Labasa

Today we took a bus to Labasa (pronounced Lam basa) with friends from catamaran Morning Glory. This is the largest town of Vanua Levu Island (Fiji's 2nd largest island) and brags of the first set of traffic lights on the island.

The area is very fertile and consequently has a big bustling market where we all excitedly purchased large pamplemouse (the grapefruit-like fruit that we loved in the Marquesas)! But sadly when we got them back to the boat and tasted them, they were not good at all. We have never found any that taste as juicy and sweet as in the Marquesas.

Happily selling their wares

There were a couple of parades happening in Labasa while we were there. One was quite unusual and I haven't been able to find any information as to what was happening and why. The Indo-Fijians (predominant here) were dressed up spectacularly in their very bright and jewelled native outfits...

2 lovely young ladies

Some lined up, lay down in the centre of the street, and then a fancy hand-drawn cart was pulled over the procession.

The other parade seemed to be promoting crime prevention. Leading the parade was the police department dressed in fancy outfits, and there were a few floats with pretty princesses, a stilt walker, cars with masked people, sign carriers, etc.

Dapper police

Everywhere we go in Fiji, someone is always saying Bula (boo la). This means a friendly Hello and Fijians are extremely friendly. The other word we use all the time is Vinaka (vee nah ka) which means Thank you.

We had an excellent curry meal at a restaurant before waiting amongst the din and bustle of afternoon pedestrians at the bus station. It was a long 3-hour return over verdant ridges to our boats on the other side where we arrived after dark.

FIJI - Savusavu

As we left North Minerva Reef on June 16th with strong winds on the beam, we made for a fast day's sail under a double reef main, triple reef head, and storm staysail. The night was blustery with near gale force winds. Jordan was out on deck a few times through the night making minor sail adjustments and making sure everything was secure.

About 15 nautical miles from Savusavu (Fiji), we finally ran out of wind. We had been having a great sail right up till then. Around midnight, we dropped all sails to lay ahull so that we could enter the harbour safely during dawn's daylight. At 03:00, we started to slowly motor in, arriving at the mouth of the inner harbour at 05:15 June 20th where we drifted until the sun came up.

The harbour was small and there were about 40 boats there, most on mooring balls or at anchor. We tied up to a mooring ball at the Copra Shed Marina (S16°46.689' E179°20.033') at 07:15. The Marina arranged for the officials with their insouciant manner and schedule to come out to the boat for an easy check in.

The small town of Savusavu is located on Vanua Levu Island, the second most prominent of the 333 islands of tropical Fiji.

Fiji is predominantly populated by indigenous Fijians (mainly Melanesians and Polynesians) and Indo-Fijians. The Indo-Fijians came from India as indentured labourers in 1878 to work in the sugar cane fields. Today they are very much a part of the culture, and sari shops, temples, and curry houses are regular fixtures. Ethnic tensions still exist but are not visible to tourists. The government has experienced some upheaval here over the last few years with actual, yet mild coups.

Motley village architecture

Close to where we moored, we could see a wreck on the shoreline. There are a couple of stories making the circuit as to what happened to this boat. Were the folks aboard causing problems with the Fijians or did their propane tanks explode? The death of the couple is all very mysterious.

Tragedy in paradise

We were also close to hot showers, laundry facilities, and restaurants that made our dinghy ride the shortest yet. Many places served excellent and inexpensive curry dishes. We could also see the hot springs nearby...

Steam from the hot springs

One afternoon, we attended a talk given by a well-known sailor, Curly, who explained all the dangers of sailing around Fiji waters. The waters here are lousy with reefs and you should never sail at night except perhaps where the reefs are well marked (not very frequently though). There are usually a few boats lost each year and many others with stories of going on the reef but managing to extract themselves.

Back to North Minerva

After almost 7 months from sailing into New Zealand, we finally made our departure on sunny June 6th at 16:15 with the wind on our beam. Just before the sun was down, we were escorted by a pod of large dolphins. One dolphin, no doubt curious of Jordan's bright yellow rain slicker, followed him as he moved from stern to bow turning sideways and looking up at him.

The autopilot refused to think right at first but after an hour and a few restarts, it finally got its head clear and did its thing. The next morning, we tried the newly installed Saye's Rig wind vane and it worked fine, but it wandered a bit so went back to the more precise autopilot.

The weather was mostly sunny with a few isolated showers. Once away from the land that moderates the sea climes we soon experienced the briny undulation and I was just a little nauseous at first as I forgot to take a seasick pill after being at anchor for so many months. After 2.5 days of broad reaching (a great point of sail) out of New Zealand, there was mostly no wind so we resorted to the purr of the Perkins motor (54 hours!)

