Saturday, November 30, 2013

Landfall in New Zealand

By Nicole

After spending 2 1/2 years sailing nearly 15,000 nautical miles through 11 countries on 1 little sailboat, we’ve arrived on the other side of the world. Hello, New Zealand!

PB090973 - CopyOn passage from Minerva Reef to New Zealand under a reefed main and jib

We made our approach to Opua, on the northeastern edge of New Zealand’s North Island, in the middle of the night. The stunning coastline we’d heard so much about, camouflaged by the darkness. We had it on good authority that arriving to the quarantine dock at night was no problem – the charts were accurate and the channel and dock were well lit – so we decided to go for it. There was no way we were waiting until daylight to make landfall!

DSC_6794Moments after arriving to the Q dock in New Zealand, and moments before the crack of Aaron’s anchor-down beer

Buzzy with the excitement of our arrival (in New Zealand!!), it took us forever to finally crawl into bed. But we knew the customs and quarantine guys would be coming in just a few hours, so we tried to chill out and get a little sleep. I was, of course, up with the sun like I always am. I peeked out the port light to see the sun rising over tree-covered islands and a flat-calm anchorage. Wow. Still in my PJs, I grabbed the camera to snap a few pictures (before exclaiming how freaking cold it was and sprinting back inside to find some socks and a fleece).

PB110981 - CopyMy first view of New Zealand in the daylight.

Despite the horror stories propagating around the cruiser community about checking in to New Zealand, our experience was super easy. Just follow the pre-arrival directions, don’t bring in anything you shouldn’t and you’ll be fine. It took less than an hour for both departments to visit and inspect us before we were cleared to leave the customs dock for our slip in the marina. (A slip in the marina! What a treat!)

PB120984 - CopyLocals here joke that new arrivals from Tonga and Fiji are easy to spot with their tans and jackets.

PB141008 - CopyView from our slip in the Opua Marina

Opua is a beautiful, quiet little place. It’s not much more than the marina, a café, a number of marine-related businesses and a tiny general store backed by scenic views in every direction. For us, these features made it the perfect spot to make landfall. The nearest town (where you can find shops, restaurants, ATMs and the grocery store) is a 10- or 15-minute drive away – or a lovely 2 1/2-hour walk along the beach.

DSC_6809Waking the beachside trail from Opua to Paihia

PB141020 - CopyNasturtiums along the trail

PB141023 - CopyTowering tree ferns

PB141024 - CopyOne of the many (many) anchorages in the Bay of Islands

DSC_6801Cute little boatyard set back from the trail

We never actually walked the whole way to Paihia (we got hungry for lunch and turned around), but it was still fun. You know, this seems like the right time to tout the glorious trail system found throughout New Zealand. Kiwis love to hike, and that fact is evidenced by the abundance and quality of trails. Nowhere else (except maybe Niue) have we seen such well-manicured and well-signed trails. And they’re literally everywhere! It’s a hiker’s (and walker’s) paradise. Oh, but don’t call them “trails.” They’re “tracks.” And it’s not “hiking,” it’s “tramping.”

In order to take advantage of the tramping tracks and see some of this fantastic country, we decided to upgrade the dinghy. We bought a car! Taking the test drive was the first time in my life I’d driven on the left side of the road. EEK! Look out! No, it was actually easier to adjust to the “other” side than I thought it would be. And to this day, I haven’t yet signaled with the windshield wipers (unlike some other people I know … ahem, Aaron, Zack, Adam and John).

DSC_6835The Bella Star land dinghy. Our really old but new-to-us Honda Legend.

DSC_6814Driving on the “other” side of the road is fun! It’s almost like breaking the law, except not doing that.

Opua is part of the Northland district (I think they’re called districts, anyway), which I’ve seen referred to on signs and business names as the Far North. I love the term, since it makes me think of Hobbits and reindeer. In any event, we left Opua early one morning to explore the Far North in our new wheels. We didn’t come across any Hobbits or reindeer, but we did see some gorgeous countryside, TONS of sheep, a lighthouse and some killer sand dunes.

DSC_6832Northern NZ landscape of forests and sheep pastures (with giant sand dunes in the background)

DSC_6834Aaron takes this photo-op break to munch down a filled roll (Kiwi for sub sandwich)

DSC_6877Sheep. Are. Everywhere. Fuzzy sheep, shorn sheep, black sheep, white sheep with white faces, white sheep with black faces, SHEEP! They outnumber people by more than 7:1 today (down from, like, 20:1 a few decades ago).

When you can’t drive any farther north, you’ve reached Cape Reinga. This spot marks the confluence of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, which separates New Zealand from Australia. The edge of the Pacific – how cool! And another thing, many of the signs here are in Maori as well as English. Also cool.

DSC_6859Where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea

DSC_6840At Cape Reinga, overlooking a bay and more sand dunes

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DSC_6852The Cape Reinga lighthouse

DSC_6854The North Island and the Pacific Ocean … conquered!

DSC_6856Tramping in jandals (oh yeah, “jandals” are flip flops here)

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DSC_6867Hey, there’s Vancouver! We’re really far from home.

