April 2004 Update
This is how L'eau Life gets rid of a car in New Zealand!
(NOT JUST ANY
CAR, IT'S MINOUNE II...BOOHOO...SNIFFF)
Fri., April 2:
We got up very early this morning (5:00 AM) and drove to the Auckland Airport
to pick up Rachel and Ed. It was a beautiful morning. The kids cleared Customs
at 7:45 and it was so good to see them walk out those doors. Hugs, kisses,
more hugs and kisses! We hit quite a bit of traffic going back so we decided
to stop and have breakfast in Auckland at the Viaduct.
(My idea...we don't get much, ya know) We got back to Gulf Harbour
around 10:30 and got Rachel and Ed settled in. They've been on L'eau Life
several times and know the drill and they did pack accordingly. Tonight
we had a "Welcome to New Zealand" cocktail party to introduce the
kids to some of our cruising friends. It was a lot of fun. (Good,
I was wondering if I'd had a good time or not!!!)
Sat., 4/3: This afternoon we went to Shakespear Park
and did the Heritage Trail Hike. It was a lovely sunny afternoon with some
pretty strong winds at the top. The view was spectacular. (We
had done this hike before XMAS, and it's amazing the difference the seasons
makes to vegetation and wildlife)
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1) View from the lookout at Shakespear Park;
2) Ed & Rachel at the lookout; 3) Rachel & Ed at the end of the hike
Sun., 4/4: We had breakfast at Ripples Cafe this morning
and then finished packing for our road trip. We got everything loaded into
the car and off we went by 10:15 AM. (This was a
rental car, Minoune II wasn't up for the trip)
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Adrien's new raveling hat!
Our first stop was the Hamilton Gardens where we had a nice
lunch and walked around the beautiful gardens for a while. Back on the road
by 2:00 PM arriving at the Waitomo Glowworm Caves and booking a tour at 5:00.
We drove around looking for a place to stay (and really saw some doozies)
One of the places reminded all of us of the Bates Hotel in Psycho. (Anyone
for a shower???) We ended up back at the main freeway turn off
and checked in to the Glowworm Motel ( How appropriate!).
It was a one bedroom self-contained unit with plenty of room
for all our stuff and the price was right. We unloaded the car and then drove
back to Waitomo for our tour of the caves. We started out on a walk through
the caves and then got into a boat and experienced the surreality of the darkness
and the glowworms lighting the caves. WOW! After our tour we stopped at the
Caves Tavern for a cocktail and then back to our motel to get ready for dinner.
We walked to the Caves Motor Inn right next door and had a very nice dinner.
We played a couple of games before turning in. It's been a very full day.
(Some of us turned in, but not I. We had Sky TV
sports on and I got to watch the first ever Formula 1 race from Bahrain in
it's entirety...LIVE. I rarely get to see F1 racing as the USA doesn't seem
to be interested in Formula 1...the old "wasn't invented here" syndrome
at play here!)
Mon., 4/5: I made breakfast for everyone this morning
and then we loaded up the car and left around 9:30 heading for Rotorua. We
stopped at the Pureora Forest and did a 30 minute walk and then continued
driving on a very narrow, rocky, dirt road to the Forest Tower to do a 10
minute walk to a tower you had to climb up 6 very steep ladders to get to
the top. I only made it to the second level and had to stop. I don't do well
with vertical climbs! (That's because you insist
on looking down, Dear!) The rest of them got to the top and had
some great views. I was just glad to get back on the ground.
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We arrived in Rotorua around 1:00 and drove up to the Top Ten
Blue Lake Holiday Park and checked out a couple of their rooms. Very nice
2 bedroom self contained units. We booked the one with the view of the lake
and decided to stay for 3 nights. We unloaded the car and had some lunch and
then relaxed and napped. Ed made hamburgers tonight for dinner on the electric
grill in the common area (50 cents for 10 minutes). Not quite the same as
barbecuing but they sure were good! We played some Yacht Sea after dinner
and then turned in.
Tues., 4/6: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADRIEN!
We did a beautiful walk around Blue Lake this morning (Ed jogged around).
It took about an hour and a half. We had breakfast when we got back and opened
presents. (YAHOO!!!)
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Our first stop today was at Hell's Gate Geothermal Fields. What
a spectacular place with so many steaming springs and hot bubbly mud pools.
So much thermal activity. Quite amazing! (It's said
that the hottest spots of boiling mud were used for disposing the enemy...ouch!!!)
