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| BoI Marina from the masthead |
Following our arrival
in Opua Marina, Bay of Islands, I was very soon on my way back to UK
for a three week sojourn, out of the sun. In the event the weather in
NZ and the weather in UK were remarkably similar, but for the fact
that UK was descending into winter and NZ moving towards summer. My
time back in UK was busy! In what seemed no time at all I was back at
Heathrow airport, boarding a plane for the return flight to NZ along
with Yiorgos, a Greek friend, who was coming out for a spell on
Kurukulla.
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| Auckland winter gardens |
After an overnight in Auckland, getting to know a little
of the city, we set off by bus for Opua and the marina a little after
midday; it was a four hour bus ride away. NZ really has very few long
distance passenger railways; all railways north of Whangarei on North
Island are now closed standfast one small preserved railway which is
slowly reopening the line, from Kawakawa (the home of the famous
Hundertwasser public toilets)
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| Hundertwasser toilets, Kawakawa |
to Opua, as a tourist attraction. On
the outward leg, for speed, I flew Kerikeri to Auckland airport but I
decided we would see more of NZ from a bus on the return leg. In the
interim, Nick, a friend of Christoph's had also flown out and we were
to be four onboard Kurukulla until Christmas when my daughter Vanessa
was due to join us, from Melbourne.
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| Stone Store and Missionary Station, Kerikeri |
Our initial plan was to
complete some minor maintenance before departure and then head off
for a few days cruising the Bay of Islands (BoI) before heading south
to Auckland. As ever plans are a basis for change..... A delay to
the return of the anchor and chain from re-galvanising meant that we
had a four or five day wait for its return; in the interim we hired a
car and drove up to Cape Reinga (the most north-westerly tip of North
Island)
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| Cape Reinga |
and back, over two days, calling at the 90 mile beach
(actually ~56 miles long) and various other scenic points along the
way.
We eventually departed
BoI Marina in the afternoon of the 3rd of December having
said our goodbyes to the marina staff, to J&B Marine who had been
doing some of the work on Kurukulla, to Sue the Royal Naval Sailing
Association HLO (Honorary Local Officer) who had been a complete
treasure and to Tom and 'Bobby' (aka Brenda), they had been great
friends and supporters of my family members who, until their death,
lived in Kerikeri on the BoI and who had now become firm friends of
ours as well.
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| Lookout over Cooks Cove, Motuarohia Island |
Over the next few days we sailed from island to island,
anchorage to anchorage around the BoI, ranging from Whale Bay on the
north shores to the deserted Cavalli Islands at the northern side of
the entrance to BoI, to Deep Water Bay in the Eastern extremity
before rounding Cape Brett to head southwards. The range and variety
of anchorages is astounding and, notwithstanding the number of boats
in the BoI, it is surprisingly un-crowded.
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| Cape Brett, first time around! |
Just after midday on
the 11th of December we rounded Cape Brett, in moderate
winds and some relatively heavy seas, heading south for an anchorage
in Whangamumu Harbour, about 6 miles south of the Cape; that is until
an hour later when the forestay parted! Immediately our two spare
halyards were attached to the bow to replace the support to the mast
normally provided by the forestay. Fortunately the Genoa halyard
survived the brief experience of being the only thing holding the
mast up! Thereafter, having stowed all sail, we turned 180°
and motored back to Opua, arriving at 1730. En route I telephoned
Northland Spars and Rigging and arranged for them to visit the
following morning to discuss options for repair. Having already had
to replace the lower shrouds, after one started to unravel after
departure from Panama, I had already decided to replace all the other
standing rigging during our forthcoming prolonged spell in Melbourne
around Easter 2020; the forestay parting caused this item of
maintenance to be brought forward!
Next
morning Rob from NSR duly arrived and we set about arranging for the
mast to be removed and the rigging replaced. The mast was set to be
craned out in the early morning of the 13th
of December and it was thus an ideal opportunity to undertake all the
other more minor items that were outstanding, like fitting a
Tricolour to the mast head, replacing the Steaming/Deck flood light
and giving the mast a thorough survey. Notwithstanding all of this
Rob was 90% confident that the package could be contained in the time
available before they shut down for two weeks over Christmas, on the
20th
of December.
