Bits & Bobs
If you're curious, we kept track of how much we spent while cruising in New Zealand.
After we sold our boat, we took a road trip around the North Island of New Zealand.
How to speak English if you live in New Zealand (and Scotland).
Pictures of amazing sunrises and sunsets we've been lucky enough to experience.
Learning Te Reo Maori
Some of our favorite places where we've dropped the hook
Dedicated to making the world a better place for moas. And to keep them from being turned into beer.
After five wonderful years in this great country, here are 8 things I'll miss including Whittaker's chocolate and blokes in shorts and gumboots.
Scenes from Auckland & More Scenes from AucklandRandom photos from our time living in Auckland
Hauraki Gulf Cruising Notes
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| Map of Hauraki Gulf via Department of Conservation (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand License) |
We've put together a series of cruising notes to some of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. You might want to check them out if you're planning to sail or explore the area (or if you just have some time to waste). You can find information about the local history and archaeology, native plants and animals, and anchorages, as well as an eccentric tangent or two.
The original "island retreat for inebriates", all yours for NZ$32 million!
Come see the transformation from "Alci-traz Island" into a conservation park
Be on the lookout for feral donkeys and brown kiwi birds
(Photo courtesy of Peter & Marion van Djik and the New Zealand Donkey & Mule Society)
Keep an eye out for the swarming birds
Former home of the "Great Ricardo" and his utopian dream
Brown's IslandAn archaeological wonderland!
Populated with menacing evil rats with eyes that glow in the dark
A great place to get involved in restoring native flora and fauna
The Kaitu Kala IslandsSibling rivalry over copper, a ship wreck and plenty of gulls. What more could you possibly want.
{Photo courtesy of Peter Tasker}
The adventures and great escape of Count Felix von Luckner
A lovely place to anchor up and go for a walk in pastoral landscapes and replanted bush
Going For A Walk In New Zealand Posts
And here are some "Going For A Walk" posts (which are mostly pictures) of some of our favorite walks in New Zealand.
{Or There Is More To Auckland Than The Sky Tower}
{Or I Can't Believe I Made It To The Top}
{Or Please Cows, Just Get Out Of The Way}
{Or Cute Stuff Everywhere}
{Or I Don't Want To Get My Feet Wet}
{Or What's That Plant Called?}
{Or Coro Pies Are The Best}
{Or Really, A Small Dog In Your Handbag?}
{Or No Words, Just Pictures This Time}
{Or Make Sure Your Dinghy Doesn't Get Stolen}
{Or There Is More Than Wine Tasting Here}
{Or A Cute Town Makes Up For Fanworm}
Browns Island{Or Don't Worry, The Volcano Is Extinct}
{Or Why Weren't We Invited To The Wedding?}
{Or Zombie Wallabies Attack}
{Or Why Do My Legs Hurt?}
{Or Beware Of The Falling Rock)
{Or The Monkey Giggled, As Only A Monkey Can}
{Or Going For The Worst Walk Ever}
{Or We Need To Get Better At Labeling Our Pictures}
{Or The Metric System Is Way Too Complicated}
Hauraki Gulf Posts
Here are links to some posts we have about our sailing adventures in the Hauraki Gulf marine park.
Get the tissues ready...our Kiwi adventures are coming to a close.
On Sausages, Chemical Packets & Generosity
These three things sum up our time on Waiheke Island perfectly.
Killing time in Coromandel in the pub, drinking cheap beer and taking snaps of people walking by
Moving anchorages in the middle of the night isn't my idea of fun.
How do you pass the time when you're stuck in Auckland because of a cyclone? Whatever you do, don't break the computer!
We saw the cutest wallabies while we were on Kawau Island. I want one for our boat!
A gang of kingfish attacked our boat while we were in Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island.
The good - meeting a really interesting guy with great stories up in Whangaparapara, Great Barrier Island. The bad & ugly - anchoring!
Just a hop, skip and a jump from Auckland is Herald Island.
Exploring some of the bays on the western side of Great Barrier Island including Tryphena, Blind Bay and Whangaparapara.
A stranger giving you heaps of scallops up in Great Mercury Island - what could be better?
We had a great time exploring Great Mercury Island. And was that Fatty Goodlander we saw?
After a not so great sail from Great Mercury Island, we were glad to be in Whitianga!
What kind of idiots would anchor in the same place for a second night when there is a huge swell - that would be us!
Getting our boat ready for a gale in Auckland.
Cruising In Great Barrier Island {Or The French Lady Took a Pee}What do you do when you're stuck on your boat due to the wind? You become a curtain twitcher and watch everyone else.
We had a great time running into some folks we met last year, who also have a Raven 26 - it is a small world!
Seriously, what was going on with our anchor? There was a serious anchor vortex going on at Waiheke Island. Or at least that's what we tell ourselves.
Yep, it's true. The toilet seat broke while I was using it on our way to Coromandel. At the worst possible time.
The cruising season for 2013/14 begins! We had a great time sailing around the Hauraki Gulf.
Cruising In The Hauraki Gulf - Summer 2012/13A recap of our first summer cruising in the Hauraki Gulf.
Bay of Islands & Other Northland Posts
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| Sourced from Land Information New Zealand. Crown Copyright reserved. |
Our first charter in the Bay of Islands in 2011. Scott's brainwashing campaign to turn me into a full-time cruiser begins.
Our second charter in the Bay of Islands in 2012. Scott's brainwashing campaign continues.
Sailing from Urquhart's Bay to Whangarei town center in pictures.
What it feels like to discover you have fantail on your boat and need to haul it out to be inspected.
Hitting a new speed record on our sail from Urquhart's Bay to Whangamumu.
We had an amazing send-off from a group of playful dolphins when we left the Bay of Islands. But they sprayed something on us - was it dolphin snot or dolphin spit? Add a comment with your vote.
Exploring Whangaroa Harbour including the general store, which sells expensive bread.
My first proper night passage from Whangaroa to Kawau Island. I ate a lot of cookies. Cookies are a great way to calm your nerves.
Links to New Zealand Related Sites
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| Sourced from Land Information New Zealand. Crown Copyright reserved. |
- Department of Conservation - Information about the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, as well as details about the various islands.
- Ferry Service - If you don't have your own boat, you can get to many of the Hauraki Gulf islands via ferry. The main ferry companies include Fuller's, 360 Discovery Cruises, Sealink and Kawau Cruises.
- If you're interested in conservation and volunteer opportunities, check out the Motuora Restoration Society, the Motuihe Trust, the Motutapu Restoration Trust, the Rotoroa Island Trust, the Rangitoto Island Bach Community Association and the Rangitoto Island Historic Conservation Trust. You can also find an extensive list of links on the Treasure Islands website.
- Nine of Cups has a Hauraki Gulf & Bay of Islands Cruising Guide from Moorings on their website which provides useful information about the various islands, sites, anchorages etc.
- If you're looking for charts of New Zealand, go to Land Information New Zealand and you can download copies.
Great blog! We were just up in the Coromandel and Bay of Islands over Easter. Fantastic spot. Hope you can make it to the South Island for some cruising here. I look forward to following your adventures.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Viki
www.anzacsailing.com
Thanks Viki for the nice feedback! Unfortunately, we won't make it down to the South Island for a while. Although I wish we could - I've always wanted to go to Stewart Island and what better way than by boat! I love Coro and BOI - we had such great times in both places. Glad you guys made it there. I'm looking forward to following you as well! Cheers - Ellen
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