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Flipping through the Lonely Planet guide for NZ, we came across the Te Paki sand dunes. They were just a short drive from Cape Reinga, so we knew we had to visit. We’ve spent time on the Oregon and Washington coasts and have seen some dune action, but nothing prepared us for these gigantic piles of sand. Holy crap, this place is crazy! We’d run up the steep face of one dune expecting to see the ocean, but no, all we’d see is another dune. And another. And another. Incredible. It was like the Sahara Desert (or as Aaron said, like Tatooine minus the Jawas).

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DSC_6926Finally, after what seemed like endless dune scaling, we spotted the Tasman Sea way off in the distance.

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DSC_6945 (2)Going down was way more fun!

Okay, so I’ve told you about the fantastic trail system, and now it’s time to share something else. Northern New Zealand has a semi-tropical climate, and it’s avocado season! You can also find oranges, lemons and macadamia nuts at the local farmers markets, and palm trees, ginger and exotic plants grow wild on the hillsides … I like it here.

DSC_6960Roadside on-your-honor avocado stand. Yes that says $2/bag.

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Bella Star is now comfortably tucked into her slip in our “home” marina just north of downtown Auckland. We’re settling into the liveaboard lifestyle again, after being cruisers for the last 2 1/2 years. Aaron even bought a toaster! (Something we could never run without shore power.) Things like unlimited hot-water showers and easy access to washing machines feel normal again, although I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good thing. I am, however, looking forward to the next few months spent living and traveling here. Who knows what it will bring? Well, besides lots of guacamole …

PB271048Palms and crimson-flowered pohutukawa trees line the shore of our new marina. In a few weeks, the pohutukawa trees, known as the “New Zealand Christmas Tree” will be in full-bloom throughout the country. Happy spring!

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PB131007 - CopyNew Zealand has sunk its teeth into us! I think we’ll be staying here for awhile.

13 comments:

  1. Great to see you guys are settling in well. Looking forward to having you down to explore the mainland. You could always bring Bella Star, there's great cruising around here!

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    1. Can't wait to come visit! And we'd love to cruise the mainland at some point -- it looks incredibly gorgeous (well, the whole country is gorgeous!).

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  2. Congratulations you two... we are so proud of you... Enjoy your new life.... Carolyn & Kathy.

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    1. Thanks, Carolyn and Kathy! We were just thinking about you guys and your new adventures. Hope all is well!

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  3. Gorgeous!! And, now I have a new flower to love - on the pohutukawa tree. Love your adventures, and I thought of you tonight on the ferry ride home. Crossing Kingston to Edmonds was very rocky, and Erik said (as the ferry bumped sideways pretty hard), "Uhh... WHAT was THAT?!!" I told him it was just like "bumps in the road, but bumps in the water - no worries," but what I thought was... I'm definitely not a sea-worthy gal, anything more than a tame, stormy ferry ride wouldn't work for me. And, I (for the millionth time) thought about how amazing and intrepid you crusiers are - the lot of you! Cheers! Enjoy New Zealand!! I hope to visit some day (on a plane).

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    1. Isn't the pohutukawa lovely? There are so many "exotic" plants here -- it's fun getting to know them. And thanks for saying we're intrepid. I've never thought of myself that way, but I like it! Happy December!

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  4. Congratulations on making landfall at the end of this stage of your journey. Have you given any thought as to where Bella Star will be tramping to next? Will you be making tracks back to this COLD part of the world soon? (We'd love to visit with you if are!)

    Questions about your journey abound... What was the biggest wind/seas you encountered? Deepest anchorage? How much chain did you use? Did you ever drag anchor? What was your toughest navigation challenge? Where and why? What sort of watch system did you use on your passages?

    Great photos from NZ too. Thanks for keeping us informed and inspired!

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    1. Thanks, guys! We have no idea what's in store for us. We know we want to spend time traveling here, and Bella Star certainly needs some TLC, but after that -- who knows!

      Great questions ... we'll put together some thoughts and post them here.

      Take care! Miss you!

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  5. First: Congratulations! Quite an accomplishment!

    Currently I'm an arm chair voyager, reading several blogs and learning. Really have enjoyed watching your travels...and conquers!

    Don't know if you had seen Wondertime's recent entries, but you might find this one interesting: http://www.svwondertime.com/2013/10/15/the-worst-thing-about-cruising/

    Lesson: Don't let 'civilization' trap you!

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    1. Thank you so much! It does feel like quite the accomplishment, I must say.

      We actually met Wondertime back in Seattle before either of us was cruising, and we're looking forward to reconnecting here in Auckland soon (small world!). I read Sara's post and totally understand where she's coming from. It's hard to go from the freedom of cruising to the ties of land-based life ... we'll try to resist! :)

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  6. Congratulations Aaron and Nicole, you are now on the "other side" of the world. Congratulations. We have so enjoyed reading your stories and cheering as you conquer yet another island. Keep on having fun.

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  7. Looks like you're already having a blast in NZ. Congrats on the landfall! Even though the land pics are great, my favorite is the first picture in this post with nothing but boat and water...such a powerful image!

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  8. Those sand dunes look amazing

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