11 -23 October

11 October

After clearing customs and filling the water tanks we headed over to Russell where we had booked a space on the wharf. Fairly predictably we spent the evening in the Duke of Marlborough.

12 October

Walk to Flagstaff Hill and around Russell. Dinner at the Duke where we had drinks with Erin (Citizens of the Sea) and Linda and Bill from Whisky, Romeo, Hotel. For dinner we joined tables with two couples we had met the previous night – Pam and husband from Australia and Andrew and Julie from Coatsville and Russell.

13 October

Lazy laundry day and walk around Russell. One local resident clearly has a sense of humour. Bits of old electrical insulators and switches have been converted into a makeshift electric chair.

14 October

Left Russell around 10am for Moturua Island where we hoped to shelter from some very strong SW winds that were predicted to come through overnight and into Tuesday evening. Lovely walk around the island and a surprisingly calm night at anchor.

15 October

Short sail, but mostly motored into Urupukapuka Bay. Did the loop walk to Otehei Bay only to discover that the cafe was closed. Filled our water tanks from the tap in the Urupukapuka Bay camp site – the water maker is now completely unusable – before moving on to Oke Bay. Movie night!

16 October

The No Foreign Lands app showed a fresh water spring next to the beach. So first job of the day was to top up the water tanks. A bucket was needed to collect from the waterfall and pour into the containers.

Oke Bay is the start of the Cape Brett track. So Sue’s birthday treat was to walk the the first part. We walked for a good hour and only went up. Some lovely views over the Bay of Islands but with the wind strengthening and turning to the North East our sheltered anchorage was becoming less so and we needed to move.

We motored back to Urupukapuka but this time took shelter on the western side in Paradise Bay. A lovely calm evening for a delicious birthday dinner – fish of course.

17 October

A lovely loop walk on Urupukapuka where we were delighted to see lots of saddlebacks. On sighting the first one on Moturua Island we had explained to Claire and Jonathan that they were extremely rare and that we were lucky to see them. It was as if the birds were determined to make us liars – they seemed to be everywhere.

18 October

We sailed back into the Bay of Islands Marina, Opua so that we could meet Terry, the owner of Open Ocean Watermakers. We were impressed with the simple design and high output of their watermaker. No decision yet on whether we will replace or try and repair the existing model.

We took the opportunity to use the fabulous laundrette, give the boat exterior a good wash and of course fill the water tanks. Drinks in the Opua Cruising Club and then a night in the marina.

19 October

Motored back into Russell and tied up at the wharf while we reprovisioned. We had discovered that the Four Square in Russell was the best supermarket in the area.

In a brisk northerly wind we set off for Cape Brett. We were determined to sail which meant lots and lots of tacking. As a consolation, on one of our more bumpy NW tacks we were joined by the largest pod of dolphins we have over seen. Fortunately we were just outside the Bay of Islands Marine Mammal Protection Area and so were able to keep sailing while the dolphins played all around us.

Eventually it became obvious that if we wanted to get around the Cape in daylight we would have to motor and so after a good look at the Hole in the Rock we motor sailed around Cape Brett at about 4pm to drop anchor in Whangamumu an hour or so later.

There was only one other boat – Whisky, Hotel, Romeo – a little different to our summertime visit when we had to pick our spot carefully amongst numerous cruising boats and fishing boats staying overnight to get an early start the next day.

20 October

Nigel and Jonathan had their own early fishing start and returned with 5 good snapper and one giant.

Once the fish were filleted and safely in fridge or freezer we headed ashore.

The old whaling station is fascinating. The site was chosen for its deep water access and a ready supply of fresh water. Naturally we made use of the fresh water to fill out tanks again.

After visiting the whaling station we took the track up to the saddle to take in the fabulous views across the bay, out to the Poor Knights and Cape Brett.

21 October

Dawn fishing again. This time Nigel and Claire. Claire was introduced to soft baiting techniques and proceeded to bring in two good sized snapper.

22 October

After Nigel and Johnathan had a less successful fishing excursion this morning – just one snapper – we decided to move on. Light winds meant a motor sail a few miles down the coast to Mimiwhangata where we anchored in the eastern corner to stay out of the swell.

This gave us easy beach access to a fabulous loop walk around the peninsular with great views out to the ocean and along the coast.

The change in tide or perhaps a change in wind had increased the surf on the beach. As a result we all got soaked as we headed back to the boat. It’s not summer yet! We were all freezing.

23 October

On a flat calm day we motor sailed out to the Poor Knights.

They were beautiful as always. We motored along the wester shore spotting some of the famous dive sites such as Northern and Middle Arch and then coming in close to huge Rikoriko Cave which is claimed to be the largest sea cave in the world. The tourist boats regularly go right inside the cave. Taihoa’s mast made that a bit tricky so we continued around the southern tip and past Archway Island and Blue Maomao Arch where the large easterly swell would have made diving impossible today.

We were not planning to dive anyway. We were geared up for tropical diving – our 3mm wetsuits were just not going to tempt us into to 16 degrees water – so we continued our journey south, past High Peak Rocks and Tie Dye Arch and on to our planned anchorage in South Cove, Lady Alice Island and the Hen and Chicken group.

Our last night at anchor was suitably tranquil in a magical bay surrounded by birdsong.