A Month In New Caledonia

We had a good passage to New Caledonia. The winds co-operated and went east which gave us a good angle to sail. As we neared the coast of New Caledonia they went very light and we had to motor for a while but that was OK as we had lots of help from the current. We had a lovely sail into the Havanah passage and arrived in Baie De Prony late in the day. We had arranged to meet friends on Steel Sapphire at Ilot Cassy. They had a spare fuel pump for our generator as ours had broken again in Vanuatu!

After a relaxing night we continued our sail into Noumea to clear in. We had a good sail and the scenery was lovely. The soil is very red which contrasts with the scattered Pine trees and the blue of the water and the sky. On the way we had a pod of big dolphins with us for quite a while. We stood on the bow watching them play in our bow wave.

Noumea is very French as in it has lots of French cheese, pate and bread. There are a number of museums, so we spent out time visiting a few and having a good look around the city. We also walked around the bays to the aquarium which was well worth the walk. We left Noumea before our arteries hardened completely and headed out to a small bay just south of the city called Ilot Uere. We spent a few days in the protected bay catching up with some of the boat chores we had neglected while we had been moving so much in Vanuatu. It was a nice bay but it was very busy at the weekend with being close to Noumea.

After a few days we visited Ilot Amedee for the day. This is home to the tallest lighthouse in New Caledonia. We climbed the lighthouse and had a snorkel in the lovely clear water. Its not possible to spend the night there so we sailed back to the mainland. The bay we had chosen had unfortunately been taken over by a fish farm and the surrounding land was being extensively mined. We stayed the night and then continued south back to Baie De Prony the following day. We wanted to stop at an anchorage on Ile Ouen on the way but the anchorage was not protected enough so we moved around to the bay next door but this was too deep to anchor safely so we moved again and headed into the Baie De Prony. On the way, the winds increased and we were heading into 35 knots barely making headway. We made it to Baie De La Somme in torrential rain and strong winds. It's a pretty bay on the west side of Prony and we spent a few days there.

While in Baie de la Somme, we ran into some OCC members that we had met in NZ. Avril and Graham on Dreamaway, they are also Brits and we spent a pleasant evening drinking wine with them. There was a marked walk from the bay through Prony village to a waterfall which we did one day. It was awful to see all the erosion from the mining, there were huge big gullies which had washed away as no one had ever replanted after the mining to preserve the soil. Part way along the walk we came to a river which we needed to cross. While trying to find a good place to cross we met a local who had built a 'house' near the river and was living there in the middle of nowhere. He invited us for drinks which we accepted so we never got to finish our walk. Instead we just headed back to the boat.

We then had a good weather window to sail south to the Isle de Pine. We anchored at Kuto which is the main bay on the island. While there we met up with friends Richard and Alison on Vulcan Spirit and Avril and Graham on Dreamaway. We climbed the peak Ngo which has views over the whole of the area but it was hard work climbing and we both realised how unfit we are! Probably made worse by our taking an accidental detour through some heavy bush and having to climb up and down to get back on to the track which we had somehow missed!

We wanted to hire a moped and drive around the island but none were available. As an alternative Avril and Graham suggested going horse riding. Mike sensibly declined as did Richard so Avril, Graham, Alison and myself set off for our adventure. It started badly with the guy not turning up but eventually we set off. In hindsight we should have taken this as an omen and just gone back to the boat. The guy was awful and constantly shouted at us that we were doing things wrong but wouldn't tell us what to do instead. My horse bolted twice and the guy ended up falling from his horse in pursuit of mine and being dragged along the ground. The whole experience has probably put me off horse riding for life!

We left the Isle De Pine with Vulcan Spirit to anchor in the southern lagoon which is supposed to have good snorkeling. The first anchorage was too choppy for us to get the dinghy down so the following day we moved to Kouare. This was more protected and we managed to do some snorkeling even though it was quite windy. We also did a walk around the island which was covered in lots of nesting birds. New Cal has lots of sea snakes and we saw a few making their way up the sand and there were also a number of sharks in the shallows which vanished when Alison tried to snorkel with them.

Along with Vulcan Spirit, we decided to try another atoll further north but when we got there it was not tenable with the amount of wind so we headed to the east side of Ile Ouen and Vulcan Spirit went back to Noumea. After an overnight stop, we sailed back into Baie De Prony to meet up with friends Matt and Jean on Superted who were anchored in Bonne Anse. We all walked to the light house together and had a few get togethers including drinks with Sue and Stefan from Charlotte who we hadn't seen since Fiji.

We had time for a last visit to Ilot Cassy for Mike to clean the bottom of the boat and to have a walk around the island before heading back to Noumea to clear out. While there we met up with more friends that we hadn't seen for a while from Ladybug, Blue Rodeo and Evergreen

We left after a few days as the weather was good for our trip to NZ. So having stocked up on bread, croissants and cheese we sailed out of the reef into some fairly rough seas. The first day wasn't pleasant but the seas improved once we were clear of the reefs. We then had a really good trip to NZ which means we had no wind in excess of 25 knots and no seas bigger than 3m, much better than last year. We arrived in NZ on 9 November exactly the same day as last year.