On June 13th, we set anchor (S23°39.631' W178°54.222') in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, once again back at North Minerva Reef. Already anchored were several boats we knew: Catharpin Blue, Meikyo, Morning Glory, Solstice as well as 2 others (1 being a power boat).

Our first stay at Minerva Reef in November 2012 on our way to New Zealand from Tonga resulted in the capture of 4 large delicious lobsters with friends on SV AKA. Unfortunately, this time Jordan's efforts were unsuccessful. The tide was high at mid-day making overflow runoff strong and still a bit cool in the water so he didn't stay in long. Such a change from November when the water was glassy smooth and warm.

He saw 2 lobsters but couldn't quite get a good shot with his spear gun. He also saw a few sharks and when 1 got too close for comfort, Jordan poked him with the tip of his spear and it scooted away.

Jordan snorkelling at Reef edge with strong runoff

The sun set early, between 17:00 and 17:30. We poured a nightcap, put on some music, and as dinner cooked, we danced. What a life! We ended the evening with Jordan serenading me on his violin. Oh...stop my heart...I am so happy and I know my man is too. I thank my beautiful, lustrous, heavenly stars every night.

We were the only boat at the Reef last night and for the second time was the last boat out, leaving it vacant for the next seafarer.

Good and bad

To balance the negative bureaucratic experiences, there are some pluses for visitors here in New Zealand. One is that if you are injured for any reason while visiting here, all medical treatment is free. Two incidents here that boaters we know of made use of this service. One was a broken hip and the other a broken wrist.

New Zealand is a beautiful country. We had a great tour of the North Island and the South Island by motorcycle and we spent some time sailing around in the Bay of Islands. New Zealand reminds us of Victoria BC on a smaller scale with all its islands, coastal scenery, picturesque mountains, and lush greenery.

This is a great place to get boat work done as almost everything can be purchased here or sent in pretty quickly. But it's not cheap anymore partly because the New Zealand dollar is strong against our Canadian dollar. But even the locals complain how everything is expensive. Having said that though, we completed a lot of necessary boat projects that we had been putting off until we got here.

I personally think the New Zealand Northland summer season is very short and the sandflies have a vicious bite. The Antipode winter season is now upon us down here and it's very chilly. We can even see our breath when talking in Sea Turtle some mornings and evenings. Brrr.....

I went swimming only once in the cold water when coerced by my visiting daughter. We are looking forward to warm water and clear snorkelling adventures as we head north. That seems strange to say, but we are so far south at the moment. When we left northern Canada, we said the exact opposite and were looking forward to warmer waters as we were then heading south.

So now we are elated, happy, overjoyed...we're off to Fiji this afternoon from New Zealand. We took refuge here from the northern hurricane season since November 12, 2012 (other than a 6-week visit home). We have a great weather window and checked out today with no hassles.

Bureaucracy

We, as well as many other sailors, have had unfortunate liaisons with New Zealand bureaucracy.

Our incident cost us $400 when we unwittingly checked into a New Zealand airport with ONE banana in our suitcase that we had forgotten about. We went through an appeal procedure with no luck.

Another boater needed to extend their Visa. They filled out all the forms and sent everything from Opua to Immigration in Auckland, 4 hours away by car. Immigration received the information prior to expiry of the Visa but informed the sailors they had used an old form. But yet the form had been given to them by a Custom official in Opua. The newer form was almost identical to the one they had filled out and did not ask for any different information than what they had already provided. It was impossible for them to fill out this new form and get it back to Immigration before their Visa expired. So now as overstayers, they had a $700 fine imposed on them. For a mistake that was the officials' fault.

The Custom's office even sent a letter to Immigration stating it was Custom's fault - not the boater's fault - but no dice. Even after several letters and emails, the sailors were told they still had to pay the fine as 'everyone is treated the same'.

Oh, really? Another boater sent their papers to Immigration with a courier that arrived 9 minutes after 16:00 - the time that Immigration closes. But the door was open and the papers were signed for. These sailors were informed that their papers were late and had to pay the $700 fine. They refused and demanded to speak to a superior (they had been dealing with the same official as the above sailors). They were reluctantly allowed to speak with someone else and were charged the regular price of $165 for a Visa extension without a fine.

Wait a minute - what happened to 'everyone is treated the same'??

Another incident involved a boater that incorrectly wrote 1 digit of their credit card number. Immigration sent a letter informing them that as they would have to redo their forms, they were now overstayers, and charged them the $700 fine. (I believe they left the country without paying this ridiculous fine.)