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We then drove to the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute
where we were able to see a short version of a Maori Cultural Show and then
walk around and see more thermal activity. The highlight of this place was
seeing the 2 active geysers perform. What a show that was.
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We stopped in town and had a quick snack and then back to our
motel to rest up for tonight's festivities. Rachel and Ed made reservations
at the Skyline Restaurant where you take a gondola up to it. There was some
confusion about transportation so we took a taxi and had a lovely table by
a window and since it was a clear night the view was very nice. The waitress
brought over some "Happy Anniversary" balloons (we should have suspected
something here, but just said it was Adrien's birthday and they quickly changed
the balloons). It was quite a buffet spread with all kinds of seafood, meats,
veggies, salads and desserts. I did an oyster splurge and enjoyed every single
one. When it was time to leave we asked where the van was that would be taking
us back to our motel. Again, some confusion about the transport but in the
end we got a paid taxi ride home. (Rachel and Paula
really let 'em have it...they weren't gonna leave without a free ride...GO
GIRLS!!!) We had a nightcap and played some Yacht Sea. What a day!
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Wed., 4/7: This morning we went to The Agrodome for their
11:00 show and boy was it entertaining. All about sheep and shearing and herding.
(AHH...New Zealand, where men are men and the sheep
are afraid!!!)
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Then we drove over to the Adventure Park where Ed did the "Free
Fall" ride where he was blown with air and suspended like a sky diver.
(Rachel hopes this satisfies his urge to jump out of a plane.)
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Rachel and Adrien rode in the Agrojet and got a really fast
ride. I chose to stay on land and take pictures. (FRAIDY
CAT!!!)
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We ate lunch at an Indian Restaurant in town and shared an excellent
variety of curries. Back to the room to relax and enjoy a quiet evening at
home.
Thurs., 4/8: Today we drove back to Auckland and had
a picnic at the Auckland Domain (Cold and full of
Duck shit, otherwise pleasant!) and then checked into the Mercure
Hotel. We met for cocktails in our room at 5:30 and then walked over to the
Viaduct to a bar called Minus 5. It's an ice bar with everything made from
ice sculptures including the bar itself and the cocktail glasses. What a hoot!
They give you parkas, mittens and boots. It was quite a unique experience.
They only let you stay in there for about 30 minutes because of the temperature.
What a "cool" place! (TEST: How cold do
you think it was in there? Answer required in both Fahrenheit and Celsius)
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We walked to Sky City to see about having dinner in the Tower
but it was booked so we found a little restaurant and had a nice dinner. We
then walked back to Sky City to do a little gambling. Rachel played the Pokies
and finally found a "Wheel of Fortune" game. She is really fun to
watch play. She roots at the machine and in the end she won a $120 jackpot.
We walked back to our hotel and had a nightcap in the Vertigo Restaurant and
then called it a night. (I ended up $40 ahead at
the Black Jack tables)
Fri., 4/9: Back to Gulf Harbour this morning. Adrien
and Ed went to play 9 holes of golf with Dave on Mobisle. (Not
mentioning scores here, the card was destroyed by incineration)
Rachel and I did the laundry. (What's wrong with this picture?...nothing...it's
what makes you happy...having a boat load of cleanliness...not to mention
a fulfillment of one's duty...[OOO! I'm gonna pay for that one])
We had a quiet, relaxing evening on the boat tonight.
Sat., 4/10: We took the ferry this morning over to Tiri
Tiri Island - a bird sanctuary. We had a guide for the first part of the tour
and then we were on our own to explore and wander around, catching the ferry
back at 3:30. It's a beautiful spot with so many different species of birds.
(including penguins) The coastline was
absolutely breathtaking.
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Tonight we took the kids over the the Town Centre of Gulf Harbour
and had a really nice dinner at the Nautilus Restaurant to celebrate a belated
30th birthday for Rachel. Back to the boat to play our last game of Yacht
Sea and we even got Ed to play that stupid game "Catch Phrase" on
their last night in New Zealand. (Now, he's never
coming back...damn!)
Sun., 4/11: Happy Easter! I cooked a big Easter
breakfast for everyone this morning and then we played the domino game "Chicken
Foot". (How appropriate for Easter...Jeeez...Paula,
Paula, Paula!) We had an early Easter dinner around 3:00 with Leg
of Lamb, Cauliflower Mash, and Broccoli. We left for the airport around 6:15
for their 9:45 flight. Got them checked in and then went to do some Duty Free
shopping and have a cocktail. We walked them to the security check point around
8:30 and said our good-byes. Lots of hugs and kisses and a few tears, too.
