Family arrives

At Opua in the New Zealand Bay of Islands, we have been very busy getting everything shipshape for the much-anticipated visit of my daughter Lainey and her fiancé Tim. They arrived on Valentine's Day, February 14th, early in the morning at the Auckland Airport (at 05:30, I did say early!) which was 4 hours away from where we are anchored. But we got up real early and drove to pick them up, making them wait for only a brief period.

After a short tour of Auckland and a couple of nearby towns, back at Opua we introduced them to our favourite lady, Sea Turtle. With a couple of quick lessons on boat terms and how to use the head (toilet), we next dinghied to nearby tiny Pine Island for an appetizer-potluck with a group of sailors. What a good introduction to boat life for our visitors! Lucky that we had our new dinghy as it would have been difficult for 4 people to fit into our old dinghy.

Jordan, Lainey, and Tim (top left) with enthusiastic group of sailors

As usual, the next day we had some friendly ducks pop by waiting to be fed, which Jordan willingly obliged. Later that day, Lainey and Tim were treated to the high energy of sailboats racing through the anchorage and close by Sea Turtle, a twice weekly event, as we planned a cruise through the Bay of Islands.

Toe feeding