Tag: New Zealand

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Sailing New Zealand solo (continued)

My favourite destinations have been the lightly inhabited offshore islands, notably Great Mercury and Great Barrier Islands.

These are mostly bathed in clean ocean water and some areas are covered in pristine forest. The whole of Great Mercury Island is owned by prominent businessmen Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite who both generously permit the public to come ashore. Through a sustained program of pest eradication involving bait stations and ongoing monitoring, the rat and feral cat populations have been eliminated, enabling indigenous birds to flourish.  During one of my runs through parkland-like surroundings I met the woman who monitors the 600 odd bait traps on the island and began to appreciate the scope of her never ending task.

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Sailing New Zealand solo

September 2nd 2020 saw Karin flying from Auckland to South Africa to fulfil her long stated intention to attend her daughter’s wedding towards the end of that month. After years of close quarters and 24/7 companionship, I knew that being alone would be a huge adjustment but I was determined to make the best of it, as I knew with the conservative Kiwi approach to Covid, that Karin wouldn’t be back for a very long time.

Karin with the bride and groom, Marguerite and Jaco.
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Sailing the Hauraki Gulf

The Hauraki Gulf, east of the city of Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island, is a popular playground for tourists as well as local boat owners. It is also the venue for the iconic 2021 America’s Cup sailing challenge. Despite Covid restrictions on tourism from overseas, we had freedom of the Gulf on Moondust.

The Hauraki Gulf lies between Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island.

This area is extremely popular, being close to Auckland, as it features a number of islands, most of which are also accessible by ferry. We had previously visited Great Barrier Island, so this time, sailing from Whangarei, north of Auckland, our first stop was Kawau Island.

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Our Covid conundrum

Covid-19 has certainly touched everybody’s lives, in different ways. Some lost their lives, others their livelihood and many are suffering the hardships of lockdowns. We were certainly fortunate to have been in New Zealand during these unprecedented times, but even we have not escaped the challenges of this pandemic.  

Enduring the cold NZ winter

We certainly did not expect to still be in New Zealand, in fact if it wasn’t for Covid we would have been snorkelling in warm tropical water much further north right now. Instead we have to brace ourselves against the cold, wet weather and accompanying storms.

Landing on the beach at Paradise Bay to do one of the many hikes on Urupukapuka Island.
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Whanga…..beautiful!

Whanga (pronounced Fanga) means harbour in the Maori tongue and since we left the boatyard in Whangarei seven weeks ago, we have visited two other harbours further north and found that Whanga could just as well have meant beautiful. Whangarei, Whangamumu and Whangaroa are all spectacular, with lovely hiking routes that offer breathtaking views.

The southern view from the Duke’s Nose viewpoint at Whangaroa.

Since Moondust splashed back into the water in Whangarei, we’ve been busy provisioning the boat with food and technical spares for the months to come. We are still hoping that Fiji and other countries on our route will open in time for us to continue our voyage this sailing season.

We felt we could not leave Whangarei before enjoying some of the popular hiking routes and visiting the Whangarei Falls.

The mystical Whangarei Falls.
View over the Hatea River and part of Whangarei from the Parihaka lookout point.

Having been stationary for so long, I unfortunately got seasick upon heading into the waves at the mouth of the Hatea River. Luckily it was a short 30 nautical mile sail to Tutukaka, where we could find some shelter, albeit in a rolly anchorage but somewhat protected from the big, nauseating swells of the ocean.

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Enchanting South Island

We planned a ten day trip to New Zealand’s South Island to coincide with Moondust standing safely on solid ground at the Norsand Boatyard in Whangarei. To save time we flew from North Island to Christchurch, halfway down the east coast of South Island, from where we rented a little car to explore its enchanting natural wonders.

We mostly stayed in the Top Ten Holiday Parks, which have a variety of accommodation options, and opted to share communal ablutions as well as cooking and dining facilities. We were pleasantly surprised by these neat and clean facilities and thoroughly enjoyed the cooking experience in ‘Master Chef’ type kitchens, with its chance to meet fellow travellers.

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The ‘glamping’ tent at Kingston was our favourite. We slept comfortably in spite of it being two degrees outside.

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The communal kitchen and dining facilities at Kingston are immaculate.

As expected the glaciers and Milford Sound on the west coast were the highlights of the trip, but South Island certainly has a lot more to offer! Continue reading “Enchanting South Island”

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Locked Down ‘On the Hard’

Flying back to Whangarei in mid March, after a delightful 10 day jaunt spent touring South Island, the Corona storm clouds continued to gather. Repeated airport announcements advised travellers from overseas that they were obliged to self-isolate for two weeks and quite a few passengers were wearing face masks. I had already decided not to risk the trip I had booked to South Africa at the end of March.

We arrived back on Moondust that evening amidst chaotic evidence of earlier uncompleted tasks and the next morning commenced frenzied activity to get ready for re-launch in 10 days’ time. Days coalesced as we made slow but steady progress, focusing on the most important tasks first. Continue reading “Locked Down ‘On the Hard’”

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Amazing New Zealand

I arrived back on Moondust shortly before Christmas after a wonderful three week visit to my family and friends in South Africa. In my luggage were quite a few items for Moondust, amongst which was our new Genneker, made by North Sails in Cape Town.

It was good to be back and also to again see Rick and Liz, Pete’s brother and sister-in-law, who were visiting from Australia. Rick was very helpful and he and Pete finished a number of two man jobs while I was away.

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It was wonderful to have Rick and Liz on Moondust for Christmas.

EXPLORING THE BAY OF ISLANDS

After stocking up the larder in Paihia we set out to enjoy the Bay of Islands, situated on the east coast of New Zealand’s northern island. This vast bay, where Captain Cook landed in 1769, has 144 islands and a choice of anchorages, sheltered against various wind angles. A very necessary attribute as the winds were very variable and at times, strong.

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A beautiful view over the southern part of Robertson Island.

The Bay of Islands, described as the cradle of the nation, is of historic importance as this is not only where Cook arrived but also where the peace treaty was signed between the British government and the traditional Maori inhabitants, at what is today known as the Waitangi Treaty Grounds near Paihia. Russell, which today is a touristic little hollow, was once the capital of New Zealand.

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Challenging passage from Tonga to New Zealand

It was Monday when we pulled up the hook in Tongatapu and, with scant breeze, ghosted west across the inter island waterway, luckily aided by the current. We had delayed our departure waiting for the right weather, as this passage is well known for its challenges and we’d heard that a sailor had just lost his life close to New Zealand after getting it wrong.

We chose to set sail despite the wind being forecast to be forward of the beam, but, as it was calm Karin would not get seasick. For 36 hours it was delightful and we averaged over 5 knots, using the time to stitch in some much need patches on our dinghy’s sun cover.

From the forecast we knew that the wind would turn a full circle back around the compass and my slumber was curtailed at 01:30 on the second night as Moondust reacted to the new wave and wind direction which reached 25kts at 03:00, forcing me to reef down and roll in the genoa a bit. Now we were moving well through the water at around 5-6kts but into adverse conditions of current, waves and wind, thus only making 4 knots over the ground. At dawn we approached Minerva North (there are two reefs about 20nm apart) and finally neared the pass at around 15:00.

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