Auckland - Opua in Google Maps (web browser) and in Google Earth

Kathrin, who is visiting from Switzerland for three weeks, and I don’t feel like spending much time in Auckland. We reduce our sightseeing to a visit to the chandleries and supermarket to get some delicatesses for the holiday season. The ambience at Viaduct Harbor is nice and I feel the America’s Cup history a bit, but there’s no active cruiser life and I feel less and less at home in big cities. More and more I wonder whether I’ll settle after cruising, not where …

But I wouldn’t want to leave Auckland without having sailed under the harbor bridge. I presumed, it’s high enough and only a last minute check on the pillar confirms that it is high enough indeed! Note the bungee jumper coming down as we pass the bridge

With sun and wind outshining each other, it’s easy to sail past our today’s target, the dormant Rangitoto volcano and drop anchor on beautiful Waiheke Island. Cozy holiday homes line the bays, the summer holidays are starting and the anchorage is full of all sorts of crafts. We spend Christmas Eve in a vineyard testing the local wine with the verdict that the view is better than the wine;)

Santa Claus is visiting our neighbors, not without leaving some presents on Blue Bie, too. We open our presents, have a Christmas swim and I cook a delicious Red Snapper, which we accompany with champagne. We don’t need snow to enjoy Christmas.

We’re sailing on Christmas day to Kawau, which is bisected by a deep fjord. We’re not only finding protection from strong winds, but also a beautiful mansion, the former home of one of the first governors of New Zealand, which is a museum today.

We’re spending three days on the island, visiting the museum, walking and getting in contact with other sailors. All type of crafts on anchorage from tiny fishing boats to motor yachts, monohulls and some catamarans, mostly from New Zealand.

They all share the passion for the water, fishing and diving for mussels and scallops. We benefit more than once from the fishing skills of fellow cruisers!

We make a long day sail to the Great Barrier Island to arrive before the next low pressure system hits. I feel a bit uneasy sailing into upcoming bad weather, but we arrive before the storm hits overnight with rain squalls above 30kn and catch a tuna despite the heavy competition from fellow cruisers.

We’re hiking up to Mt. Hobbson, with 628m the highest peak on Great Barrier Island. We’re finding on the way traces of early 19th century logging. The loggers built big dams to flood down the huge Kauri trees. Today the forest feels virgin again, but alas without the huge Kauri trees, which have been completely logged.

It’s a beautiful, 6 hour hike over excellent walking tracks through verdant and dry forests. We have a great view over the island and the adjacent Hauraki Gulf. While I anchored nearly by myself in the bay below, we are now in company of a few hundred yachts.

The wind starts in New Zealand mostly after lunch and we start late for Tutukaka. We make it nearly all the way to Tutukaka before the wind dies towards the evening and arrive with the last light around 21pm. The longer days are one of the advantages compared to the tropical cruising. We enjoy Tutkaka’s atmosphere with a perfect burger at the grill and meet Hajot and Ute, whom I met the last time in the Caribbean a few years ago.

We celebrate New Year’s Eve together with another German couple and a BBQ on the beach. Police tells us very in a very nice way to drink alcohol within 500m of the beach. The Maoris a few meters away are treated much less nicely…

I would have loved to anchor at the Poor Knights Islands to explore the caves. But 20kn and a high swell make it too risky. We pass the high cliffs under spinnaker and sail to Whangamumu. There are remnants of an old whaling station in this well protected little bay, but only some rusty boilers and concrete tanks are visible today. It’s quite interesting to see the remnants of the old whaling times all over the Pacific – it was once a huge business with thousands of sailors roaming the ports.

Kathrin and I have by now adapted to the new routine on board: Blue Bie is so easy to sail and anchor, that Kathrin drops anchor all by herself and I’m a bystander on my own boat!

We sail around Cape Brett with its famous Hole in the Rock back into the Bay of Islands and anchor in Urupukapuka Bay. One can choose any of two dozen anchorages depending on the wind. We catch a Kawahi, a highly sought after local fish, in the strong currents of Cape Brett.

