9th - 14th October 2007  Morning revealed the full glory of the Bay of Islands, which I can best describe as Scotland meets Cornwall in the Sun!  It is stunningly beautiful, and so far, everything we expected it to be.  Customs and the officer from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) arrived promptly on board at 9 am and we completed the formalities quickly and effortlessly.  The only things we had on board that were confiscated were dried kidney beans, chick peas, whole lentils and honey.  The MAF Officer was very thorough, even inspecting the wheels of our bicycles to ensure they were clean and that we weren't importing mud.  We were also relieved to confirm that we would not be liable to pay the NZ$36,000 tax bill for importing Oasis to New Zealand;; she is regarded as part of our goods and chattels arriving with us on taking up residency here.  Quite a relief I can tell you!  We have spent the rest of the week alongside in Opua Marina, the first time we have been alongside since Jamaica in February, giving Oasis a good spring clean in fresh water.  We have also changed her power over to 220 Volts and obtained our New Zealand certificate of electrical compliance.  It hasn't all been work though.  We have cycled (very hilly) and walked about the local area, visiting Paihia, Russell and Waitangi.  The coastal and forest walks have been fantastic and are helping to get some strength back into our legs after so long onboard.  For although we are both exceptionally healthy and fit in the broadest sense, we are lacking stamina and strength, particularly in our legs.  The round trip from Opua to Waitangi was a 20km (12 miles) walk over very hilly terrain, which gave us a good work out.  The paths are well marked and strewn with trees and wild flowers that we have still to learn the names of, but with it being Spring here are in full bloom.  Wild Jasmine is quite abundant and fills the air with its wonderful scent.  Its great to hear lots of bird song too - again, it will take time to identify the different species, but the pigeons are huge and the Tui (Parson Bird) very chatty.  Opua is a small village with a shop, cafe, restaurant and Sailing Club.  Russell was the original capital of New Zealand and Waitangi was where the Waitangi Treaty was signed on 6 February 1840, an agreement between two peoples to live and work together in one nation, the foundation of modern New Zealand's relationship with the Maori people.  So not a bad place to start life here!  We are already in love with the Country.  More to follow as we head South.

Views over the Bay of Islands

Flagstaff on the site of the Waitangi Treaty signing and a 35 m long Ngatokimatawhaorua (war canoe) which takes a minimum of 76 paddlers to handle it.

Te Whare Runanga (meeting house) which contains beautiful carvings representing some North Island major Maori tribal groupings

15 - 18 October 2007  As the weather wasn't favourable for setting off on our journey South, we decided to do a bit of exploring in land and so hired a car for a few days.  We initially headed North on the coastal roads, taking the smaller back roads to see more of the countryside, through some of the most spectacular scenery we have seen for some time.  In Kerikeri we found the oldest stone building and the oldest house in New Zealand.  They are both now owned by the Historic Places Trust to preserve them.  The Stone Store was built in 1832 and built by ex-convict stonemasons from New South Wales.  It was originally meant to house New Zealand mission supplies and large quantities of wheat from the mission farm at Te Waimate.  When the wheat failed, the building was leased as a kauri gum trading store.  From 1929it was used as a general store, hence the name.  The Trust bought the building in 1976, keeping the lower floor in the style of the early general store and restoring the upper floor to its original use.  The wooden Mission House is the sole survivor of the Musket Wars of the 1820s and is the oldest standing building in New Zealand.  The house was built by Rev. John Butler in 1821.  This simple, but elegant wooden house was occupied by the Clarke family 1824 - 31 and then by the missionary James Kemp and his family.  Although the mission closed in 1834, the Kemp family stayed on and their descendants lived in the house until 1974 when the house and most of its contents were presented to the Trust.  The garden has been restored to its original 'English Country' styling; it was in its full Springtime colours and smelt wonderful.  On the way home, we visited Kawakawa which have some very unusual toilets!  In the late 1990s, the Kawakawa Community Board was looking at upgrading their 40 year old toilet facilities in the centre of town.  Austrian born artist and sculptor, Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928 - 2000) offered a solution and his concept was adopted giving a work of art from the glass roof, to gold balls, ceramic tiles, bottle glass windows, mosaic tiling, copper handwork, cobblestone flooring, individual sculptures and a living tree integrated into the design structure.  To Hundertwasser, a toilet was a very special place because you meditate there! 

The Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa

The following day, we headed North again aiming for the Northern most point of New Zealand, Cape Reinga.  On the way we visited the Kauri Museum.  The kauri tree is New Zealand's largest and oldest native tree.  It is a type of conifer which grows in the subtropical part of the North Island.  Ancestors of the kauri first appeared in the Jurassic Period, some 190 -135 million years ago, making it among the most ancient in the world.  The largest kauri in existence is Tane Mahuta (Maori for 'Lord of the Forest'), which is 4.4 metres in diameter and 17.7 metres to the first branch.  The oldest tree is estimated to be 2000 years old and is the Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest) in Waipoua Forest.  Trees from the past were even older and larger.  Wood from kauri trees is one of the world's great timbers.  Long, wide planks of faultless, superb timber were cut from the mighty trunks.  The timber was used for many purposes including ship building, houses, furniture, bridges, dams, vats, barrels, railway sleepers, mine-props, carving and many other uses.  These ancient trees are now protected, so only trees that are found in swamp land can now be used.  Swamp kauri refers to kauri timber which has been recovered from under the ground.  It comes from forests which were buried by natural cataclysmic events long ago.  The trees have been buried and preserved underground in swamps for more than 45,000 years.  Leaves and cones are often preserved with the logs, but these quickly deteriorate when exposed to the air.  Kauri gum is a resin which bleeds from the tree.  The gum can build up into a lump which goes hard.  As the tree grows the bark is continually shed, forcing the gum off which falls to the ground.  This has been happening for millions of years and there are vast quantities of gum in the ground.  The dried gum both on and below the surface has been collected for many years.  It was used by the Maori people for cooking and lighting because it burns very easily.  It was also used as a pigment to make the dark colour in tattoos and as a chewing gum.  Today, the old gums amber (over 45 000 years old),  ochre (1000 - 45 000 years old) and the newer copal (less than 1000 years old) is polished and carved to make beautiful collection pieces and jewellery.