Some boaters, including us, would not return to an otherwise very beautiful New Zealand because of this bureaucratic idiocy.

BUREAUCRACY as defined by the dictionary: 1. a body of appointive government officials 2. administration characterized by specialization of functions under fixed rules and a hierarchy of authority, also an unwieldy administrative system deficient in initiative and flexibility.

Enough said...

Kiwi 'slanguage'

G'day mate. Here's a bit of Kiwi slang that we have heard throughout our stay in New Zealand.

As might be heard in the shopping market parking lot: 'Be careful with that trundler, you wouldn't want the bill from my panelbeater.' English interpretation: 'Be careful with that shopping cart, you wouldn't want the bill from by body shop.'

At the New World supermarket

Or, 'Can't find the short. Call the sparky.' (electrician)

Or, 'Thanks for your help.' Response: 'No worries.'

Washrooms or restrooms are simply toilets. 'Could you please tell me if you have a toilet in this restaurant?'

Barbecues are barbies, flip flops/thongs are jandals, grog is alcohol. And if you see BYO on a restaurant sign, this means that you can bring your own wine to drink with your meal! Something we can't do back home in Canada.

Kids may politely ask for a lolly which is a request for something sweet (i.e. lollipop, etc.)

If you're asked to 'bring a plate', don't bring an empty plate! This means to bring food to share.

And a contagious verbal mannerism is the response 'Yeah yeah yeah' in rapid fire. It's not considered rude, but an affirmation that you understand exactly what the other is saying.

Taking on crew?

Many boats take on crew for passages to help with watches and chores like steering, etc. Up till now, we have not had crew. That is to say, not in the flesh. But we do have what some sailors call an extra crew that works without sleep and doesn't complain and is very reliable (well, most of the time). That is, we have an autopilot. It runs efficiently on little electric power and is tied into our hydraulic steering. It has been with us since Mexico.

Another common self-steering device is a wind vane and there are various makes. They are mounted at the stern, are mechanical, and by sensing and using the wind, move a trim rudder that in turn steers the boat. The upside to these is that they use no electric power. The main downside is they don't work well when motoring or sailing in light winds.

We have had some failures with our electric/hydraulic crew man and it's always a worry that if it fails on a long passage, it would be hell to have to hand-steer great distances. So a backup wind vane would be wise. Jordan has always wanted to get a particular type that is best suited to Sea Turtle's configuration. It is made in California USA and is a very simple reliable unit, called the Saye's Rig wind vane. He's been looking a long time for a good second-hand one and recently spotted one. He contacted the boat owner to see if it was by chance for sale and sure enough was able to buy it for a fraction of its new price. This Saye's Rig will be a backup unit to use if our automatic pilot ever breaks down again.

The Saye's Rig is connected externally to a boat's rudder that is manipulated by a trim rudder. The connection to the rudder is a long looped bar that is trailing off the main rudder. So it required us to expose the bottom of Sea Turtle to do that attachment. We decided to careen her. That is a procedure of tying her up to a dock at high tide with her keel almost on the bottom. Then as the tide goes out, she would no longer have water under her and would lean against the dock - a common and inexpensive practice among boaters.

Well, we found out that Sea Turtle doesn't like this exercise. When the tide went out, poor Sea Turtle had her bow (nose) almost in the mud as she slowly fell forward from the weight in the bow. She settled to within an inch of snagging the main port shroud on a piling which could have been catastrophic if she had gone any further. Also, she settled just as one of the newly refurbished stanchions came in contact with the same piling. We were very lucky.

Sinking in the mud with bow almost touching

But there was nothing we could do until the tide came back up several hours later when we quickly motored away. The next day, we had Doug's Boat Yard once again put Sea Turtle on his slipway and pull us up and out of the water.

Jordan got busy and installed the Saye's Rig rudder bar to Sea Turtle's rudder and was finished by the following day.

Saye's Rig ready to go

We both feel more comfortable now knowing that we have a backup system if our automatic pilot fails as it has in the past. Jordan can't wait to head offshore and put the new crew man through the manoeuvres!

Odds n' ends

Besides all the boat work, road trips, and company, we have also spent some time sailing in the Bay of Islands. Jordan attempted to collect some of the many scallops in the New Zealand waters when diving, but alas, all he found were empty shells. Wrong spot apparently. Scallop season closed at the end of April so no second chances for us. But fishing has been great with many tasty snappers caught.