Goodbye Fiji and Hello Vanuatu

We stayed in Fiji slightly longer than intended due to the adverse weather. Jean from Superted had a suprise birthday party while we were in Musket Cove and we all had a lovely evening with lots of our friends. We then left and headed to Nandi bay but after a few days Superted, Gypsea Heart and Astarte joined us there. We had a girls day out in Nadi shopping and sightseeing and managed to do a few boat chores. Then after more goodbyes we sailed to Lautoka to clear out of Fiji. This took longer than anticipated because the immigration guy had got the day off but had taken the passport stamp home with him so we had to wait for it to be delivered to the office so that our passports could be stamped!

We eventually left Lautoka on 26 August and headed out through the reef to Vanuatu. The wind was blowing about 30 knots as we left and the sea was very rough. I (Karen) was ill and it was very unpleasant. As we left the land behind the wind and the sea calmed down and the remainder of the sail was fast and fairly pleasant. We made it to Anatom in Vanuatu in 3 days and it was a fast passage for us.

Anatom is the most southern of the Vanuatu islands. We tried to clear in the day we arrived but the official had gone fishing so we had to wait for the next day when a group of us cleared in at the same time. The following day we joined friends from Blue Rodeo, Evergreen and Victory for a walk to a waterfall. It turned out to be a 6 hour trek through mud with lots of river crossings where we had to use rocks to cross. Unfortunately, as our shoes were so caked in mud we slipped off the stones and ended up with very wet and sore feet. Our trousers were covered in mud and Karen's shoes had to be thrown away. The waterfall was OK but certainly not worth the walk!

The following day Karen dived the pass between the main island and a small off lying one called Mystery Island. Mystery island is where all the cruise ship passengers land for the day. The cruise ships are so big they dwarf the main island and given the island only has 500 inhabitants, they certainly have more people! The dive was OK but not as good as Fiji and the water was pretty cold.

We left everyone behind again and headed to Tanna the following day to see the volcano. We anchored in a very pretty bay and organised a trip to the volcano. We went in the back of a truck with 4 other cruisers. Due to a mix up with the village our truck was late leaving and the driver was driving quite fast to get us to the volcano before dark. It was very uncomfortable and he ran over a dog on the way. The villagers were very upset and there were lots of raised voices for a while. It was resolved by the driver agreeing to go back and take them Kava!

We did get to the volcano in time and it was very spectacular. You can stand right on the edge of the caldera and watch lava being shot up in the air with lots of loud bangs. As it got dark it was even better as the orange and red from the lava became more intense. It was very cold on the rim and we were glad of our fleeces and jackets. On the way back down the mountain it poured with rain and we were very wet sitting in the back of the truck. Still it was worth it!

The next morning we left for an overnight sail to Port Villa on the island of Efate. This is the capital and is very civilised compared to the outer islands. We visited the fruit and veg market and the supermarket which was stocked with lots of French goodies. After a few days rest, we had a short sail around to Havannah harbour. This is a big bay with a number of different anchorages. On the way we dived Pauls reef, which was a fairly shallow dive but dive operators feed the fish there and they follow you around so you get to see some big fish up close.

Next we sailed to Lamen Bay on Epi and then on to Gaspard Bay, Malekula. Gaspard Bay was by far the prettiest bay we found. We went there to see Dugongs and were not disappointed as we had about 10 of them around the boat including a mother and calf. They never got closer than half a boat length away and as soon as we tried to swim with them they disappeared!

We continued on up the east side of Malekula to Urie Island, Port Stanley. As soon as we anchored the village elder came out in a canoe and asked if we could fix their generator which 'had a leak'. The following morning we went ashore with tool box to have a look. Mike spent all morning getting the generator motor to run but it still wouldn't produce power. The leak turned out to be in their aluminium boat so that was the afternoons job. In between we did manage to snorkel in the giant clam reserve which was the reason we had gone there.

We left the following day as we were eager to get to Santo and organise diving on the S.S. President Coolidge. We anchored in a lovely protected bay behind Oyster Island. The resort there have a good restaurant so we had a meal out. We had been told that Vanuatu beef was excellent and it was good but not outstanding. The resort on the island helped us organise our diving and transport into Luganville.

The next morning, our taxi into Luganville did not turn up so we hitched a ride on the back of a truck. Unfortunately, the truck overheated just outside town so we had to get a taxi the remainder of the way and just made it to the dive company on time. The SS President Coolidge is a big US Liner converted to a troop ship which hit one of its own mines in the harbour during WW2. It's still intact and very close to the shore so it makes an excellent dive site.

We did the introductory dive so saw the bow of the ship and the front holds but didn't even make it to the bridge. There is still loads of ammunition, guns and tanks in the holds so it was quite amazing. It was our first wreck dived and it is probably the largest in the world! an. In the afternoon we did another shore dive at Million dollar point. After WW2 the US wanted Vanuatu to buy the unwanted equipment used for building roads etc. during the war. Vanuatu was governed by the French and the British at the time and they refused to pay for it. So the US built a jetty and simply drove all the equipment off it into the sea. Its amazing to see as it's like a giant scrap heap under the water. Its very eerie as nothing is growing on it presumably because of the pollution and its such a waste.

We spent a few more days at Oyster Island catching up with friends Liz, Colin, Zinnia and Cosmo off 'Pacific Bliss'. Then it was time to start the upwind sail back to Port Villa to collect our replacement washdown pump which was waiting there for us.
We did the sail in day hops and had to stay in Port Sandwich, Malekula for a day to wait for bad weather to go through. It was hard work and one day we sailed 60 miles to go 30 miles between anchorages!