Steve & I dwarfed by magnificent kauri trees

The road to Cape Reinga turns from a metalled road to a gravel track some 20km from the Cape.  Maori describe the very top of the North Island as Te Hiku o Te Ika a Maui - the tail of the fish of Maui.  According to tradition, the North Island was once a giant fish pulled out of the sea by Maui from his canoe, the South Island.  Wellington forms the head of the fish, and at the tip of the fish's tail stands Cape Reinga.  A lonely lighthouse and a gnarled, twisted pohutukawa tree on a windswept cliff top on the northern tip of New Zealand have a special place in the Kiwi psyche holding great historic and spiritual significance.  The venerated pohutukawa is the Reinga, “the place of leaping” in Maori mythology, where the spirits of the dead leap off the headland and climb down the roots of the 800 year old tree, and descend into the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiiki.  A ridge of foaming water from the tip of the headland shows the meeting of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean.  It was quite calm whilst we were there, but we could imagine the seas around the point when the two oceans clash whilst merging.  The Cape Reinga lighthouse is unmanned nowadays and is complete with yellow Automobile Association signposts you see throughout New Zealand.  Its nice to know we were exactly 19,721 kilometres from London!

Cape Reinga lighthouse and the most Northern tip of New Zealand where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet

The surrounding countryside is quite barren up here, but still possesses its own beauty.  Heading South along the Eastern coastline, the beach stretches as far as the eye can see and is known as the Ninety Mile Beach.  Traffic can drive along the beach at low tide (although, I'd use someone else's car to do so!) and you can 'surf' down the dunes that extend inland.

Heading further South following the Twin Coastal Discovery Highway which takes you on a circular tour so you don't find yourself retracing your steps.  Before Whangarei, we turned off the road and headed to the coast.  It was a beautiful drive and we stopped and took some short strolls at Ngunguru and Hikurangi.  The countryside in this area is predominantly farmland and dense native bush.   We headed towards Tutukawa to explore the marina there as it is one of our planned stops on our sail South.  The marina were very helpful and we made a provisional booking.  Tutukawa is famous for its deep-sea fishing and diving.  The reason for being a diver's paradise is the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve just off the coast.  A warm subtropical current that travels down the coast from the north, attracting a stunning variety of marine life.  Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, we will have to wait and dive there another day. 

18 - ?? October 2007  After checking the weather forecast again, we decided to try to head South with Oasis.  After returning cars and paying bills, we let go of the lines and headed for Cape Brett.  It was quite breezy once out of the shelter of the land and we had a beautiful sail for most of the morning.  As we neared the Cape we had to don full ollies and at the Cape, we found both the sea and the wind against us.  The sea built quickly and we could only make about 1.5kts at best.  After several attempts to round the Cape, we gave up and headed for an anchorage in the shelter of Urapukapuka Island.  We settled down expecting to stay there for a couple of days, but just after dinner we noticed the wind change direction, putting us on a lee shore, so we up-anchored quickly.  We re-anchored in Waipiuo Bay in a better position.  Later in the evening we heard a 'Mayday' on the radio which turned out to be one of the leaders in the Coastal Classic Race, an annual race from Auckland to Russell.  It was a catamaran which had turned turtle and its four crew were sitting on the boat's bottom waiting to be rescued.  Two other boats in the race also had to be assisted during the race (one boat dismasted and another's rudder broke), so we were really glad we weren't out there and had turned back.  We spent the next few days exploring the anchorages, staying a couple of nights in our favourite ones.  The scenery is quite dramatic, and due to the light and clear air, the hills appear in relief.  Quite beautiful.

We at last had a favourable weather forecast and are going to try to round Cape Brett and head for ??? Bay.  The sun is shinning and the winds have reduced and become more favourable; we shouldn't have to fight against either today.  The sail out was lovely and we rounded the Cape with no problems, quite a contrast from a few days ago.  As we went around Motukokako Island a high speed cruise boat went through the famous 'Hole in the Rock'.  Although it is supposed to be big enough to get a yacht through, we're not sure what the clearance is so we decided to give that thrill a miss today!  We sailed on and went to ??? Bay and dropped anchor.  It was so peaceful there as there aren't any houses around, just a disused whaling station.  We spent the next couple of days there before continuing Southwards. 

Due to taking longer than expected to get around Cape Brett, we decided that we needed to get a bit of a move on and went straight to Whangarei.  The sail was good until we entered the river mouth of the ???  Once again we had wind over tide which made the going slow and wet!  Luckily we had 7 kts of tide with us, so we managed just over 3 kts over the ground!  The motor-sail up the river was slow, but we had to go up it on a flood tide as Oasis is a little deep for some of the stretches further up.  It took us some 3/4 hours to reach Whangarei and we moored up in Riverside Drive Marina for a few days.  Bone (Splinter's Apprentice) was there to take a line and it was good to catch up with him and what he and Beth had been up to since we last met in Niue.  A couple of friendly beers were had by all!