It was such a good visit with the kids and boy did we keep them busy! (While
approaching the airport I asked if we were just gonna drop them off or should
I proceed to the "Park and CRY" area. I thought it was very funny...the
others...well, they sorta sniffled a bit!)
MON.,4/12: Entire day of pouting and
sniffling.
Tues., 4/13: I did some provisioning today for our passage.
Mostly meat/fish/poultry. I got it all vacuum packed and put away. I even
got 8 meals prepared and frozen for the passage. It's a good thing we were
eating out tonight, I was really tired of cooking. We met Dave and Gay and
her cousin, Lauren at the Indian Restaurant in Manly and had a very nice dinner.
Wed., 4/14: Tonight we went over to Goilie for
cocktails and dinner (or so I thought). They're a charming Swedish couple
we met over the holidays. We enjoyed listening to some of their cruising stories.
At one point around 7:00, I realized there was nothing being cooked for dinner.
It turns out Adrien misunderstood the invitation. (OK,OK,
my attention span hasn't been up to snuff since the surgery...must be the
anesthetic) It's a good thing we had second helpings of the nachos.
Thurs., 4/15: This afternoon we went to see Dr. Singh
to get Adrien's blood work results. They are continuing to improve but still
need to be monitored.
Fri., 4/16: This morning we drove to Auckland and went
to the Australian Embassy to apply for our visas. It went pretty well and
we were given a 4 year multiple entry maximum 6 month each stay visa. (This
will guarantee that Paula will never be away from home for longer than 6 months!!!)
Tonight Dave and Gay came over for dinner and cards. We played Hand and Foot
after dinner and were doing pretty well until in the third hand I discovered
some cards on the floor. I put them back in the deck and then discovered my
Foot was missing some cards. Uh, oh! I went to put the cards back in my Foot
and Dave immediately declared a misdeal and mixed up all the cards. (Smart
guy, my partner is) I really blew this one and we were ahead, too.
We replayed the hand and in the end the boys won. Score: Girls 18 - Boys 23.
Sat., 4/17: Today we found a crew person to help us take
the boat to Fiji. His name is Eric Wakely and he's also a musician. He and
his wife moved here from Hawaii last year and bought a boat and are prepping
it for cruising in another year. Eric has 10 years plus of sailing experience
in Hawaii doing charters and personal sailing on his own boat. He doesn't
have any passage experience and wants very much to get some under his belt.
He is going to help us sail the boat up to the Bay of Islands next week to
familiarize himself with L'eau Life and her skipper and first mate.
Tonight we had our doctor and his family over for a little get together. Dr.
Singh has taken such a great interest in Adrien's Crohn's progress and also
his spiritual healing we wanted to share an evening on our boat with him and
his family. It was a lot of fun getting to know their family a little better.
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Adrien and the Singh Family
Mon., 4/19: Big
provisioning day at Pak n Save. Oh, so overwhelming. We had 2 huge carts and
filled them both. We packed the groceries in boxes and loaded them into the
car. Back at the marina it took 6 cart loads to get everything to the boat.
Now the fun part, finding a place to stow everything. Well, first, I had some
lunch to give me the energy to deal with all these groceries. Then it was
slow and go and stow for the next 3 hours and believe it or not everything
found a home. (I had business to take care of in
the engine room, on deck, and anywhere away from the stowage operation.
Whatever I dig up for food on passage will be a surprise.)
Tues., 4/20: Big errand day: dropped off LPG tank and
put gas in Minoune II; Adrien had some bloodwork done; Mitre 10 for some muriatic
acid; Liquorking for some vermouth; return rental car in Auckland; General
Marine to settle our bill; Sailor's Corner for some dry spray; Dive Center
for some O-ring; Lunch at McDonald's (as much as I wanted a Big Mac I settled
for a salad...it was a close call...she had pursed
her lips in preparation for saying BIG MAC, so I kissed her and secretly re-pursed
her lips for the word SALAD); Anzor to drop off a screw, nuts n
bolts order (OOHHHH the pleasure...being surrounded
by walls and walls of stainless steel fasteners...an entire warehouse of 'em...at
as much as 60% off of retail) ; Jaycar for a voltage decreaser
and some other electronic stuff we couldn't live without (that's
right. this place sells discreet electronic components, kits and connectors
of all sorts. I feel like I'm back in my school days building useful stuff...like
replacing those damn plug in the wall converters for CD players and small
electronic devices that can now be run directly from the ship's batteries)
; picked up screw order; picked up LPG tank; Typhoid and Hepatitis A shots
for Fiji, Vanuatu & New Calendonia. I also needed a Tetanus booster (OUCH!);
Sea Quip to pay screw bill; Marina office to let them know we're leaving on
the 22nd and then finally back to the boat for a relaxing evening at home.