We stayed in Port Villa long enough to stock up on duty free wine and spirits, collect our pump and recover. Then we headed to New Caledonia while the weather was good for the crossing.

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Preparing to leave Fiji

We spent a few more days in Koro. The wind dropped and we spent a few days snorkeling both the inside and the outside of the reef. The coral was lovely and there were a few bigger fish, including a shark, on the outside. We couldn't find the dive spot or rather we think we did but were not happy to leave the dinghy unattended. One of the resort employees said he would take us out but by then we were ready to leave.

A British couple, Stefan and Sue on a boat called Charlotte joined us in Koro. The four of us went on a walk/ hike through bush to a waterfall and we spent a few evenings with them. We were finally driven away from Koro by the birds. There were hundreds of small martin type birds who decided our boat was a good place to rest which was fine, except for the amount of mess they left behind. We had to wash the boat off twice a day and as soon as we did it the decks were covered again! So after a few days, we decided it was time to move islands.

Our next stop was Makongi which was about a 5 hour sail. On the way we caught 3 fish which topped the freezer up nicely. Makongi was the old leper colony for the whole of the pacific. It was closed in 1969 when the cure for leprosy was found but many of the lepers stayed on the island as they would not be accepted back by their home islands despite the cure. There are still a number of the old buildings but most have disappeared just leaving foundations. The island is now used for breeding giant clams and we had to do our sevusevu and present our kava to the manager, Kamle, of the reserve. He gave us a tour of the leper colony and explained about the clam breeding. They have a job for life as catching the clams has not been banned so as soon as they put them into the wild they are harvested and eaten!!

Kamle asked if we had a head torch to help him hunt crabs at night so we gave him one of ours. In return we were invited to Sunday lunch with him and his wife. Friends Stefan and Sue also joined us which made conversation a bit easier. We had crab and fish!

We did some snorkeling in the bay and also dived a coral head right in the anchorage. It was lovely with an amazing variety of fish, lovely coral and giant clams. One evening the village put on a show for a visiting dive boat and we were also invited. The children did traditional dancing and we got to have lots of kava. The kava is very bitter tasting and not very nice though the locals seem to love it.

We left Makongi to head south to Suva so that Mike could go to the dentist and to collect our new pump which we had ordered from the US. We stopped off at a small resort called Leluvia for a few days to avoid some rough weather. It was pretty but it was too windy and choppy to snorkel. As soon as the weather was good we left and had a very pleasant day sail to Suva.

Suva is surrounded by reef which is just littered with lots of wrecked ships from the cyclones. The harbour was full of container and fishing boats and was fairly dirty looking. We moored on the opposite side of the bay to the main docks which was sheltered behind a number of small islands. It was a taxi ride into town but it was much more pleasant. We spent the time shopping, refuelling, visiting the dentist and collecting our parcel and then we left as soon as possible.

While in Suva we met up with friends Chris and Dave on CD and we arranged to leave at the same time for a sail south to Kandavu and the Astrolobe reef. The forecast wasn't great but it was the only day we could leave before the wind went south for a week and we would have been stuck in Suva, so we left. We knew the forecast was for 20 knot winds reducing with a 2-3m swell but part way through the sail the winds increased to 30-40 knots and the seas grew to 4-5m. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride and we were glad it was only a 50 mile sail. We had to hold on as the boat was being thrown around a lot but we it was a really quick passage. CD said it was one of their roughest crossings and wished they hadn't followed us!

We stayed in a bay on the island of Ono to start with and managed to do so some snorkeling but we were driven to move by the swell which started to come straight in the bay making the boat roll and sleeping very difficult. So we moved to a bay at Vatulutu island on the SW corner of Kandavu itself close to a pass in the reef called Nagoro pass. We had been told by other cruisers that there was a dive master near by called Bruce who would take us out for a reasonable cost. Via other boats we organised to do 2 dives with Bruce in the pass.

The morning we were collected there was a wind blowing and in the pass where we got in for the dive, the water was fairly rough. We dived the south side of the pass going out of the pass and saw mainly Grouper which were congregating ready to spawn. It was very cold and we were all shivering by the end of the dive. We surfaced outside of the pass which was also very rough as the boat was sitting very close to the start of the surf zone near the reef. The afternoon dive was much better which was on the north side of the pass, unfortunately I was so cold that I didn't do it and I missed one of the best dives according to Mike. That side of the reef is unfished and has more, and more adult fish than seen anywhere else in Fiji. It is quite a shock to realise that you have mostly seen young fish and juveniles and the difference when most fish are adult is extreme (Mike).

After a few more days we moved to the NW side of Kandavu to a village called Drue which is fringed by the Namalata reef. We did our sevusevu and fortunately, the elder who we presented our kava to said he used to be a dive master and would take us diving for a very reasonable fee. So ourselves, Dave from CD and Sandy and Rankin from Gypsea Heart went diving the following day. The first dive was called the yellow wall and there was lots of beautiful yellow soft corals. The second dive we saw a huge lobster and lots of other invertebrates. The corals were lovely but there were not many fish as the reef has been very heavily fished. We did a very interesting dive the following day with lots of caves and grottos which certainly tested our buoyancy control.