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| Christmas in Opua Marina...... |
This would still allow us to be in Auckland to meet up
with Vanessa by the 23rd
as planned. On this basis Christoph and Nick set off for a brief tour
of South Island whilst Yiorgos and I settled down to a period
overseeing the mast work and tackling a few other items of
maintenance onboard such as re-plumbing the forward heads to resolve
blocked pipework and a seized tank/overboard diverter valve; Oh joy!
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| Look no mast |
Unfortunately,
despite his best endeavours, Rob and NSR were unable to complete the
mast work prior to the shutdown. Competing, pre programmed, work
simply made it impossible. For this reason we resorted to 'Plan C'.
Yiorgos and I would hire a car and drive to Auckland, join Vanessa in
her hotel for the night of the 22nd,
Christoph and Nick would arrive in Auckland and join us on the 23rd
and we would all then head for the apartment that I had rented for
Christmas on Waiheke Island, by car ferry! Not quite the mooring off
the beach for Kurukulla that I had intended! Notwithstanding the
change of plan we had an excellent Christmas on the Island, turkey
lunch on the beach on Christmas Day plus a tour of a few of the
restaurants and wineries thrown in. On Boxing Day we caught the ferry
back to Auckland, dropped Christoph and Nick off at their hotel,
(Nick was flying back to UK on the 29th)
and Yiorgos, Vanessa and I set off for Opua and the marina once
again.
In
the following days we met up again with Tom and Bobby, spent a day
travelling around Northland by car and a couple of nights on a
mooring in Waitata (Donkey) Bay, (as a motor-boat, without mast!),
enjoying one of the best beaches near Opua.
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| Red skies over Donkey Bay caused by the Australian bush fires |
We were fortunate to make
the acquaintance of Antonio, the Italian owner of the land backing on
to the beach, who very kindly invited us to use his mooring as and
when we wanted; extremely generous. Over New Year we were again on
the mooring and able to walk over the hill to Russell, the township
that was once the second missionary and trading post established in
north island NZ after the Kerikeri Stone Store and it's adjacent
missionary station.
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| Russell waterfront |
It was the ideal spot to celebrate New Year and
to see the impressive firework display being set off from a barge
moored halfway between Russell and Paihia. 1st
of January dawned bright and clear; more than could be said for the
Kurukulla crew! After a leisurely 48 hours on Antonio's mooring we
finally headed back to Opua and the marina.
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| Vanessa at Mataii Bay |
On
the 2nd
of January Yiorgos and I drove Vanessa down to Auckland to catch her
flight back to Australia, leaving Christoph to look after Kurukulla.
Having put Vanessa on her flight we then spent the night in Auckland
in order to meet up with long standing work friends of mine from the
days when I worked in the MoD Procurement Executive, handling
contracts for the design and production of aircraft handling systems;
working with, amongst others, MacTaggart Scott in Edinburgh. After a
thoroughly enjoyable lunch with Tony and Trish, (he was the
MacTaggart Scott Chief Design Engineer at the time), we set off again
to drive back to Opua. Unfortunately there had been a fatal pile up
on Highway 1 resulting in the road being closed. The scarcity of
roads in NZ means that diversions are frequently neither short nor
easy. After about 50 km on unsurfaced (white) roads we were back on
Highway 1 but with a car that looked as though it had just been
driven across the Sahara desert! Comprehensively covered in dust!
Life would have been so much simpler if we had managed to stick to
Plan A or B and had Kurukulla in Auckland for Christmas!
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| Mast on it's way back in .... |
By
8th
January the mast was ready to go back in and by the 10th
we were ready to set sail again. After departing Opua in the mid
afternoon, for the what we thought would be the last time, we headed
out into the bay and gave the mast the best trial we could, in the
prevailing light winds, ending up on Antonio's mooring. The only
problem revealed was the wind sensor on the mast, which had been
misbehaving for some weeks and was still not working despite a new
cable being installed. One for later! Next day we made a leisurely
passage to Otehei Bay, on Urupukapuka Island, again testing all that
we could before, next day, rounding cape Brett for the second time
and sailing down the coast to Bland Bay; here we sailed onto the
anchor at 1700 and settled for the evening. Next morning we set off
at 0900 intending to head for the Hen and Chicken Islands but the
winds had other ideas! By mid day we were not far south of the bay
and it was evident that without motoring for hours on end we were not
going to make it before nightfall and hence we diverted into
Mimiwhangata Bay where we found shelter at the east end of the bay;
the forecast was for a windy night, with winds from the south east,
and heavy rain. They were right! Next morning dawned windy, grey and
wet (just like sailing in UK!). The SE winds were in exactly the
wrong direction to carry us towards Auckland and hence we decided we
were going no where until it improved.........