Wed., 4/21: Big laundry day for me with lots of trips
back and forth. Today was also the day we took Minoune II to the auto dismantlers.
She was really on her last legs and would need a lot of work done to sell
her so we just made a donation to the scrap yard and they said they would
"take her off the road" ("make it
disappear", was the term used actually). Eric, our crew person,
arrived about 9:00 PM. We got him settled and visited for a little while and
then off to bed.
Thurs., 4/22: It's official, we left the dock today.
(YAHOO!!!) It was a beautiful
day for sailing over to Kawau. We saw three Orca whales (KILLERS)
as we were heading towards Tiri Tiri. What a sight that was! We pulled into
the Bon Accord Harbour on Kawau around 4:00 right next to Mobisle.
What a beautiful spot. Adrien and Eric got the dinghy down and we went over
to Mobisle for cocktails. Back to the boat for the 6:00 radio sched.
Adrien was so excited, he could actually hear Final Straw for the first time
loud and clear. Adrien BBQd chicken for dinner and I made oven fried veggies
and sautéed zucchini and tomatoes. Yum. Adrien and Eric jammed for
a little while. Eric is actually a professional lead guitar player and singer.
He hasn't played in a while, he's taking some time off from his career to
get their boat ready. We also introduced Eric to the dice game PARJ. Anyone
who will play games with me is a real trooper. (Does
that include me, Honey?)
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1) Orca whales off Tiri Tiri Island; 2) Eric taking a little
snooze in the sun; 3) Submarine Rock off Kawau
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4) Sunset from Mobisle in Bon Accord
Harbour; 5) L'eau Life anchored in Bon Accord Harbour; 6) Sunset from
Mobisle in Bon Accord Harbour
Fri., 4/23: Eric and Adrien worked on 2 of our winches
today, cleaning them and doing a much needed maintenance. (Only
7 winches to go) We took the dinghy to Mansion Bay this afternoon
and went through the Mansion House self-guided tour. Lots of rooms on different
levels. It used to be a resort but now it's a historical museum. Lovely grounds
to walk through, too.
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After only being gone for about 45 minutes, our dinghy was almost
aground, but we were able to pull it back into the water pretty easily. (Scrape,
Grind, yank and pull, and Paula was first into the dinghy, as all good Princesses
should) Our next stop was across the bay to the Kawau Yacht Club, just to
check things out. They had a little store, a bar (Too
early for a cocktail...damn!!!) and a restaurant. Eric BBQd some
steaks and chicken tonight and I made Cauliflower Mash, Broccoli and the leftover
zucchini to go with it.
Sat., 4/24: We pulled up the anchor at 8:15 and are sailing
to the Whangarei Heads today. It's a beautiful morning. We motored out of
Kawau and then put up the sails. We had 12 to 15 knots of wind so we turned
the engine off and sailed for a while. We saw several dolphins along the way.
They love to come real close and play on our bow. By 3:00 we were anchored
in Urquharts Bay just inside the channel to Whangarei. What a beautiful spot.
(Even the huge refinery looked cool at night)
Eric and Adrien took the kayak out to explore around the bay. Tonight we had
Tarakihi (a snapper-like fish) in a lemon, butter, garlic sauce, fresh green
beans and a Caesar salad. We watched a little TV (we're still getting some
fairly decent reception) and then played a game of PARJ. I retired around
9:30 and let the boys chat for a while.
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Sun., 4/25: We had a nice relaxing morning and pulled
up the anchor around 11:30 heading north. We had more wind today, up to 20
knots, so we were able to sail most of the way. We pulled in to Tutukaka about
3:30. Kind of an interesting approach with a narrow opening and lots of rocks.
We dropped the anchor in 17 feet of water in a small, shallow anchorage with
a bit of a swell. It kind of reminds me of the anchorages in Hawaii with no
protection and lots of swell. (Rollin' rollin' rollin') Adrien and Eric got
the dinghy down (after dropping a battery quick connector into the water -
bye bye...actually my exact words were ... @#$%&**!@%$&^*).