Our third and final days diving was a site further from the village where the sharks used to be fed. We were hoping to see lots of sharks but the first dive we saw none. The second dive we saw one fairly aggressive black tip shark who followed us most of the dive. This meant we all spent all our time bunched together watching the shark and missed lots of lovely corals!

By this time we all needed a rest so had a day off diving. Instead we visited the local town to get a few provisions. The town was a few shops, a bakery and a market that had some green beans. The same day we met up with CD and Gypsea Heart for a BBQ ashore and then we all burnt our rubbish. It was a lovely warm sunny afternoon with a wonderful sunset. Once the sun had set we retired to Gypsea Heart for pudding, brownies and ice cream made by Sandy, a real treat.

Our sail from Kandavu back to Viti levu was very slow. The winds were light and we spent the day playing with the spinnaker. With the swells it kept tying itself around the forestay so by mid afternoon we gave up and motored to a bay on the south side of Viti Levu. The following morning we got up early again and sailed around to the west coast to a resort called Robinson Crusoe. The resort has a show of local dancing and dinner which we went along to. It was a little touristy but very well done and we had a good evening.

It was too windy to snorkel so we left and sailed to Musket Cove which is where we are now. Musket Cove is a big resort and very commercial but it is a meeting place for yachts and a good place to wait for weather to leave. We had a few days here before spending 4 days in Vuda marina getting our sail repaired and then sailed back. We are hoping to meet up with a number of friends that we won't see again once we leave Fiji. We also said goodbye to Chris and Dave from CD in Vuda as they are currently working on their boat there and won't be leaving Fiji for a few weeks. We may catch up with them in New Caledonia later in the season.

We are now ready to leave Fiji and are watching the weather to sail to Vanuatu next week. Its about 450 miles so if we get it right we should get there in 3 days.

Its Raining Again!

We are currently sitting on the island of Koro hiding from the rain. It seems to rain a lot in Fiji which is probably why everywhere is so green! Its a bit like Wales only much warmer!

We left Savusavu as planned and motored around the coast to a very protected bay called Dakanuba. The following day the weather was very calm so along with friends on Victory and Superted we snorkelled and then dived the pass through the reef into the bay. After that the weather deteriorated and so we spent the days working on boat projects and the evenings socialising. The day we were due to leave all the boats got together to help the family ashore fix their boat as the bottom had torn apart. This took most of the day so we decided to postpone our departure until the next day.

Our next stop was Viani bay which was only 7 miles away. There was a a passage there inside the reef provided the light was good so as it was a sunny day we went through it. We had to go slow and stand up on the bow to see the reef. It was quite tricky but we got through without hitting anything!

Viani bay is very protected by the island of Taveuni and seems to have it own weather systems especially, it is dry and mostly sunny!! Taveuni is very hilly so the rain stops on the hills and never makes it across to Viani. It was lovely being in a sunny dry anchorage!

Our first day at Viani we dived the famous White Wall with a local dive company. It is rated as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world and we were not disappointed. There is a local called Jack Fisher who lives in the bay and he comes onto your boat and guides you to the best snorkelling and dive sites. What is really important is that he understands the local tides and currents which are very strong. Jack always seems to know somewhere to go where they aren't a problem.

We took our boat to a site called the fish factory which was amazing. 7 of us went snorkelling while Jack watched us from the dinghy. Another day 8 of us went on a trip to Taveuni with Jack on board 'Victory'. Jack watched the boat while we all piled into a taxi really meant for 6 and visited the waterfalls. It was quite a long bouncy drive around the island to the falls so we only had time to visit the first of the 3 falls. Still, it was very pretty and we all enjoyed a swim in fresh water. On the way back to the boat we all did lots of shopping and somehow managed to fit it all in the van!

We left Viani to head to the north of Taveuni to anchor near the airport. A friend, Kevin, was coming to visit us the following week and we needed to ensure we could get ashore and meet him. Then we crossed to the island of Rambi where we spent a night in Katherine Bay. It was a fraught crossing as the charts are not accurate and it was too cloudy to see the reef clearly. After a rest we headed to the north of the island to Albert Cove. The channel on the west of the island is very deep and we caught a good sized Giant Trevally on the way there. Albert Cove is a lovely bay with a tree lined beach and is surrounded by reef. We went ashore to donate half the trevally to the locals but found only one elderly man. He was very hospitable and gave us some bananas but clearly didn't want company for too long. We had a lovely snorkel the following day but the remainder of the time it was raining and cloudy.

We left Albert Cove and were hoping to visit Kioa but within a short time of leaving the rain was so heavy we could not see the island. Fortunately we could follow our track back and stay in deep water. The visibility was very bad so there was no way we could explore new places and we had no option but to return to Katherine bay. The following day we had to meet Kevin's flight which meant a bash into 25 knots of wind and rough seas, not a pleasant experience as once again we could not see the reefs we were crossing.

Kevin arrived on time at Taveuni airport. After he had changed into clothes which could get wet we walked back to the dinghy and had a wet slow ride out to the boat dodging the reef as it was low water. We decided that it was best to head back to Viani bay and we had 4 lovely days there. 2 days we all went out with Jack on a Catamaran called Gypsy Heart with owners Sandy and Rankin. There were about 10 of us each time and some of us dived while others snorkelled. Kevin got to meet lots of our friends and it was a very sociable week.