At a sailors' swap meet we were able to sell our old outboard motor and an extra stern anchor that we no longer need. Yippee - it's always good to lessen the weight on Sea Turtle! And we picked up a couple of LIGHTWEIGHT items that we needed from other sailors.

We were introduced to a delicious seasonal fruit that we have never heard of before called freijoas. They are about the size and shape of a chicken egg with an aromatic smell and sweet taste when ripe. They are not so tasty when over-ripe though, which you can only tell by cutting it open and seeing that it has started to turn brown. We ate them by the bagful!

Scrumptious freijoas pictured with an apple

One afternoon, we went into Pahia (a few minutes away by car from Opua) to hear the beat of the Tamashii Taiko Drummers. Under sunny skies, we listened to the ancient rhythms as they blended the old and the new and watched the choreography of their movements. They undergo hours and hours of training and practice to achieve such skill (www.tamashii.co.nz).

Drumming away

On another afternoon, we needed to go to Pahia again and decided to hitchhike. We didn't wait long until we were offered a ride. When it was time to return to Opua, we once again stuck out our thumbs but not many cars went past. So we decided to walk as we had been told it is a very scenic trail walk along the seashore and is about 5 km. Not much of it was at sea level and there were a lot of ups and downs but it was quite scenic.

We were disappointed that we couldn't get a quick ride back to Opua as we had been invited for a day sail in the Bay of Islands with our friends on their historic 1928 wooden schooner Niña before they departed for Australia.

Famous Niña

Enough exercise for the day, where's the wine?

Lots of work

We have been very busy with regular boat jobs plus a few more before leaving New Zealand hopefully sometime in May.

Jordan has always missed having a lazarette on deck for storage. We've been using 2 large plastic bins tied to the deck but they've completely deteriorated from the hot sun, plus they don't look very boatie! The solution? Build one!

Using fiberglass and wood, he created a new lazarette that looks like it was always on Sea Turtle. A perfect fit. The short fiberglass course that Jordan signed up for, through our Fleet group of Bluewater Cruising Association back in Victoria BC before we left for sailing, and some valued tutoring from Ed on SV AKA, paid off. Jordan has fixed and/or created several projects with the use of fiberglass.

Way to go Jordan!

Since we've had the boat, we've had a few minor annoying leaks from the hatch over our stateroom bed which seemed to be getting a little worse with time. We purchased a new hatch here in New Zealand but it was a bit smaller than our original. Once again, Jordan - with the help of fiberglass - made the opening a bit smaller and also raised it up so it no longer laid flush on the deck. This will also help to prevent any sitting water that could one day lead to leaks again. Another beauty of a project! It recently passed a test by a torrential rain.

The other main job was to put Sea Turtle on the hard for painting. We decided to pull out at Doug's Boat Yard where he uses a marine-ways with a unique system to accommodate more than one boat. As the hauled boat moves up into the boat yard, the carriage moves over a turntable not unlike the roundhouse systems of railway yards. The carriage with the boat on it then turns to one of 4 spurs where it is then moved out of the way for another boat and carriage to move.

Sea Turtle being pulled up slipway

Turntable visible at front

Our usual haul-out is for applying anti-fouling paint to the bottom, a fairly easy quick job. But this time, the hull (i.e. the sides of the boat) above the waterline was in desperate need of painting. This is a major job as Sea Turtle's fiberglass sides are grooved for the esthetic look of planked wood. So all these grooves needed to be sanded, wiped with tack rag, and painted 2 times with a small brush before using a roller! We also raised our waterline another 23 cm (9 inches) for the anti-fouling paint, as indicated by the green tape in the photo below.

Waterline creeping up higher...and higher...

We were only able to finish the starboard side with 2 coats of paint before 2 days of heavy rain hit us. And then we were almost finished the port side and the bottom when once again the rain was upon us. But we were able to quickly finish the next day. The job turned out splendid so it was all worth it.

Lookin' mighty fine now

Jordan also put on a new anchor light as our other was quite dim at night. We could always pick out our boat as it had the dimmest light - now it has the brightest! As well, he installed new spreader lights that flood the deck that are now LED and use much less power.

We left Victoria in September 2009 with the boat's original mainsail, circa 1980, and sailed over 24,000 nautical miles (about 44,500 km / 27,500 mi) to New Zealand with the old sail displaying many tatters and patches. So our brand new mainsail was long overdue. It's up and ready to be tested. We also had our furling headsail checked and tidied up and our staysail re-cut.

