THE LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD

On our sail down from Fiji we had a couple of bumpy nights with the wind on the nose but this was necessary to endure so that we arrived in New Zealand with the correct weather system. We left with several other boats and as usual enjoyed tuning into the net in the morning and evening to hear how everyone was fairing, and what conditions they had. The wind eased and soon we were able to fly our spinnaker, taking it down at night to be on the safe side. One afternoon we were hailed on the radio by Aghavni and were given a fantastic poetical recital from each member of the family. Sadly being philistines we had no poetry on the boat to reciprocate with and the only poem that came to mind was Three Cheers for Pooh which I had already recited on a previous occasion. 

As we approached New Zealand the weather deteriorated, the wind went forward again and the sea became somewhat bumpy. So after seven days we were very pleased to make landfall.  Sailing into Opua I was struck by how similar to Cornwall the landscape was and after Fiji what a dark green the water was. We were feeling quite emotional as it struck us that we had sailed half way around the world. Actually thirty one thousand six hundred and eighty five miles to be precise, but physically half way around the world.

Pulling into the Bay of Islands Marina in Opua we were greeted by Martin and Lydia off Cheglia blasting a fog horn in celebration of Hullabaloo’s arrival. We had last seen them in Tahiti.  We were directed to the quarantine dock for the night as customs were closed for the evening and contemplated with sadness our small remaining supply of alcohol. However we should not have worried, blowing up their dingy Martin & Lydia rowed out to us, tied alongside and served us drinks, our very own floating bar how fantastic was that!  

The next morning the customs and bio security officers arrived onboard. We had been told that we would have some of our food confiscated and were in the middle of eating the last of our eggs for breakfast when the latter arrived. He kindly allowed us to finish our breakfast one at a time, whilst the other one of us showed him our various food stores and he selected a large proportion of them to throw away. Apparently all the confiscated food is stored in a large freezer until the end of the summer when it is then shipped to Auckland where it is first steam cleaned and then burnt in an incinerator.

The weather was very much colder than we were used to so out come the duvet, on went the socks and the Uggs were pounced upon with much glee! The other big excitement was that we could install the new batteries that we had ordered, after that is we had obtained an electrical certificate so that we could plug into the mains. Out went the old very tired batteries and in came the new, supplied by the wonderful Cater Marine with all the heavy lifting done by the owner’s son. So now after all our power problems over the last year we were finally fully up and running.

We spent five days in the marina catching up on jobs and seeing friends. Colin and Thant Zin, who were not only faster than us on the crossing but had also caught a blue fin tuna, they were quickly forgiven as they shared their spoils. I have never tasted tuna like it!  Bill & Zoe took us on a walk to the local town Paihia to see his sister Jane. She kindly leant them her car and we went to the local countdown supermarket and stocked up. We even found a liquor store. We had dinner with them in the sailing club with local oysters and mouth watering fish and chips, and another trip for an early evening drink to the charming town of Russell and the famous Duke of Marlborough. We had dinner with Martin and Lydia as well one evening in Paihia before they left for Germany, all in all a very sociable time.

Then Marina fever set in and it was time to head out. We had ten days to make our way South to Port Whangarei where we had arranged to haul the boat. We motored out into the Bay of Islands in very calm conditions and put a hook down off Roberton Island. We enjoyed the beauty and peace and quiet, our only interruption being the arrival of Donald the Duck who spent most of the evening with us on the back deck clearly expecting some dinner. The next morning we took the dinghy ashore and climbed to the lookout where we were rewarded with the most spectacular view of the islands. We also realised just how unfit we had become!

Our next stop was Moturua Island which was even more beautiful. Keen to start the exercise regime we set off on a walk around the island, up and down several hills huffing and puffing as we went. It is easy to see why Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, I kept thinking I would bump into a hobbit at any moment. The most striking things are the trees, some of them are huge and very old and breathtakingly beautiful. Arriving back in the anchorage we found a pod of dolphins who put on a fine display leaping out of the water in front of us and clearly having the time of their lives. 