We headed back to Taveuni for Kevin's flight to Melbourne. His flight was not until lunch time but we headed ashore early to go shopping in the town. On our way back we stopped at the airport to drop Kevin's bag before taking a walk. He was then told that his flight had changed and would not reach Nadi in time for his connection. At this point the earlier flight arrived and he was put on it and had left within a short time so it was a good job we had got ashore so early.

We headed back to Viani to rest and decide what we were going to do next. The anchorage was very busy when we got back and the following day the ICA rally arrived making it even worse. We managed to catch up with friends Ann and Mark on Blue Rodeo and Chris and Rani on Ladybug and get another snorkelling trip in before we left.

We decided to sail to Koro as most people were going the opposite way and we were looking for some peace and quiet!!. It was a 50 mile sail and we left at 5.30am to ensure we arrived with good light. However, the winds were very good and the passage was very fast but a little rough and we were moored by 1.30pm. The bay had mooring balls which are free for visitors to use which is good as the bay is very deep. There is a resort here but it is not for holiday makers. People buy plots of land and then build their own houses and the resort is for their use. We went ashore yesterday and met some of the residents who are from Germany, NZ, USA, etc. Some live here permanently while others use it as a holiday home. We are told the diving is good here so we are waiting for good weather to try it out. So far the weather has been raining and windy so not good for swimming or exploring!

In Fiji

We left Whangarei marina and headed down the river ready for our trip to Opua. We spent the night in a lovely anchorage near the mouth of the river but had to leave the following morning as the forecast wasn't good. We had a good sail up to a bay called Tutukaka which was very protected and very pretty. The following day we had to motor up the remainder of the coast into the Bay of islands. Once we were into the islands we had a great sail to an anchorage where we met up with friends Michael and Barbara from Astarte and Matt and Jean from Superted V. Barbara cooked us all a wonderful meal that evening to celebrate Mike's 60th birthday.

The following day we headed into Opua marina to begin our preparations for leaving NZ. Unfortunately, on the way north our engine battery had stopped working so we had to order a new one from Auckland. We then caught the coach back to Whangarei and collected our car which we drove to Opua and sold back to Phil the following week. While we had the car we took advantage of it and headed out to a vineyard near Kerikeri for a Sunday roast as another birthday celebration. Probably the best meal out that we have had in New Zealand and very enjoyable and relaxing!!

One of our last jobs to do before we left was to change the impeller in the water pump on the engine. It was very reluctant to come out and took Mike a few hours to remove. With this successfully completed the new impeller was installed and the cover replaced. Unfortunately, the last screw on the housing sheered off as it was being tightened. To remove it we had to remove the water pump but what we also discovered is that we could not remove the pump without removing one of the engine mounts! We borrowed a jack from Seapower and achieved this. After we had removed the sheered screw we decided to have the pump serviced while it was removed. So a 2 hour job eventually took 3 days!!

In the mean time we collected our meat order from the butcher in Kawakawa. We had ordered it on line as the butcher vacuum packs and freezes all the meat before you collect it. When we collected it we realised we had massively over ordered and have been struggling to keep the quantity of meat frozen in our freezer ever since. We need to become major carnivores to reduce the amount we have and to reduce the strain on the freezer. That said, the steaks are wonderful!!

Finally, all the chores keeping us in NZ were completed (I say this as all the chores on a boat are never done!) and we left NZ on Monday 29th April. The first 2 days of the sail we had fairly light winds and it broke us in gently to sailing again after 6 months stationary in NZ. The next day we had strong winds and the sea was very lumpy and uncomfortable. We had good winds for the next few days but the seas continued to be uncomfortable. After one day of no wind when we had to motor for 24 hours we then had fairly strong winds and uncomfortable seas for our last 2 days into Fiji. One highlight of our motoring day was that we caught our biggest Mahi-Mahi ever. It was 54 inches long and about 25lbs!

It was very cold on the crossing to start with and we were about 7 days at sea before we could abandon the thermals. We also had a passenger for most of the trip. On our second day a small yellow/green finch landed on the boat. He stayed overnight and the following day another one joined him. We gave them water and rice and they seemed happy. The following day the original finch drove the other one off the boat. He then continued to stay with us for 6 days. He would roost at night and come into the cockpit in the morning ready to be fed. He was incredibly tame jumping all over us and when he got the chance heading down below. The down side was that we spent lots of time cleaning up his pooh! We were hoping he would stay until we were close enough for him to fly to Fiji but he flew south the day we had no wind. Unless he found another boat he probably would have died as we were 900 miles from NZ.

The trip to Savusavu in Fiji took us 10 days. It was not an enjoyable sail, just one to be endured. When we arrived in Savusavu we were guided to a mooring ball at the Copra Shed Marina. They organised our clearance and brought Health, Immigration and Customs to the boat before we were allowed ashore. We then spent a few days cleaning up the boat, packing away all our warm clothing and finding our feet. We did struggle with the heat but are now getting used to it again. The humidity is very high and we do get a lot of rain at the moment.

The first week flew by working in the day and socialising at night. Friends on Superted and Victory had arrived before us so we spent a few nights swapping stories of our crossings in the marina bar. Our crossing was good compared to theirs as they were in 50 knots for over 2 days! Then we moved out to an anchorage off a resort 3 miles away. We had a few days swimming and snorkeling which was lovely as we had not been in the water for 6 months. We also had to spend 2 days cleaning our hull as the coppercoat anti-foul we had applied in NZ does not seem to be as effective as we thought it would be. We are told it will improve!