Finally,
after two days we were off again. The winds remained in the SE but
had moderated somewhat. At 1030 we set out for a bumpy ride to get as
far down the coast as we could.
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| Anchored in Whale Bay |
By 1400 we were 10 miles down the
coast, off Whale Bay, near Matapouri, and decided that was enough.
The prospect of a secluded, sheltered and sandy bay was too tempting.
In fact the bay was so sheltered that we took some time to manoeuvre
in to it under sail but, after a frustrating 15 minutes, eventually
we were safely anchored. Later in the afternoon Yiorgos and I rowed
ashore to walk to Matapouri; we needed some fresh victuals and there
was reportedly a general store in the beachside village. It was a
delightful coastal walk with a short cut back via the road making the
return, laden with shopping, much easier.
Next
morning we set off at 0900, again intending to get as far
south-eastwards down the coast as possible. Today was more successful
and by sunset we were ghosting into Boulder Bay in the Chicken
Islands, at the entrance of the small boat passage between Lady Alice
and Whatupuke Island, having achieved some 25 miles down the coast.
Here we joined two other sailing boats for the night and spent the
night gently rolling in the swell with no wind.
The
next day we awoke to much the same, an almost flat calm. With the
current flowing through the gap between the islands we were lying
with our stern to the little wind that there was and so we sailed off
the anchor under genoa alone. Ten minutes later we were clear enough
to hoist the mainsail and from there we headed off, in a light breeze
to pass through the smaller islands at the western end of the group
and onwards towards Auckland. In the westerly breeze we were making
2-3 knots so nothing exciting! By mid afternoon we had to give up on
our aim of sailing all the way from Opua (Bay of Islands) to Auckland
and resorted to the engine for the final 10 miles; disappointing but
not worth spending the night at sea for! By 1900 we were anchored in
Vivian Bay on Kawau Island, a very sheltered anchorage some 25 miles
from Auckland.
Sunday
dawned much like the previous day. There was enough wind to sail off
the anchor and beat southwards down the channel between Kawau Island
and the mainland shore around Warkworth but by the time we reached
the southern end of the channel the wind had dropped to almost zero
and we again resorted to the engine. I had the marina berth booked in
Auckland for the Monday and we didn't want to delay our arrival
again; we had already missed one booking a month before! By 1530 we
were anchored in Little Palm Beach on the island of Waiheke, we had
arrived in the place we had originally planned in Plan A but 4 weeks
behind schedule! C'est la vie!
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| Westhaven Marina, Auckland on arrival |
Next
day we moved into Westhaven Marina in Auckland city centre, right in
the shadow of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Here we were to stay for
three days preparing for the journey back north and around Cape
Reinga. Our plan had been to go south to reach Wellington but after
discussions with locals in the marina office it became evident that
going back north and down the west coast of North Island was by far
the better choice in terms of weather and winds and only involved 50
additional miles, a “no brainer” they said, as it avoided the
potentially very unpleasant beat into Wellington from the east. That
evening we enjoyed a very enjoyably dinner in the splendid
surroundings of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, surrounded by
the trophies from their Americas Cup wins amongst others. “And so
to bed”.....
On
the Tuesday we hosted Sarah and Joe to drinks onboard (Sarah is the
sister of two of my godsons') plus their two delightful daughters
Lily and Emily.
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| Emily and Lily |
Lily was overjoyed at being on a yacht, Emily rather
less so, but what do you expect at 6 months old?