Wine and dine

Jordan and I enjoy a glass of wine, as perhaps you do. But we were offered a new experience to go along with wine drinking - that of grape picking. So early in the morning off we went with friends (Ed and Fran of SV AKA) to the Cottle Hill Winery just a short distance from Opua New Zealand. We met the very friendly and gracious owners who gave us a few instructions on what to do and what not to do.

We did not actually pick the grapes, we clipped clusters from the vines...with very sharp clippers. Number 1 rule is to keep your fingers away from the clippers. The owners, Mike and Barbara, had previously spent a few hours clipping many of the excess leaves from the vines which left the grapes quite visible and therefore seldom necessary to search for them behind the many leaves. Many other wineries do not do this which makes it more difficult for helpers to find and clip away the grapes.

Jordan ready to clip hanging grape clusters

We clipped and then dropped the grapes into a yellow bin at our feet. Before the bins got heavy, we dumped them into a bin at the end of the row where they would be picked up by a truck when full. It was amazing how fast it all went. After a couple of hours, we all went up to the house for a coffee break where we were provided with a snack and refreshments. Then back down to the vines for more clipping till lunchtime.

Job well done (Barbara, Ed, helper, Judy, and Fran in front)

Mike and Barbara offered everyone a superb, barbecued lunch and free wine that they had made in previous years. They also handed out samples of their new walnut tasting liqueur (and grappa for those willing to taste) - double yummy!

Then to reward us for our 'hard' labour, they sent each of us home with our choice of spirit. I chose the grappa and Mike handed Jordan a bottle of their new liqueur as he knew how much both of us loved it. Hopefully, this will be on the market soon! We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to Mike and Barbara of the Cottle Hill Winery for this unique (and delicious!) experience.

Kiwis!

Seeing a live kiwi bird was high on our list of things to do and today would be the day. So from New Plymouth (North Island of New Zealand), we didn't waste too much time heading back on the last day of our tour of the North and South Islands.

Along the way, we noticed a black sand beach (Waitara Beach) where we saw fishermen with unusual contraptions. We decided to investigate and had a chat with them as they explained how they fished from the ocean with it. They have a self-propelled torpedo that tows out a fishing line over a kilometre with numerous baited hooks. After an hour or so, they haul it in with an electric motor winch and drag up whatever they catch. We watched them bring in a half dozen snappers, 1 about 7 lbs.

Electric fishing line winch in foreground

At noon, we stopped for a quick lunch at a picnic table we spotted before proceeding to the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park...

Roadside wino

A kiwi is a bird with hairy feathers and tiny useless wings. To see one in the wild is rare because their numbers are much depleted and they are nocturnal. So we had to settle on seeing them in captivity. At Otorohanga Kiwi House, it was not a real clear viewing of the kiwis as their enclosure is kept dimly lit so that they are active for the viewers. But we were able to espy the adorable flightless birds running around. About the size of a chicken, they lay the largest egg of any bird in relation to their body size. And they are the only bird in the world with external nostrils at the tip of their long beak.

Below, not real, but stuffed kiwis on display

We considered staying just south of Auckland but remembered there would be rush-hour traffic the next morning (Monday), so we pressed on finally staying at Warkworth, north of the big city.

The next and last morning of our trip (March 4th, day 11), it was an easy ride to our destination, but we did make one last stop at a 'sheep shop', a touristy hobby sheep farm and retail store. For fun, they sprayed some of their sheep pink with a water soluble spray. Why? Who knows, maybe an insider Kiwi meaning.

Pretty in pink (NOT photo-shopped!)

Tired and sore after a total of 4,609 kilometres, we delivered our bike back to the shop at Whangarei in time to change, get a delicious Thai lunch, and catch the bus for the 1-hour ride back to Opua and Sea Turtle.

It was a great motorcycle tour on great roads and we timed the weather perfectly. We hit no rain and it was warm to hot most of the time. However, we were both happy to get back to our floating home with its relaxing atmosphere!

Speeding along

The next morning, zigzagging the South Island of New Zealand along picturesque farmlands, we bypassed the City of Christchurch that suffered a devastating earthquake in 2011.

We made a short detour off the road as it had been suggested that the best bakery of New Zealand was located at Darfield, something that Jordan just had to investigate. The best? Well, it was good and we also had a good lunch, but it didn't qualify as the best in Jordan's opinion, an avid pastry lover. The search will continue.

We have seen some amazing geography with a real WOW factor throughout our tour of the 2 islands from flatlands to grasslands, from snowcapped mountains to glaciers, from green hillsides to bare faces, along with flowers, boulders, and beaches. We weren't expecting such a variety of landscapes and scenes.