We came back to the Copra Shed to meet up with friends on Astarte who had just arrived in Fiji and our friends Chris and Dave from CD, who we had toured the south island of NZ with. We have been stocking up ready to start our trip out to the islands and hope to leave the marina again tomorrow (25/4).

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Canoeing the Wanganui!!

We had a week back on the boat to do our washing and a few boat chores before we set off on our last trip. Canoeing the Wanganui is one of 'the' great trips to do in NZ. Its basic, as in camping, but it is very remote and highly recommended. We were worried about being cold so thick clothes and thermals were packed. The trip started in a small town south of Taupo which is quite a drive so we stayed in Hamilton overnight with Brenna and Scott.

We had another scenic drive to Ohakune near Mount Ruapehu where we did a walk to a waterfall. Unfortunately, as the summer has been so dry the waterfall was not very impressive. It was a very clear day though and we had great views of the mountain.

We were collected by our tour leader, Jamie, the following day and driven to the river. There were 11 of us, a couple from the US and the other 3 couples were Kiwi friends of Jamies. We all helped unload the gear and leaned how to load up the canoes before we set off. The river was very shallow but there were a lot of rapids. Thankfully the rapids were small though one couple did manage to get caught up on a log and tip over fairly early on. The first day was fairly short and we arrived at our camp site. This consisted of a flattish bit of land, quite a distance above the river, a tap (rain water fed) and a long drop toilet! It was hard work carrying all the gear and cooking equipment up the hill. We then struggled to put our tent up and get ourselves organised. We had a lovely meal and a few drinks before heading to our sleeping bags. Jamie had provided sleeping rolls for us but it's been a while since we have camped and we found sleeping very uncomfortable. Lying awake at night we could hear rats and possums around the tent and the NZ owl called a Morepork was very noisy.

We were up at 6am the following morning and had our breakfast in the dark, a good warming porridge! After carrying all the gear back down the hill we were on the water by 8.30am. This was our longest days paddle and we were grateful when Jamie suggested we raft up together and he started a little outboard engine. It saved our aching arms but we did have to separate whenever we came to rapids.

The camp sight was up an even steeper hill this time but thankfully we were staying 2 nights. We had a lie in the following morning and after breakfast we went for a walk along a ridge above the river. We found the walk quite steep but one of the guys, Bob, did the whole thing in his flip flops!

One of the reasons we chose the trip was the food and it didn't disappoint. We had roast beef, stuffed roast chicken, scones, crumble and carrot cake. We all took our own alcohol and were grateful for the lighter loads we had to carry and paddle as we consumed it!

The next day we stopped off at the 'Bridge to Nowhere'. This is a road bridge that was constructed for the residents in a remote area but by the time it was competed everyone had left the valley so it was never used! Now it is just a tourist attraction. We had lots of small rapids and we all started to look forward to them as it gave us a break from paddling. Jamie did use the engine on some of the long slow stretches which was nice!

The final campsite was a Maori Marae. It was very busy but still as basic as all the rest. There was much talk around the camp about the final day as we would be going down the biggest rapids, the biggest being a grade 3 white water. As we approached the first big rapid we could see canoes in front of us going up and down like a bucking bronco. I was at the front of the canoe so was met by walls of water while Mike had a good view from the back but was responsible for keeping us straight through the rapid. We all got through without tipping except for one canoe. When we got to the biggest rapid the same couple capsized again! We managed to stay upright but we took so much water on board that we couldn't move as the canoe was so unstable. We managed to drift to shore and bale out before we tipped! The last set of 3 rapids we really enjoyed, we knew what we were doing by that point and having got the big ones out of the way we could just enjoy them.

By the end of the trip we were all fairly tired from sleeping in tents and desperate for a proper toilet and a shower. Even so we had a great time!

Since getting back to the boat we have been painting the wood around the outside of the boat again! We are fed up with varnish as it comes off so easily so we have covered it in gloss paint in the hope it will last at least a year. We have also provisioned the boat ready for leaving NZ. It is getting colder here now. We have had an amazing summer, the best on record for NZ, but Autumn is now here and we need to get somewhere warm! We aim to leave Whangarei this week and sail to the Bay of Islands. There we hope to meet up with friends on Astarte for Mikes birthday before heading to Opua to clear out and sail to Fiji.

PS As at time of posting we are in Opua after a good sail up the coast.

South Island Trip

The next instalment!!

We had 3 days back on the boat before we left again to head to the south island. We did this trip with friends Chris and Dave who we met in the Caribbean and who had crossed the Pacific a year ahead of us. As our car was too small for the 4 of us plus baggage, CD borrowed a bigger car from a friend.

We drove over 800km to Wellington in one day. As there are no motorways and the roads are only partly dual carriageway the trip took us nearly 12 hours. We stayed the night with Jackie and Steve in Wellington and Steve cooked us a wonderful BBQ, very welcome after our long day. The following morning we left early to get the ferry to Picton on the south island. It's a 3 hour crossing and fortunately the sea was lovely and calm. We had great view of the Marlborough sound as we sailed in.