Wednesday
was re-victualling plus re-installing the repaired masthead wind
sensor. I had been struggling with this for a pair of weeks but
finally managed to get a spare wiring loom, price $40NZ, and that did
the trick, rather better than $450 for a new unit! By the end of the
day I had been up the mast, re-installed it, and all was working
satisfactorily. Thus it was Thursday morning we hauled back out of
the marina berth, refuelled at the refuelling pontoon and then headed
back to Little Palm beach on Waiheke Island for a last night there
before heading to Barrier Island.
After
a night at anchor at Little Palm we sailed off the anchor heading for
Barrier but light winds were to confound our plans once again and, as
sunset threatened to render our arrival in the Barrier group after
dark, we decided to divert slightly and spend a night at anchor in
Port Jackson Bay, at the very end of the Coromandel peninsula; a wide
open bay but protected from the prevailing winds and swell.
Notwithstanding its remoteness the back of the beach was lined by
campers of every form from small tents to large camper-vans.
Next
morning we set off again on a 16 mile, close reach, across to Bowling
Alley Bay, our first port of call in the Barrier Islands. Here we
spent the night in fantastic surroundings as one of only two boats in
this beautiful bay with its steep green sides and secure holding.
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| Oneura Bay (aka Redcliffe Cove), Barrier Islands |
From here, next morning, we sailed off the anchor and headed for
Oneura Bay just outside Man of War Passage, the entrance to Port
Fitzroy. From Google Earth (a normally great source of information
prior to arrival in an anchorage) we thought the inner end of this
bay had a good, sandy, beach. We were wrong! After sailing up the
sheltered waters between Rangiahua Island (aka Flat Island) and Great
Barrier Island itself we turned into the bay to be greeted by an
oyster farm. Fortunately this was near the entrance and there was
plenty of room in the bay to anchor. Once anchored we set off in the
dinghy to research the beach. Ooze, lots and lots of ooze along the
waterline, only at the back of the beach, above the high water mark,
was there a narrow band of sand. The fresh water spring, “suitable
for bathing” according to the pilot book, at the eastern end of the
beach was a mere trickle running through a series of green and
stagnant pools, not quite as described. We returned onboard slightly
disillusioned but passed a pleasant night nonetheless, in the company
of several late arrivals who obviously knew this to be a good
anchorage but not a daytime bay!
With
only a few miles to sail we opted for a late-ish start the following
day. At 1100 we sailed off the anchor and sailed slowly into Port
Fitzroy through the 100m wide “Man of War Passage”. Once in,
having negotiated the flooky winds in the entrance, we sailed slowly
north, leaving by the northern entrance of Port Fitzroy and entering
Port Abercrombie. All of these “Ports” are in reality just well
protected bays. Our destination was Nagle Cove, at one time a
shipbuilding venue and where the largest wooden sailing ship ever
built in New Zealand was built, the three masted barque
Stirlingshire. Today there is little to show for this industrial
past, on the foreshore are a few houses and one farm, each with their
own jetty but little else; the surroundings are however stunningly
beautiful.
Whilst
on passage I took the opportunity to call ahead and check whether
Mana marina, near Wellington, where we intended to berth Kurukulla
whilst visiting the city, was actually deep enough in the approaches
for us to enter. Almost all of the ports and estuaries on the west
coast of North Island are heavily silted with sand bars at the
entrance. I was glad I had called! The answer was that unless it was
very calm and we entered almost on the top of the tide we were not
going to get in. Not only that but if we had not been re-antifouled
in the previous six months (or had a certificate confirming a bottom
scrub in the past month) we were not going to be allowed in! Our last
antifoul was in Panama, 10 months back! Even worse, all marinas in
South Island apply the same criteria! Time for a change of plan.... I
phoned Opua Marina and within five minutes had booked a lift out for
the following Monday and a splash on the Wednesday; time for a rapid
re-antifoul; one less job to do in Melbourne!
To
meet the revised programme we intended to depart Nagle Cove in
darkness, at 0500, in order to enjoy a long day sailing north and
make ground back towards Opua. At 0500 there was not a breath of wind
hence we retired for an extra two hours and awaited a change! By 0700
things were slightly better and we ghosted off the anchor and out of
the bay without difficulty. By 0800 we were making good speed, NW,
under spinnaker. It was not to last! By 1100 we had to abandon the
spinnaker and by 1130 we were hard on the wind. Our rapid sail north
became a slow beat to windward and thus we decided to visit yet
another set of islands, the Mokohirau Islands, specifically the
“Landing” anchorage at Pokohinu (Burgess) Island.
