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Sharon’s Blog 1/28/12
We
have been quite busy showing off our temporary home to friends. We were delighted to have Bob and Pam join
us for a few days. We had saved the local sights to share with them. We got a much better
understanding of New Zealand’s history by visiting the Treaty grounds where the historic treaty with the Maori tribes
was signed and the Stone Store on the historic mission grounds. On a more indulgent side, we toured
a local vineyard and winery and sampled many excellent NZ wines. We worked off some of this indulgence
with a vigorous hike to a pretty impressive waterfall. We also took Georgia out for the first time since
we arrived in October. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we uncovered a couple of
problems which will have to be fixed before we head for Australia. A couple of days after Bob and
Pam left some friends from Florida were here for the day on a cruise ship. We had not seen Mary Anne and
Ross for many years and were delighted to spend some time together. Some very close cruising friends arrived
back from the States, so we have had quite a social time.This week was the
Bay of Islands Sail Week with racing each day. Kim observed that all of the racers seem quite young, unlike
some places in the States. Our sport of sailing is certainly thriving here. We could
almost feel like we were back at the Corinthian enjoying the Mid-Winters.
We are busily trying
to get some boat chores (what else?) accomplished before we begin our two week land excursion on February 6th.
We will move Georgia to the boat yard adjacent to the marina and head South in our little car.
Back in New Zealand
Sharon’s Blog 1/14/12:
Happy
New Year, everyone! Kim and I have been back in New Zealand for one week. Plato was
once again happy to be reunited with us. (He actually was a bit ticked this time) We are very happy to
find some more of our good cruising friends have arrived here in Opua. We are looking forward to re-connecting
with all of them. We had a wonderful trip back to the States and thoroughly enjoyed
seeing family and friends, especially those two grandsons.
Georgia
J is fine although we had some drama while we were gone. We had arranged for some work to be done
while we were gone. A workman left on a heat gun which started a fire on board. As bad
as it was, it could have been so much worse. We were very close to losing Georgia. A
marina neighbor (after listening to the smoke alarm for two hours!) finally mentioned it to our friend, Don, who was watching
the boat. Don ran to the boat and found that a flame had just ignited. The fire was
quickly extinguished. The company responsible has accepted full responsibility and has been working
diligently to repair the damage. As bad as it was, we feel so very lucky. We have
vowed to never again have work done on the boat while we are away. We still have a few projects underway,
but we can see the end in sight.
We will be here in NZ until
mid-April. We are looking forward to exploring the Bay of Islands. We are also planning
a land trip to the South Island. We feel very comfortable here and are acclimating to the culture.
I noticed Kim referring to a flashlight as a torch, but I have to say that I will never refer to aluminum foil as “al
u min e um” foil. While in the States, we bought
cruising charts for northern Australia. We plan to set sail again in late April (after the cyclone season).
Our tentative plan is to join the Sail Indonesia rally in late July. So, the adventure continues.
We are very excited to welcome our dear friends, Bob and Pam here
next week. We have saved all of the local tourist stuff for their visit. We just hope
the sun will shine a bit more.
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