankfully by the time Sarah was ready to leave, he managed to get a ride right to the airport. He arrived at the same time as the kids and I, but that was cutting things tighter than I liked. As we were preparing to leave the boat and catch the bus, Honey arrived after sailing 6 days straight from Nelson. It was amazing to have a quick reunion with them, and even better when we found out that Jude was on the same bus as us to Auckland, giving us lots of time to catch up.

Leaving Nirvana after 2 years was difficult for all of us, especially Gary. We have fantastic memories of beautiful tropical islands and exotic locations. There were challenges sailing and living in tight quarters, provisioning for months at a time, safely squeezing through narrow reef passes, anchors dragging, all raising your adrenalin, but in a way that made you feel alive. But the family bonding and the lasting friendships we made are really what made this journey so special. We have been blessed to have had these 2 years of incredible adventures and friendships. We already miss our life on Nirvana.

Fortunately the adventure does not come to an end as we step off Nirvana, we are now going to travel over land finishing our around the world travels. We will visit Thailand for 3 weeks, then to Europe for a month, and lastly stopping in Canada to visit my family for 3 weeks.

Bon Voyage,

Julie

March 27, 2016 Great Barrier Island

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.

Nigel's first fish he speared

 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

March 14, 2016 Coromandel, Waiheke and Auckland

We spent a couple of days in the Coromandel Peninsula. We first anchored off the town of Coromandel, but found the mud flats extended way too far out for easy shore access. We motored for 20 minutes, then paddled in the shallows for 15 minutes, then dragged the dinghy through knee deep mud for over 30 minutes to reach the pier. Tired and dirty, we found out it was better to anchor off Te Kouma, so we moved there as soon as the tide rose enough to leave easier.

We rented a car and drove to Whitianga and Hot Water Beach on the eastern shores of the Coromandel. Gary got some good surf, while the kids and I enjoyed the hot springs that bubble out of the sand on the beach. We dug a pit in the beach to make a hot tub, and relaxed in some very hot water. This is an extremely popular tourist spot, so there were lots of people all crowded into the small stretch of beach where the hot springs reach the surface. Gigi went surfing on the inside waves once Gary got back, and we had a hard time getting her to leave.

We spent 1 night in Opopo Bay on the eastern end of Waiheke so we could hike to the Stony Batter. Axel was extremely disappointed when we got there that the WWII tunnels were barricaded, as that was a huge draw for all of us. Although the remains of the massive gun embankments and other structures were still visible.

We spent 10 days in Auckland at the Viaduct Marina. Everyone loved getting their fill of city living and unlimited internet. The marina is located in the heart of the city, so it is incredibly easy to walk to anything. The kids and I went to see the Phantom of the Opera and were blown away by the decor in the Civic Theater. It is an Indian theme, filled with Buddhas, tigers, elephants, serpents, and the ceiling in the theater is painted with the twinkling southern hemisphere sky. Gigi and I went to the world's longest catwalk fashion show, the catwalk zigzagged its way up an entire block. Axel and Gary biked all around Newmarket and found that Auckland is a very hilly city.

We sailed in the Classic Yacht Regatta on other people's boats, which was great as we now have made some good friends in Auckland. My boat beat Gary's across the line, but his beat us on corrected time, even though they are the same boats (they have some odd rating issues here).

We went to the Skytower, Art Museum, Maritime Museum, did lots of shopping, explored different areas of the city, and found a cool park in Ponsonby. One night we enjoyed dinner and a movie outdoors at Silo Park. Gary and I even got to have our first date night out in a year.

We left Auckland and headed to nearby Waiheke Island to get ourselves out of city mode. We toured the island yesterday, stopping to do a little archery and wine tasting, then build sand castles and swim at Onetangi Beach. We spent two nights at Waiheke Island, now we are off to Tiritiri Island and probably back out to Great Barrier Island.

Cheers,

Julie

Westhaven marina on the left, Viaduct marina on the right, seen from the Skytower

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