We’re passing a floating garbage bin, installed by the Coast Guard for the busy Holiday Season, on the way to Roberton Island. This is said to be the most beautiful anchorage in the Bay of Island. It’s easy understandable, since it has a beautiful bay and beach, a snorkel path and a great view from its top after just a few minutes hike.

We still have plenty of time before Kathrin’s flight and decide to sail to the fjords of Whangaro, some 30 miles north of the Bay of Island. The fjords are not only beautiful, but are also providing us shelter from one of the many fronts passing over New Zealand. The one shop offers everything for clothing, tools to frozen food – hardly anything in good quality, but enough for a homemade Rösti.

We’re filling our water tanks at the water buoy installed in one of the fjords by the Coast Guard. I’ve already been cruising for a while, but there’s still something new every day!

It’s a quick passage back to Motorua in the Bay of Island in the still strong winds. I’ve been crisscrossing the Bay of Island in the meantime so often that it’s hard to find the correct path when creating the Google Earth track. Kathrin is exploring its hills on her own – I’ve walked enough in the last few days:-)

We’re looking forward to some civilization after quite a long time in remote islands and fjords. Russell has been an important whaling town with 40 liquor stores along, umpteenth bars and prostitution along its 500m long promenade. Today it’s a quaint seaside resort, but still sports bullet holes in the church walls from wilder times.

We time our arrival to the Tall Ship Race, the biggest day of the year in Russell. Thousands of sailors flock here to sail and watch the classic yachts and the inhabitants stand together to cook 1’000 meals in a huge Hungi, the traditional Polynesian earth oven.

Charles brings the new Gennaker to Russell and we test it immediately. He wouldn’t just hand over the sail to me – he would like to ensure that I treat his oeuvre accordingly. The sail really is a beauty. Charles has gone far beyond the agreed by not only shaping a radial sail, but cutting the key panels in a neat curve along the load lines. It looks pretty racy with its carbon and Kevlar fabric and is very powerful. I think I’ll have lots of fun with this sail!

brief stop-over in Opua clarifies my immediate future: I’ll be racing the Bay of Island Sailing Week on board of Titan with Paul and Kevin. But first, Kathrin and I will sail the few miles to Kerikeri and up the river to the Stone Store; the oldest stone building in New Zealand. Most cruising guides and sailors don’t recommend taking the boat upriver, because the river is too shallow and there’s not much space up there. We’re all by ourselves and we anchor in the middle of the small basin.

We anchor right in front of the charming historical buildings. We browse through a mock Maori village and the museum and attend a very lively guided tour, where we learn a lot about the history of the Maoris and the first white settlers and missionaries of New Zealand. The story is much more complex than intelligent whites and savage blacks. To the contrary: the missionaries meet a very highly developed society, which nearly destroys itself with the European firearms and alcohol.

We meet Charlotte and Andreas for lunch, former competitors when racing on the Lake of Constance. Charlotte is pharmacist and put together my very comprehensive first aid kit. We toast that I’ll continue to only sparsely use its contents.

Kathrin and I set sail for the last time to one of the many islands in the Bay of Islands. We share it with many other Kiwi cruisers and are meeting Garth on Jacande, whom I’ve met here 6 weeks ago when I left Opua for Auckland. It feels like a little homecoming to the Bay of Islands.

We find a comfortable anchor spot despite the many boats. I can’t give as much chain as usually otherwise the locals would pull my leg by asking whether I’m expecting a storm!

A short sail brings us to Paihia, where Kathrin and I review three beautiful weeks over dinner in Paihia’s best restaurant. Kathrin’s bus is leaving the next morning and I steer over the channel to Russell equipped with the Economist and a Multihull magazine against the quietness on board. I read in one of the many restaurants on the promenade and explore the museum. Interesting to see the whaling history; disappointing not to see a single exhibit about the Maori.

I’m returning to Opua two days later, closing the six week loop to Auckland and back.

Travelling Western Australia

22.01.2012