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| Burgess Island lighthouse |
This island is
the location of one of the original lighthouses on this coast and the
landing was the keepers re-supply facility, now long abandoned after
the light went un-manned. The beach and bay are large boulders worn
by the sea, not great holding but fortunately we held well as
overnight the wind got up and shifted 90º
from NW to SW. Whilst Christoph stayed onboard to look after
Kurukulla Yiorgos and I set off ashore to investigate the lighthouse.
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| Landing anchorage, Burgess Island, Mokohinau Islands |
A steep climb up the 108m high incline of the old tramway and a
pleasant 1km walk back by a far gentler footpath.
Next
morning we awoke to a brisk SW wind and at 0700 we set off, under
sail, to make the best of it. A short cut through 75m wide “Edith
Passage” between Burgess and Motupapa Islands and we were on our
way. A brisk beam reach doing 6+ knots, fantastic ..... but ….. by
1000 we were becalmed …. again. This time we decided to use the
engine and started it for the first time since we had motored out of
Westhaven Marina, six days before, not bad! Two hours later the wind
filled in from the north and we were back under sail, hard on the
wind on starboard tack, heading for Matapouri Bay; near Whale Bay,
one of our anchorages we used on the way south. By 1530 we were
settled in the northern end of the bay, in 3.5m, happily anchored on
sand. Time for tea!
From
Matapouri Bay we set out at 0900 intending to reach Whangamumu
Harbour, by sunset, 25 miles to windward. In the event we made better
progress than expected and sailed onto the anchor, off the old
whaling station at Whangamumu, at 1730.
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| Old whaling station at Whangamumu Harbour |
The anchorage is delightful,
a large enclosed area of water, mostly 5-10m deep, with a narrow
entrance making it protected from almost all wind directions. An
ideal place for the night. Next morning Yiorgos and I went ashore to
research what remains of the whaling station, which is not much! The
site must have seemed ideal to the men who originally worked there.
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| Commemorative plaque at Whangamumu whaling station. |
Behind the station is a fresh water stream and waterfall providing
them with limitless freshwater for their needs combined with the
totally protected harbour and slipway. After the trip ashore, by
1130, we were underway again,
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| Rounding Cape Brett for the final time |
In
light winds but perfect sunshine we rounded Cape Brett for the last
time and headed into the Bay of Islands again with the intention of
anchoring for Friday night in Opourua Bay before spending a final
night on Antonio's mooring in Donkey Bay and berthing in the marina
on Sunday late afternoon.
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| Back in Opua Marina |
All went to plan …...... that is until we
lifted out! Once the bottom had been pressure washed it was evident
there was a blister, weeping water, on the starboard side of rudder
skeg. This weakness has been a constant problem since the day I
purchased Kurukulla 14 years ago. Both sides have been repaired by
various boatyards but unfortunately I have always entrusted them the
job in my absence (due to spending winters in UK and summers
sailing).
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| Opening the blister that led to the skeg rebuild. |
Investigation revealed this “minor problem” was
actually the result of several previous “bodged” repairs and that
both sides of the skeg were equally unsatisfactory.
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| Steve and the skeg repair |
A rapid hack at
both sides revealed layers of repair each as poorly done as the
previous, Graham of Opua Boat Builders and his fibreglass man Steve
agreed to take on the job of rebuilding the skeg to a design and
standard that we all agreed; James of JB Marine agreed to do the
mechanical aspects of dropping the rudder out;
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| Almost there |
thus a two day quick
re-antifoul became a twelve day skeg repair and a leisurely
re-antifoul!
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| Complete ready to antifoul |
The up side was that it gave us a second opportunity to
see Bobby and Tom, my friends from Kerikeri.
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| Ready to splash |
Our
splash was booked for Friday, 14 February; after a brief engine and
steering trial, we refuelled at Opua, spent the final night in the
marina, and then set off northwards at 0600 on the Saturday morning.