We started our drive down the east coast to Christchurch stopping at a number of vineyards in Blenheim including Cloudy Bay which we found a bit disappointing. We really like Peter Yealand wine and so a visit to that vineyard was top of the list! Our visit there was early morning and we had a drive round the estate which is organised on very eco-friendly lines including having 'Baby Doll' sheep with short legs to keep the grass short between the vines but without eating the grapes and vines!

Christchurch centre is still closed off due to the earthquake but it was interesting to see how the town is regenerating itself and to see the damage to some of the older buildings. The shopping centre in containers was a real example of Kiwi ingenuity. Many of the interesting places have been damaged but we had a pleasant visit to the museum and a lovely walk through the botanical gardens.

We had a long drive to Aoraki Mount Cook next. The views were absolutely stunning and we had a wonderful day walking with views of the glaciers and lakes and mountains. The drive back down the mountain to Dunedin was also wonderful with lots of lakes and hydro dams. We stopped for a visit to the Moreki boulders which look like giant pebbles on the sea shore.

Dunedin is the home of the Speights brewery which we toured. At the end of the tour we had 30 minutes to try the beers and to drink as much as we wanted! The following day we had a trip on the Taieri gorge railway through the gorge. The train is an old steam locomotive and takes about 3 hours to go through the gorge and back. More of the trip was through Dunedin itself than we realised but the gorge was pretty and it is amazing to think of the railway being built without the aid of modern machinery.

We had amazing weather for the whole trip with only half a day of rain though it did get colder as we headed further south. Our most southern stop was Invercargill and we drove along very rough and rugged coast line to get there. One of the stops recommended was a visit to a hardware store (!) to see the original 'Worlds Fastest Indian' motor bike (the Anthony Hopkins film of the same name is worth a look). It was amazing, the store was full of old bikes, cars, tools etc. It was a combination of a very well stocked hardware store and a museum. We spoke to the owner and his son and he took us to show us a car used in the film but not yet on display.

Once we could tear ourselves away from the hardware store, we headed to Milford Sound with another stunningly picturesque drive. We stayed at the lodge right on the sound so that we could kayak the sound the following day. It was a perfect day for kayaking and seeing the Sound, blue sky and no wind. The down side was that as it was so calm the wildlife stay in the outer sound (further away than we could kayak) to avoid the sandflies! The scenery is stunning and we were very lucky to see it without rain as usually it rains 50% of the time.

From Milford we headed to Queenstown which has become an urban sprawl around the lake it is on and is very commercial and touristy. We were glad to leave it behind and head to the west coast with another stunning drive. We spent the night near Fox glacier and planned to get up for sunrise for a walk around Lake Matheson for stunning views of Mount Tasman and Cook. Unfortunately, when we got up there was thick fog and we couldn't see anything! Change of plan!!

We went to see Fox Glacier where there was no fog. The road to the glacier has been extended but still the walk to the foot of the glacier took an hour. I (KB) found it very depressing as the glacier is a fraction of the size it was when I last saw it. If anyone wants evidence of global warming the shrinking of the glaciers is it. After seeing the glacier, we did then walk around Lake Matheson with the stunning views before heading to Franz Joseph Glacier. Again, this has receded so much that it is quite a distance from the lookout to its base and not very visible unless you walk for about 5 hours..

We continued our drive up the west coat with a stop at the Pancake rocks and a scenic drive along the Buller Gorge to Motueka. We stayed on a fruit farm with amazing views over Abel Tasman national park. Our trip into the park the following day was by boat. The boat took us to one beach and then we walked a track along the coast to our pick up point. It was a well marked track but rougher and steeper than we expected. Chrissy really suffered with her bad knees. There are lots of lovely bays and beaches in the park and we were looking out for good anchorages for next season!

The following day we drove west to the last place on the north west tip of the south island, Puponga. Here we did a 3 hour horse ride across Old Man ridge to see Farewell Spit. We rode up a steep hill across the ridge and back down the other side. It was great fun but we all suffered, Chris could hardly move, especially after the walk the day before, and I had saddle sores! Mike seemed to be the one who hurt least at the end!

After the ride we headed to Nelson where we met up with friends on Pacific Bliss who have based themselves there. We stayed on their boat too long as usual and drank too much home made beer! We then continued on to the Marlborough Sounds. On the way we took a detour up one of the sounds which turned out to be a very bad move. We had been having problems with the car over heating during the whole of the trip but Mike and Dave had nursed it round. However, when we were in the middle of nowhere it decided to have a major fit. We were stuck for half a day attempting various fixes and in the end, we managed to get to our next stop, Havelock, with a large water supply from some helpful locals.

We had stopped in Havelock to take a trip on the Pelorous Sound mail boat. The boat delivers mail to the people whose house have no road access. We had wonderful weather again and the day was lovely. We passed lots of mussel farms which is a big industry in the area, said Hi! To some locals and went for a short walk on one island..

Then it was time for us to head back to Picton for our ferry with a stop at a garage on the way to buy a new radiator reservoir for the car. Dave and Mike fitted the new part while we were at Jackie and Steve's in Wellington. We had another lovely evening with the family before we headed back to Whangarei.

New Zealand - North Island

Over the next few days we hope to update the blog with our New Zealand activities. This will be in several instalments of which this is the first.