Building-sized boulders scattered on the slope

New Zealand has been experiencing a drought. As we crossed over many bridges, we witnessed large areas of rocks and pebbles in the riverbeds with little to no water. As sad as this is for farmers, it made us very happy to have no precipitation during our motorcycle trip!

Jordan peering down at rocks in low water level of river

We then continued, with more highway traversing as we headed west along spectacular Arthur's Pass which is the highest of the 3 main passes - staying at Reefton, the first town south of the equator to receive electricity in 1888.

On day 8 of our travels (March 1), our last and third pass across the 450 km long stretch of the Southern Alps was scenic Lewis Pass which is higher than Haast Pass but lower than Arthur's. Arriving in Picton well into the afternoon, we managed to procure passage on the 18:15 ferry to Wellington on the North Island. It would put us in after 21:00 so we phoned the motel that we previously stayed in and booked their last room!

Back on the North Island, the next morning we took a route along the west coast for awhile...

Shagadelic!

Jordan in front of bright, blue, beautiful blossoms

...experiencing again No Vacancy signs everywhere. Finally at a 'last chance motel', we crashed on our ninth day at New Plymouth.

Counting sheep

Have you ever counted sheep in your sleep? We have sure noticed a lot of sheep grazing in the fields in New Zealand where it is said that there are more sheep than people!

You lookin' at me?

We started heading back north on the South Island and made a short stop in cute Queenstown for a bite to eat. Para-gliders were jumping off the mountains around us under their colourful canopies. And we watched as a 100-year old coal-fired steamship filled with tourists billowed its black smoke around the lake. We motored to the top of a hill and looked down on the pretty valleys and waters.

Queenstown from above

On our more inland route through Cromwell and Twizel, we came upon the small town of Tarras. Have you ever heard of Shrek, a Marino type of sheep? We saw Shrek's photo in a Tarras café above a barrel of sheep wool.

Famous Shrek

Shrek escaped from his enclosure of South Island New Zealand and then hid in caves for 6 years, never being shorn of his wool during all that time. When he was discovered in 2004, he was carrying 60 pounds of fleece which was auctioned for charity.

Mammoth Shrek with his owner (copied from internet)

Shrek was fond of children and the elderly and became quite famous. He was the star of children's books and made celebrity appearances where he raised $150,000. Shrek died at age 16 of old age and circulatory problems.

We finally ended our day at the small service town of Fairlie...time to count sheep...

Milford Sound

With a destination of Milford Sound (New Zealand) today, we made sure to fill up first thing in the morning (after almost running out of fuel yesterday) and headed inland through the Haast Pass, where there are no settlements, and again sped along some gorgeous hilly and winding roads and past some large lakes. On one road, we encountered a flock of sheep being herded down the highway by their shepherd and his dog...

Baaa-d for traffic

We don't usually do touristy things, but we stopped at an interesting attraction, Puzzling World, in Wanaka. It housed various displays that played with your mind and equilibrium. Such as optical illusion displays that made it look like golf balls and water rolled up hill, and 168 faces on the wall that seemed to follow you. One distorted room was even used in the filming for the Lord of the Rings movie.

There was also a good 1.5 km maze of passages that took us almost an hour of fast tracking to make it through (it even had emergency exits!) Check out their website at www.puzzlingworld.co.nz.

We wanted to make it out to Milford Sound for the night. So we pressed on through Te Anau, out into the valleys surrounded by steep mountains, up along formidable narrow mountain roads squeezed between precipitous rocky crags, and the 1-km pass being a 1-way tunnel. We exited the tunnel on the side of a mountain and snaked our way down to Milford Sound where we took in the famous scene at the ocean inlet shores, with the mist giving it a surreal, fairy-tale look. Rudyard Kipling, a famous author, described it as the 'eighth wonder of the world'.

Milford Sound

But, one problem! Only one very expensive lodge and it was getting late. We were expecting more of a town with a choice of motels. Oh well, it was back an hour and a half to Te Anau. It was a good thing we had a fast bike because we made good time, arriving just at dusk and found a nice B&B After a quick check-in, we went downtown for some good Chinese.

Milford Sound is only 308 km from the southernmost town of Bluff but we would not be continuing any further south on our tour.

(The next morning, we met the interesting owners of the B&B where we slept last night in Te Anau. He was a helicopter pilot between jobs that took him various places around the world. As it turned out, we had a mutual acquaintance - the owner of Vancouver Island Helicopters who Aaron, Jordan's son, had designed a house for. Small world sometimes.)