14 days later than planned. This delay also brought with it another
problem, Yiorgos' visa was due to expire on 21 February and we were
now not going to leave New Zealand in time! For some reason EU
citizens get 3 month visas on arrival but UK citizens 6 months. After
endless on-line form filling and a payment of $NZ240 (£120) we sat
back and waited to see whether it would be granted.
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| Whangaroa Harbour on a grey day, Taken from Pekapeka Bay |
By
mid afternoon Saturday we were anchored in Ramfurly Bay, Whangaroa
Harbour, a rugged but beautiful anchorage just to the north west of
the entrance. Initially we had it all to ourselves but that was too
good to last and by nightfall we had been joined by two other yachts.
Next morning we were underway again by 0730 to catch the last f the
ebb tide flowing out of the harbour. Initially we had a relatively
brisk beam reach north westwards towards Maitai Bay, our next
anchorage (one we had visited by road during the Christmas/New Year
period). As we rounded Pihakoa Point the wind died away to nothing
and so, despite our better intentions, we motored the final 2 miles
and came to anchor, on sand, in 4m, in the north western corner of
the bay, at 1400. Here we were out of the swell (just) and were able
to spend a comfortable night.
Monday
morning saw us underway again at 0830 and heading north west towards
North Cape, the most northerly tip of North Island. Although the wind
was light we were able to carry the spinnaker until we were within 5
miles of the Cape, after that, the wind having headed us, we had to
revert to the genoa. This was fine until we passed the Cape, when we
again hoisted the spinnaker, but by this stage the tide was running
against us and the wind fading to nothing. Eventually, after an hour
and a half making only one knot overground we opted for the engine in
order to make Cape Reinga before the tide turned foul again for the
passage south. We eventually rounded Cape Reinga at midnight. By 0400
the wind had returned along with the occasional rain shower. This
lasted until 1400 the following afternoon when the wind died again
and went from light easterly to even lighter westerly! Back on went
the engine! I did not want to be drifting for days on this coast
awaiting the next heavy weather system to come barrelling in from
Australia!
 |
| Dolphins playing under the bow, en route South Island |
For
the next two days the routine was the same, sailing when we had
enough wind to make two to three knots or more and motoring at 6
knots when the wind died. Throughout this period the sky was partly
clouded over but any wind this might have promised failed to arrive!
 |
| Mount Egmont, seen on a flat calm day on passage. |
Some wind eventually arrived on Wednesday morning in the form of a
light west south westerly breeze, getting up to 10 knots and meaning
the Kurukulla took off at 6.5 knots towards our next way point, off
New Plymouth, still 140 miles away to the south. It was not to last
however and twelve hours later we were back to the fitful breezes and
frustrations of before.
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| Sunset en route to South Island |
Our only moment of amusement was when we
sailed up to a pair of seals lazing on the surface who patently had
not seen or heard us coming; they dived the moment they saw us but
then surfaced in our wake looking quizzically in our direction.
 |
| The horrid forecast! |
Eventually
we rounded Cape Egmont, the most easterly tip of North Island and
took the opportunity, whilst in mobile phone range, to get a new
forecast for the days ahead. If we had lacked wind in the past four
days were were certainly not going to in the next 24 hours! The
forecast was for winds increasing to northerly Gale force 8 with
gusts of up to Severe Storm 11!
 |
| Arriving Marlborough Sound |
The northerly wind allowed us to make
good speed towards Queen Charlotte sound, part of Marlborough Sound,
such that we were able to shelter in the lee of Cape Jackson before
the worst of the winds hit us. Nonetheless we were hit by heavy rain
and hail, icy temperatures with winds of 35 knots and gusting to 45,
not the most pleasant of welcomes!
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| Arriving Marlborough Sound, gusting 45kts of wind and hail! |
An hour and a half after rounding
Cape Jackson we were able to anchor in Ship Cove (aka Meretoto),
which offers some of the best shelter from northerly winds in the
outer reaches of Queen Charlotte Sound. Here we joined three other
yachts and, after three attempts, managed to get the anchor to hold
in 17m of water whilst the wind gusted around us in the, by now,
pitch dark.