We dinghied to shore in search of a spot for dinner tonight. The one restaurant
that was recommended to us was closed for Anzac Day (ANZAC=
Australia New Zealand Army Core, formerly Auxiliary Core...a WW2 veterans
thing...they even have ANZAC cookies which are a staple aboard L'eau Life...Oatmeal
and coconut...MMMMMMM Good!) so we went to the Whangarei Deep Sea
Anglers Club and had a bite to eat there. The food was okay and it sure beat
cooking on board in this rolly anchorage.
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Mon., 4/26: It was a pretty rough night in the anchorage
so we were glad to pull up and out of here this morning. It's another nice
day with winds between 14 and 19 knots. (All the
rags up, Jib, Staysail, and Main...all the way up...very Nice) We
motor-sailed for a while and then turned off the engine to enjoy the quiet
of sailing. As we approached the point at Cape Brett, our turning point into
the Bay of Islands, the weather changed. The seas picked up a bit and became
a bit wishy washy. There was a big squall coming right at us as we made the
turn. Plus our visibility shrunk considerably with all the clouds. It poured
down rain, which was great for the boat, but not so great for trying to maneuver
our way into the channel. We found a nice anchorage, Parehura Bay, and dropped
the hook and settled in around 2:30. The guys took the dinghy down to explore
the bay, I laid down for a little nap. Tonight we had Adrien's home made spaghetti
sauce recipe for dinner and watched "Oh Brother Where Art Thou".
It's nice to be in the Bay of Islands.
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Tues., 4/27: It's been raining pretty hard since early
this morning but settled down enough for us to be able to pull up our anchor
and head for Opua around 10:45. The day settled down quite nicely and the
rain stopped and the sun was shining. We anchored in a nice spot by a little
island. (We had to re-anchor, Paula was excluded
from the process this time for crew training purposes, so I was at the helm,
Eric on the anchor. I signaled a drop too soon. Paula and I had words, and
then she disappeared below. The tension on this one lasted a little while.
Anchoring (and docking) are usually tense times for us. Oh Well!!!)
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There sure are a lot of boats here, all waiting for a weather
window to head to Fiji or Tonga. We took Eric to shore to meet his wife who
had come to pick him up and go back to Auckland. We walked around a little
bit and ran into Dave on Mobisle. He invited us over after dinner to
play cards, it is Tuesday night after all. Did a little more exploration and
then back to the boat. We had dinner and then headed over to A dock where
Mobisle's slip is. Tonight's game was very close all the way to the
end and the girls only lost by 500 points. Boo Hoo! Score: Girls 18 - Boys
24 (Will they ever catch-up??? Only eight games behind
Girls!!!)
Wed., 4/28: Adrien worked on his computer project most
of the day. He's making a connector so it can be on 12 volts instead of the
AC. He blew a switch on the computer and had to take the whole thing apart.
What a disaster! (Once everything that could be unscrewed
and disconnected was, I began to apply power to the most basic sub-units.
There was life in there. I then slowly reassembled piece by piece expecting
to find the dead component, but never did. I continued to reassemble until
the entire PC was back together again [minus the 3 or 4 leftover unnecessary
screws] and it worked. Karma plays a big role in ZEN and the Art of PC maintenance)
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Tonight we met Clark & Suzy (Final Straw), Dave &
Gay (Mobisle), and Paul & Mary (Avventura) at the car ferry
dock to go over to Russell for dinner at the winery. A van picked us up on
the other side and drove us to the winery. The restaurant was very nice and
the food was great!
Thurs., 4/29: Adrien got his computer back together today
and it's up and running. Phewww! (OK, it DID take
more than a day to re-assemble...but I had interruptions)
Fri., 4/30: Late this afternoon we dinghied over to Russell,
about a 20 minute ride. (With my new tiller extension,
I can sit right next to Paula in the front seat and cuddle...until it gets
nasty and wet where I retreat back to the back seat and use her as a shield)
We met a group of cruisers at the Russell Sailing Club where we were having
dinner and listening to Bob McDavit talk about weather in regards to passages
to Fiji and Tonga this time of year.
Well, that's it for April. It's been a very busy month and now
it's time to continue getting ready for our passage the middle of May.
(Please send your encouragements to
Paula, she's getting nervous about the passage and needs your support. Thank
You. The Skipper)
Take care.
Love,
Paula & Adrien
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