On the way up north from Tauranga we stopped at Tuhua ( Myaor Island ) - a dormant volcano with two lakes in the, now overgrown, crater valley. To our delightful surprise the anchorage was beautiful, water pristine clear and we had it all to ourselves. Only for a day because the weather was deteriorating and we had to leave. We snorkelled around, Andrea as usual spear gun fished and I spent beautiful two hours with a colony of seals. I was afraid to swim toward/with them so I hopped in our dinghy and paddled slowly towards 15 seals. They were lying on their backs in the water, only their noses out and flippers resting on their bellies. Most of them were undisturbed by my company, but two ( I believe "youngsters") must have been bored and they came towards me and followed me where I went. It was magical! Andrea, while fishing, encountered another two seals (oldies) who swam nearhim for good half hour!
By the time we got to Great Mercury Island the wind decreased and we were able to stay in Hururi Harbour anchorage for a couple of days. We saw plenty of lobster pots nearby the rocks but no lobsters under the rocks so we made do with octopus. Once our friends told us they will come to see us over Easter in Bay of Islands, we moved pretty quickly from Great Mercury to Great Barrier Island and next day to Whangarei, Marsden Cove marina. We wanted to check this new marina as it is now a port of entry/departure. From 240 berths only 40 were occupied! The main reason this marina lack itscustomer is that there is nothing for the customer - not yet, as with every new development it takes time.
Our friend, Massimo from Frasimada, came to see us and together we spent two very enjoyable days in Whangarei - Town Basin. Now, this place is a mecca for cruisers, it was full of them and supermarkets and marine shops and everything marine-sailing orientated within walking distance!!!
We spent Easter in Bay of Islands with our friends: Tamara, Nick, Asima and Keith and Pam (owners of another Hanse 53, Savarna). The weather couldn't be better (well, a bit more wind on some days - otherwise perfect) so we took advantage of it and moved from one anchorage to another. Bay of Islands has a lot to offer and we still have plenty of new anchorages to discover, hopefully next year!
Once we said goodbyes to our friends, we started to do little jobs that needed to be done before our departure. One of them was to replace a seacock in our head (toilet). Andrea was doing great job until he broke a skin fitting (a metal piece that is connecting the hull with the toilet hose andwas partly corroded). Without it, the head was unusable and we had a hole in the hull that needed quite urgent dealing with. Of course, I don't mean that we had the hole in the hull literally, because before we started to do any work we put a wooden plug from outside of the hull, just in case. Within 3 hours we were hauled out in Ashby's boatyard and by the end of the day a new skin fitting was installed. Once out of water, we had our propeller painted and cutlass bearing replaced. Within a week we were back in water (and we thought it'll be next day).
We sailed to Bay of Islands one more time, got our 4th king fish this season and said farewell to Frasimada with Massimo, Julia and Vincenzo on board (they're currently enjoying warmer weather and plenty of fish in Minerva Reef).
And now, with 9 degrees during night in Opua and grey rainy days, we think it's time to go. it is just a matter of good weather window (seem impossible to happen!). Our destinations are Fiji (Mamanuca and Yasawa islands), Vanuatu, New Caledonia and we're planning to "winter" in New Zealand again.