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| Looking into Queen Charlotte Sound from Ship Cove. |
Next
morning the weather had improved considerably, we awoke to blue skies
and light breezes with an excellent view of the inner reaches of the
Sound and of the Captain Cook memorial on the foreshore commemorating
his taking possession of Queen Charlotte Sound. Later that morning we
sailed off the anchor heading to Burney's Beach on Arapawa Island.
This was a delightful beach with a couple of splendid houses behind
but the anchorable depths were all occupied by private moorings
(empty) strategically placed to make anchoring impossible! You were
either forced out into water that was too deep or at risk of tangling
with the moorings. As a result we moved on two miles further into the
sound to Waikaramea Bay where we were able to anchor with ease.
 |
| Millions of baby lobsters |
Our
only concern, as we came in to anchor, was the existence of extensive
red patches on the water surface; only after we had anchored did we
discover that these consisted of millions of baby lobsters which, for
reasons we didn't understand, were being ignored by the seabirds and
other fish?
 |
| Lobster cryll |
It was a very weird sensation swimming amongst them!
Later in the afternoon we were also entertained by a seal that had
caught an octopus; it was thrashing it and playing with it in it's
attempts to swallow it; a not insignificant task with a live octopus!
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| Seal playing with an octopus in Waikakaramea Bay |
The
following morning we set off again on our last leg to Picton, the
port from which the ferries leave South Island for North Island. A
very pleasant two hour reach into the inner end of Queen Charlotte
Sound had us alongside the marina by 1530 and set up for three days
respite.
 |
| Picton Marina |
Next day was spent on minor maintenance and sourcing a new
engine start battery, the old one had died on the way in! 7 years old
so it had given good service.
 |
| The harbour view point, Picton |
Next
day we intended to go for a day in Wellington, by ferry; however,
having discovered that the last available ferry back departed only
five hours after the first outward ferry arrived (there was a later
ferry but it was fully booked!) we decided to go for Plan B, a hire
car and a tour of
 |
| Yiorgos on East coast of South Island |
Marlborough (including some vineyards) plus seeing
the ski area and lakes. I think we made the right choice! We arrived
back in Picton at 2200 after a very enjoyable day out including a
chance to have dinner in, and research, Nelson, our port of departure
for the forthcoming Sunday.
 |
| Rotoiti Lake, Marlborough |
Wednesday
afternoon saw us departing Picton and heading to Chaucer Bay in the
Bay of Many Coves, our last anchorage in Queen Charlotte Sound.
 |
| Chaucer Bay in Bay of Many Coves |
Thursday was an early start to make Homestead Bay in Port Ligar, a
challenging passage which proved to be on the wind, in gusty
conditions, all the way; despite the fact that we sailed NE to get
out of Queen Charlotte Sound and SW to reach Port Ligar!
After
a quiet night in Homestead Bay we again set off at 0800 to negotiate
French Pass, a 100m wide gap between the mainland and D'Urville
island, through which the tidal stream flows at up to 9 kts if you
get it wrong.
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| Approaching French Passage, Marlborough |
By setting off early we managed to arrive at 1230, on
the last of the flood tide, which meant that we had an easy passage
through with about 0.5 of a knot of following tidal stream. By 1430
we were anchored in Oyster Bay, part of Squally Cove, our last
anchorage in Marlborough. Despite our desire for a quiet anchorage
the weather had not got the message. Heavy grey skies and gusty winds
(as the name of the bay suggests) predominated overnight denying us
the restful night we sought.
 |
| Departing Croisilles Harbour (aka Squally Cove) |
Just to put “the cherry on the cake”
it ended with us departing for Nelson at 1000 the next day in bright
sunshine and virtually zero wind; hence we were forced to motor
almost all the way to Nelson in a lumpy sea and light headwind; just
the way to end our cruise in New Zealand!.
In
Nelson we had pre booked a place in the marina for the final night.
It was then a case of victualling for the forthcoming ~10 day passage
to Australia and clearing out of New Zealand on the Sunday afternoon,
1 March, before we set off.
 |
| Nelson anchorage |
Personally I was very sad to depart New
Zealand, despite the cool climate I had fallen in love with the
tranquil lifestyle and un-crowded feel of this fantastic nation.
More
when we reach Australia ….........