Rocks and ice

Starting the 4th day of our motorcycle tour of New Zealand, we only travelled a kilometre down the road from Punakaiki to Pancake Rocks. Unusual layered strata and rock formations gave it that name and scientists today still cannot fathom how it came to be in layers.

A mystery of nature

Judy exploring the layered walkways

We followed the coast mostly that day along a winding road bordered by the superjacent mountains that spilled 2 glaciers - Franz Josef and Fox. We could not leave the motorcycle and its gear to explore either of these glaciers so we felt fortunate that we had previously gotten so close to a glacier with Sea Turtle when we were in Chile.

The grandeur of Franz Josef Glacier

We failed to purchase gas at the last service station and, being a very remote area, as the miles clicked by we were getting concerned as the low fuel light was flashing! So we made a stop at a fish farm who said they didn't have any gas, even though we saw quads and equipment in the yards. Then we stopped at a farm that had tractors, etc. but no one was home. Finally we saw a lodge on Lake Paringa who reluctantly sold us 10 L at an EXORBITANT price with an indifferent Take it or leave it.

We continued to ride along and enjoyed the scenery of snow-topped mountains that reached up into the clouds at our side...

Fabulous scenery

...and that night got us to the one horse village of Haast.

NZ moto tour

A plan while in New Zealand was to do a road trip to the larger but less populated South Island while the southern summer remained. Even though we have use of a car, the roads here are a motorcyclist's dream. But that called for a good weather window. So when Jordan saw that the weather forecast was for an extended period of warm sunny weather over both the North Island and South Island, it was decided.

Auckland, 4 hours south, has all the motorcycle rentals, but in Whangarei, just an hour south, we found a motorcycle shop that had a bike they could rent. A quick packing and bus ride had us to the bike and off we went on February 22nd for a 10-day tour. Objective: to the south end of New Zealand's South Island and back.

(F.Y.I. New Zealand consists of a few territories and several islands, many not populated. The 2 largest are officially called the North Island and the South Island.)

The bike we rented was a rather fast street bike and the 1st day it quickly took us down to the big city of Auckland where we stopped at Immigration to submit for a needed extension to our given 90-day Visa. That done, we headed south through Friday afternoon rush-hour traffic. Here, while traffic crawls, it's allowed for motorcycles to go between lanes and all drivers are courteous and respectful of that, many moving over to accommodate us.

The famous Sky Tower behind sailboats in marina

By the end of the 2nd day, we made it to the southern tip of the North Island to the City of Wellington, New Zealand's capital. Known to be a windy city, it's situated on a large bay amongst steep hillsides. Its nickname is Wellywood due to the filming of movies such as King Kong, Avatar, and scenes of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We visited Wellington's Cuba Street, a kind of eclectic place to hang out with a good choice of eateries, etc.

We managed to procure space on the Interislander ferry for the next morning for the 3-hour trip to the South Island. The ferries here are commercially run and are nice and comfortable. We had open mild seas for half the time and the later hour was through a meandering inlet to the small town of Picton.

Perfect motorcycle roads

Now on the South Island, the first route we chose gave us a scenic and very winding road along the north coast, through cute little seaside towns with kickback atmospheres. That first late afternoon got us out to the west coast beach to Punakaiki where we checked into a nice room 100 metres from the pretty, deserted beach.

Coastal scene

Saying goodbye

It was time to say a sad goodbye when Jordan and I dropped my daughter Lainey and her fiancé Tim at the Auckland Airport very early in the morning for their 05:50 flight to Australia where they would do another week of exploring before returning home to Canada.

We all had a fabulous time and Lainey and I had stayed up late every night reminiscing and sharing stories and cocktails as the 2 men retired earlier. During their stay, the weather had fully co-operated with not a drop of rain and only the occasional cloud. Tim had helped Jordan constantly with the handling of Sea Turtle and both asked lots of questions. We believe that we have 2 future sailors in a few years!

We miss the both of them and tears fall as I write this! (Lainey and Tim: we look forward to seeing you soon at your July wedding!)

Ciao for now...

Busy last day

We departed from Kaitaia at the northern end of Northland New Zealand with Lainey my daughter and Tim her fiancé. The kids were still un-nerved by the experience of driving in a vehicle on the opposite side of the road. It just didn't feel right to have Jordan driving on what, by Canadian standards, would be considered the passenger side of the car and on the left side of the road with large semi-trucks coming toward you! But Tim felt that it was a good initiation for when he would be doing the driving in a couple of days in Australia.

Eeeek!

We headed south along the west coast and made it safely to Bayly's Beach, with the ocean surf crashing on one side and dramatic orange coloured cliffs rising on the other side. We once again walked the shoreline but this time collected a few nice shells on this sunny and gorgeous day.

