Finally, a new blog entry! It’s not that we haven’t been doing anything interesting, it’s just that we thought we would save it all up and do one update. Our second season in New Zealand has been very different than last year. More sailing! Before we left the dock in January to go coastal cruising, we did the usual arrival maintenance, Liliane’s massage threapy treatments, karate, organized a crusiers Xmas party, New Year’s fireworks on the beach, organized a women’s self defence class, doctors appointments, catching up with old friends, etc etc. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Liliane performing on talent night at the All Points Rally in November. She won a nice dry bag.

 Womens self defence class. Due to popular demand, more classes coming in April

New Zealand offers great coastal cruising and terrfic trail walks. We first decided to sail to the northern tip of NZ. Beautiful anchorages up there and hardly any other boats. Feels like we had the place to ourselves. Then back down the east coast to the Hauraki Gulf.

Bay of Islands

Bay of Islands

 Pohutukawa tree, Cavelli Islands

 Trail walk, Cavelli Islands

 Morning mist at anchor

 Meikyo at anchor, taken from the top of the “Duke’s Nose”, Whangaroa

 Bad hair day, Whangaroa

 We see these often. Still searching for that pot of gold.

 Waipapa Bay

 Waipapa Bay, red sky at night……you know the rest

 Cape Brett lighthouse, after a very long trail walk

 Cape Brett

 Refreshly cold dip during trail walk, Great Barrier Island

 Going to shore, Great Barrier Island

 Low tide, Great Barrier

 View from a low tide cave

 Takahe birds, Tiritiri Island Bird Sanctuary. Very inquisitive and rare (only 200 left). We called them “Jurassic chickens”

Listen to the Takahe, they sound like they have a rubber ducky stuck in their throat.

 Full Moon setting in the morning

All good things must come to an end. Back to Opua for a busy month of work to get the boat ready to sail north to Fiji in May.