We headed back to Russell for a night, primarily to get some internet signal. Going ashore for a drink it struck me how like New England the town was. Both the economies were founded on whaling.  Talking to the locals we couldn’t get over how friendly and helpful they all were. We headed back out to the islands the next morning and took a few days hopping down the coast at a leisurely pace. We had a great walk at Whangamumu where there used to be an old whaling station. We had a marvellous two day stay in Tutukaka Harbour completing a fabulous walk out to the lighthouse, our fitness levels on the up. Dinner in the local restaurant bringing them back down a level, but Andrew’s mussel chowder was memorable.

We arrived in Urquarts Bay in substantial breeze and hunkered down for the night before heading up river to our final destination at Port Whangarei. Tied up to their working jetty we spent the weekend preparing the boat for lifting. We managed to wrestle the sails off without too much of a marital and Phil from UK sails picked them up. Monday morning dawned and we drove the boat into the slings for lifting. Feeling rather emotional that this was the end of our Pacific crossing I said to Andrew, “I want to do it all again!” What an amazing time we have had.

We were driven across the yard whilst still on the boat which is a first, and then lowered in a cage by a forklift to the ground. Once she was all chocked off we retrieved our bags and bid a slightly tearful farewell to our floating home. 

Heading to Auckland for a couple of days we stayed in a very nice Sofitel hotel near to the Viaduct Basin, home of the America’s cup. Nigel, the revered commodore of the Outside Yacht Club at home, had commissioned us with a spoof investigation into the possibility of taking the club to the next level at the America’s cup for his speech at the Laying Down Dinner. So imagine our delight when the Kiwi boat, Emirates New Zealand, actually sailed out of the harbour! Taking silly videos and pictures kept us entertained for most of the day as we explored the basin and took a trip up the Sky Tower. We spotted her being towed back in on her foils at about twenty knots, it was a pretty awesome sight.

There is a really nice vibe in the harbour and we enjoyed some decent dinners. On our last morning we just had time before our flight to visit the Auckland War Memorial museum. Apart from seeing a stuffed version of the elusive Kiwi there was also a very interesting exhibition on the history of migration across Polynesia, which we found very enjoyable.

I had decided to break the journey up on our way home and stop in Sans Francisco for one night. I had appreciated that it was winter but had thought that it would be very Christmassy with the usual American over the top seasonal decorations. We arrived early in the morning in the fog. Travelled to our hotel which was rather grotty despite the high price tag, it transpired there was a conference in town and all the rates had been hiked. The room wasn’t ready until later in the afternoon so we wearily made our way into town, passing the many drug addicts on the way, it also transpired we weren’t staying in a great part of town either! The ride on the famous trams was about the only highlight, we couldn’t see the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog and there were no Christmas decorations at all! I did witness a young man shooting up in a bus stop and a well dressed young lady smoking a crack pipe and if I had breathed deeply I could have got very stoned, the place smelt worse than Jamaica. All in all a total waste of money and the overnight stop just prolonged the pain of the travelling.

Driving home down the M3 taking in the familiar surroundings it struck me again just what an amazing journey we had had since we were last in the UK over fourteen months before. And what an achievement it was to have sailed to the other side of the world. Although obviously looking forward to seeing family and friends, we had been a little concerned as to how we would fit back into life at home and how we might feel. We shouldn’t have worried. We had a fabulous time catching up with everyone and we realised what a great place we live in. 

Highlights were an amazing family Christmas, Emma’s birthday trip to london, Sally’s 50th girls trip to Amsterdam, a Spa weekend with my two gorgeous girls and of course seeing so many of our mates, although as usual we didn’t see as many as we would have liked to.

We also had some medical check ups and the indigestion that I had been suffering from for over a year turned out to be a hiatus hernia. I was given a slap on the wrist and strict instructions to lose 10kg by the following December. On the plus side it was nothing ominous.

So laden with parts for the boat we set off back to New Zealand for the next leg of our trip. New walking shoes also in the bag for operation get fit and lose weight! Travelling via LA we almost missed our connection as we had to go through immigration and we were slightly disturbed by the number of passengers wearing face masks.....