Lainey and me in the surf (courtesy of Tim)

The beach seemed to be pretty hard packed so down came the car. But it was not as hard packed as we thought, and after doing a few fancy manoeuvers, we got stuck! But no fear, a bit of hand digging, and we were free. This is actually New Zealand's longest drivable beach but is not as well known as Ninety Mile Beach.

Almost there... (courtesy of Tim)

From Bayly's, we bypassed nearby Dargaville for lunch, a cute little town on the west coast with not much to see since its decline after decimation of its timber. So we headed to the larger artsy city of Whangarei on the east coast where a heart-pumping accident was avoided as a very spiky tractor suddenly pulled out to make a right-hand turn through the passing lane but Jordan's great driving skills saved us as he hit the brakes and swerved to miss it.

There are more craftspeople proportionally living in Whangarei than anywhere else in New Zealand and more shopping was required by our guests!

Next on the to-do-list was visiting a winery, a first for Lainey and Tim. Just outside of Whangarei, we pulled into Longview Estates where we sampled several very delicious red and white wines and purchased our favourite choices. We were regrettably unable to tour the facilities as it was near closing time.

Our host with Tim, Lainey, and Jordan

After a busy day, it was getting a bit late (18:00), when we arrived in Auckland and again every place was displaying a No Vacancy sign. After 1.5 hours of driving around searching, we finally found 1 motel but it only had 1 bed. Lainey and Tim decided that they must take the room as others were waiting in line to book it if we walked away, so Jordan and I would have to say our goodbyes and drive late into the night to return to Opua instead of early the next morning.

But wait! Is that a hide-a-bed? As the Kiwis say, yeah, yeah, yeah! This made all of us very happy and we spent 1 last night together.

Good and bad experiences

This morning, we returned from sailing the islands to our Opua anchorage with Lainey and Tim (my daughter and her fiancé), passing by a huge cruise ship with Tim busily snapping pictures, and we packed for a 2-day exploration of northern New Zealand.

Tim had expressed a real interest in parasailing. So our first stop was in the small town of Paihia 5 km from Opua where they boarded a tour boat, headed out into the bay, and floated high up into the sky reeled off from the back deck of the tour boat.

Unfortunately, float was NOT a term to be used as the driver jerked the ropes quite hard, lifting them high and then dropping them suddenly before lifting again, which really terrified my daughter. She totally hated the whole adrenaline-pumping experience, but Tim had been quite thrilled. They reached a stunning height of 1,200 metres, New Zealand's highest parasail. Through her tears, Lainey didn't even see the amazing view of the Bay of Islands from up high. But we all give her a lot of credit for trying it even though she has a fear of heights.

Flying high...

Coming in for a landing

We decided Coopers Beach, an hour from Pahia, was a nice stop for a breather and a walk on the quiet sandy beach. Then under cloudy skies, our next stop was at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom. Before the last Ice Age, an unexplained act of nature had knocked down huge prehistoric trees which then became entombed in mud and peat swamps. Deprived of oxygen, the trees have been preserved in perfect condition. With Radio Carbon Dating, it has been proven that the Kauri forests grew during the period 30,000 to 50,000 years ago and beyond!

At the Ancient Kauri Kingdom, some of the prehistoric Kauri wood is brought from the swamps and made into many of the cherished beautiful items - from furniture to decorative utensils to tourist tat - that are offered for sale. The wood, with its hues, textures, and sheens that change under differing shades of light, is considered a collectible investment that will one day no longer be available.

Lainey and Tim atop a huge Kauri wood stump

The cafe and information centre was closed for the day but Jordan and I hope to return to this spot in the future when it is open to see the massive Kauri log that has a spiral staircase carved into it leading to the upper level.

We next headed to the upper NW coast of New Zealand to Ninety Mile Beach, which in actuality is only 68 miles long but still impressive! The sand was hard packed so we drove the car onto the beach and along the crashing surf of the shoreline for quite a distance. We also strolled the beach but did not find very many nice shells.

Sand as far as the eye can see...

It was starting to get late so we tried to find accommodation near Ninety Mile Beach at the town of Kaitaia. It was a forest of No Vacancy signs but we finally found 1 available motel. Exhausted and starving, we went directly to the dining room before taking luggage to our rooms. The service in their non-busy dining room was atrocious and we would have left but were afraid of not being able to find anything else open. We waited forever to be served and had to call over the waitress numerous times. Thankfully there was a plus side...the food was absolutely delicious!