We stayed in Auckland for two weeks, having hired a car so we could explore the city and drive down to Rotorua. Once we checked in to the local IBIS hotel, we visited the Kiwi Encounter where there were chicks and young adults. They are fascinating birds, mainly nocturnal and the female lays an enormous egg weighing over 400g, equivalent to a human having a 30lb baby!! A tour round Wako, a thermal village where residents cook their food in the natural thermal pools was followed by a show put on by the local Maoris to include the haka. We routed back via the Bay of Plenty on the Coromandel peninsula in time to greet Linda and Norlan for supper on Moonbeam before they left for home. They had been away for six weeks. The remaining time was spent as tourists, visiting the Auckland Museum, the Boat Show in the Viaduct Marina, and an amazing Eric Clapton concert in the Vector Arena, while dodging the gales sequenced every two or three days. We bought some Sunbrella canvas to make hatch covers. In constructing the first one we began to doubt that our new sewing machine was up to the task – we shall see. We found a great Chinese restaurant downtown serving Dim Sum, my only mistake was in ordering chicken feet, but we plan to return when we come back.
The outboard was fixed (water in the fuel again) so we decided against buying a new one, having been sorely tempted by special offers at the boat show. Having bunkered 600 litres of diesel we departed Auckland Harbour on 7th March, heading for the Coromandel peninsula. We had become used to the weather forecast, which was broadcast every four hours, completely changing the outlook from the one issued before. This seemed to be because the progression of low-pressure systems in the Southern Ocean tracked erratically. It meant that ‘weather windows’ were regularly open for no longer than eight hours. So it was with no surprise that we had to divert to Bon Accord Harbour to shelter when the wind came up. The good news was that we caught a lovely tuna with our new rod and reel acquired at the boat show. This is the first fish since Fiji.
The following day we had a wonderful sail across the Hauraki Gulf around Cape Colville and down through the Mercury Islands to Whitianga and anchored in Maramartotara Bay. A dinghy ashore to a pretty little town to stock up and have lunch. We listened to the forecast and downloaded a weather fax before deciding to cross the Bay of Plenty aiming for Hicks Bay. Needless to say, the wind picked up to a full gale and the penalty for not doing our standard hatch check before departure resulted in half the ocean coming aboard through the open port in the forward heads and flooding Tom’s cabin as well. We were heavily reefed but still creaming along when the computer crashed, so no plotter and the need to plot our hourly GPS position on the chart. Cape Runaway lighthouse was raised at 0500 with the wind abating and once we rounded Matakaoa point we anchored in Hicks Bay. Moonbeam had clocked up 20,000 miles. Congratulations Moonbeam.
We sheltered here for three days being battered by SW gales whilst clearing up from the flooded cabin and commissioning the water maker. Once the wind finally abated, we set off for Tolago Bay, anchored overnight before tracking down to Poverty Bay and then into Gisbourne Marina. “Gizzy” was captain Cook’s first landing in New Zealand. We were to have a guided tour around his statue by a lovely man, Graham, who had persuaded the council to realign the compass at its base, which had not been positioned accurately.
We were given a warm welcome by a lovely couple, Bill and Margaret Thorpe, who invited us for drinks on their boat, “Fruition” which was alongside us. They collected us and took us to the yacht club and entertained us for supper in their home. Bill took us to his packing factory and then out to the orchards of mandarins, limes, persimmons and of course, Kiwi fruit. We entertained them on Moonbeam and hope to see them again in the islands as they set off for Vanuatu in June.
So, after a thoroughly pleasant stay we listened to the 0533 forecast which was benign and decided to head straight for Wellington and to visit Napier when we are north bound. We caught two fish that morning one before we left the bay, which we couldn’t identify and a blue fin tuna a little later. Sashimi for lunch! We had been out of Gisbourne for less than 12 hours when a NW gale was forecast with winds to 40kts. We were still short of Castlepoint which had been talked about ominously in the yacht club, but in fact we had a relatively quiet night and even had to motor-sail for a while. We got past Castlepoint before the gale arrived with a vengeance with gusts to 50kts. It was not a very pleasant couple of hours but then the wind suddenly dropped to a gentle breeze. However, when we started to round Cape Palliser into the Cook Straight, the gale returned with the wind gusting to 40kts. We had learned in the yacht club that fishing boats would take shelter beneath cliffs known as White Rocks in these conditions and so we decided to do likewise. The charted depths were unhelpful both on the paper chart and the plotter, so we nosed gently in and anchored a few metres off the cliffs. We were safe and secure but had a very uncomfortable night with the wind screaming above the mast. However, by 0600 the following day, the wind had died and by 0800 had dropped to a flat calm, so we motored up the Cook Straight into Wellington. Wellington lies at the head of a superb natural harbour, and we were allocated a slot in Chaffers Marina which is right in the centre of the city.
The following morning was bright and sunny. The waterfront was busy with people sitting outside in sunshine. There was a dragon boat race in the harbor and so the festival taking place along the waterfront was crowded with competing crews, sideshows, and supporters. We wandered through the city as far as the cathedral and then down Lambton Quay to the parliament building and the beehive administrative building designed by Sir Basil Spence, which really works. We also discovered the local department store, so Sarah made plans for some shopping.
On Mother's Day we heard from all three of our children, so Sarah was delighted, albeit really homesick. On the following Tuesday we left Wellington on the high tide because the forecast was for light and variable winds. We decided that these conditions were best for crossing the Cook Strait, and we followed the lights of the ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton and continued up the Straight to round Cape Stephens rather than go through Frenchman's pass. In the morning dolphins came to play with Moonbeam for no less than three hours. It was an entrancing sight. We tracked down Tasman Bay and arrived in Nelson mid-morning and settled into the marina where Moonbeam would be safe and sound when we left her to explore South Island. We celebrated with the first glass of wine in four weeks so our observance of Lent this year was complete. We had discussed the best way of exploring South Island and decided against sailing down the East Coast and consequently hired a car.