North Island Trip

Once we were safely moored in Whangarei we started our next round of boat projects. This included being lifted out of the water and having the hull bottom 'copper coated'. This is a hard anti-foul which is supposed to last 10 years. In theory we should not need to spend time out of the water other than to grease the prop and change anodes. The downside was that we were out of the water for longer as the application is fairly slow compared to the usual anti-foul paints. While this was being done we installed a new galley sink and did a number of other repairs.

After a few days back in the water we left the boat and went on our first trip by car. We had purchased a car as this was much cheaper than a long term rental. Our first stop was Auckland to catch up with friends Cameron and Catherine and then on to Hamilton where we stayed with another friend, Brenna. We had a lovely visit to the Hamilton gardens which have individual gardens for different countries. After an overnight stop on the way south and a visit to Huka falls near Taupo, we arrived in Wellington to stay with Steve and Jackie. We had a few days looking around Wellington. It had changed a lot since I (Karen) was there 22 years ago and the waterfront was unrecognisable. Jackie came with us for a visit to Zealandia. This is an area which has been surrounded by a predator proof fence and native species of birds introduced. We saw lots of different species and most were very unafraid of humans which probably explains why they need protection from animals such as cats and rats.

After Wellington we headed to the east coast and to the art deco town of Napier. It was the art deco festival while we were there and we had a great time. The whole town was dressed up in period costume, even the local children and there were hundreds of vintage cars, motorcycles and bikes. There were lots of events including 3 air displays, a parade, concerts and a big picnic. This was not a usual picnic! People had gazebos with carpets, sofas, table and chairs and the best china! We felt very under dressed in our casual clothes and picnic blanket!

On the way back to Whangarei we stayed in Rotorua. We visited a thermal area but as there had been very little rain it was very dry. Our motel overlooked another thermal area and from our balcony we could watch a geyser exploding into the air and listen to bubbling mud. After a walk around the blue and green lakes the next morning, we headed back to the boat.

News from New Zealand!

First, apologies to all our readers for the long delay. We'd like to say that we were too busy having fun but mostly, we have been carrying out boat projects!

We spent our first 6 weeks in NZ in Opua marina working on the boat! Our list of projects was 3 A4 pages long so we started to work down the list. The mast was lifted so that all the rigging repairs could be done and the boat looked very strange without any rigging. We now have a much improved and stronger rig. We also wanted all the wire on the rig replaced . Unfortunately, the riggers could not get parts from the US in the time we were there, so the mast got put back in with part of the old rig so that we could leave Opua before Christmas. We then had to get the remainder done when we were in Whangarei.

The first week in Opua there was a cruisers regatta with lots of events such as talks on boat issues and get togethers in the evenings. It was a very social time with lots of friends we had made across the Pacific arriving safely in NZ.

Between the chores we managed to do a little sight seeing. We had a lovely day visiting Hokianga harbour on the west coast and walking to seeing the giant Kauri trees. We also drove further up the Bay of Islands which was very pretty. The car we had borrowed from Richard and Dawn was very useful for our trips and for all our shopping trips into Kerikeri. This was until it suddenly stopped! We had seized the engine. Unbeknown to us the car had a water leak. Richard had never checked the water and neither had we, not being used to old cars. So that was the end of the car but fortunately it happened just before we were due to leave Opua.

One of the big jobs while we were in Opua was to have new davits fitted to carry the dinghy on the back of the boat. Chris from Simply Stainless has done a great job and the new davits look strong enough to lift the boat with! Hopefully this will remove a lot of stress from our sailing as we often sit watching them wondering if they will break and if we will lose the dinghy!

We finally left Opua a few days before Christmas which left us no time to explore the Bay of Islands. We sailed straight out and headed to a lovely bay down the coast called Whangaruru. We are hoping to stop there again as we only got to spend one night before having to leave for Great Barrier Island. Our rush was due to the remnants of Cyclone Evan which had hit Fiji and was on its way to NZ. We had one beautiful day at Great Barrier before the rain and the wind arrived.

We spent Christmas day at Great Barrier with our friend Chris off 'Ladybug'. We both had to re-anchor first thing in the morning but then we opened the champagne and the eating and drinking began. After smoked salmon for breakfast we had roast lamb for dinner, yummy!

On Boxing Day we had to leave as we were meeting friends in Auckland the following day. We had a great sail and arrived at Rangitoto island just off Auckland for the night. The following morning we collected Sally our friend from the UK and Steve, Jackie and their son Connor, friends from Wellington. They all spent 2 days on the boat with us. We went to Waihiki island and had great weather. All the girls even had a swim in the sea!

We spent New year at Rangitoto island and had a very quiet evening except for the horns and fireworks going off at midnight!. During the day we walked up the volcano which has views across Auckland harbour. We then started to head north spending a few days on the Whangaparoa peninsula. Then we met up with friends Cameron and Catherine from Auckland who were camping on a little island called Motuora. We spent the day with them and all had dinner on the boat. We were hoping to go Kiwi watching that evening as the island is predator free but the weather was not good for leaving the boat unattended.

Then we headed to Kawau, another popular cruising destination, to sit out more bad weather. It was sunny so we did some walks on the island with Chris from 'Ladybug'. Then we bid farewell to Chris and headed to Whangarei and the next round of boat projects. It was a very bouncy trip but fast and so we headed up the river for 2 hours and moored the boat at the marina in the Town Basin.

Next instalment will follow in a week or so as we are just off on a 5 day canoe trip down the Wanganui river!