Lyn's Log, 6th March 2010
Whangarei and Auckland

Whangarei
S35º43', E174º20'
29,091 miles.

After seeing in the New Year, we set into working eight hours a day on the yacht. We repainted the entire deck, which had been badly rust-splattered by all the welding. The engine, which you may remember we had pulled out early in December, was still not ready. When we challenged the engineer, it turned out that without consulting us he was undertaking all sorts of extra work on it, which of course was vastly increasing the bill. After a bit of a show-down, he conceded that no more really needed doing and the engine was returned to Sentinel. It took us another week to refit the engine and replace the cockpit flooring, steering, etc. that had had to be removed to get it out.

At last, on 7th February, we were able to leave Whangarei and enjoy a week’s cruising down to Auckland. It was a lovely relaxing time pottering around some beautiful anchorages on Kawau Island. We visited the island wildlife sanctuary of Tiritiri Matangi which has been cleared of rats and other imported predators, so that the native species can again flourish. The bird life is extraordinary, though I heard more than I could see. Andrew was lucky enough to see a rare Takahe, the world’s largest rail, of which there are only about 120 left. I hope I can come back and see one later.

That weekend we moored in Westhaven Marina in downtown Auckland, collected the car from Whangarei, and prepared for our wedding. My oldest friend Linda Hart had come over specially from England, and, arriving early, she and I spent a wonderful couple of days wallowing in hot spas at Rotorua, cleansing our skin with sulphur and mud, then being totally relaxed with massages. In the hotel we had a pre-breakfast swim in the open-air swimming pool, heated to 38°C by the bubbling geothermal area beside it. We also enjoyed hair-raising rides down a mountain side driving our personal ‘luges’ over concrete tracks, returning to the top in a chair lift. There were marvellous views over Rotorua and the lake from the gondola that took us to the top. On the Friday, Graham and Jane, with whom we had spent Christmas, picked us up on their trip to Auckland for our wedding. Meanwhile, our friend Jan Maes arrived from Belgium and had recovered from jet-lag by the time I joined him and Andrew back on Sentinel.

Saturday 20th February was the big day, by the end of which we were married. We were moored alonside our friends Mary Anne and Larry on Traversay III, aboard which Mary Anne has a piano which we planned to use for the music! We dressed the yacht with many of the courtesy ensigns we had colected from the countries we have visited. Linda brought her flute to make some music with Mary Anne. After a light lunch we dressed and prepared the food and bubbly for the reception. It did not seem long before our guests arrived and were eating, drinking, talking and laughing around the yacht. Jan was capturing everything on video. At 5.15 Carolyn, our 'celebrant' (the NZ title for someone authorised to conduct marriages), arrived and the ceremony began. Half an hour later the Wedding March piped up in organ mode from Traversay III and Andrew and I were man and wife. The day ended after a great meal at Bill's Fish’s Cafe Restaurant overlooking the marina. There are photos of the wedding here.

Sunday morning we spent a couple of hours taking Sentinel around the harbour with Graham, Jane, Linda and Jan. Even the usually seasick Linda enjoyed it and took masses of photos. We then said our goodbyes and Andrew, Jan and I drove down to Rotorua in the afternoon for a sort of honeymoon. Over the next two days we walked round three geothermal areas seeing the geysers blowing and lots of mud bubbling in a variety of colours. We also had to do the luge rides again and I was able to go faster this time. Then we drove across country to Waitomo where there are some extraordinary caves. We decided not to do the gentle walk down and boat ride on an underground lake that most visitors do, but something a little more adventurous. We were driven well out into the countryside to start. After being supplied with thick wet suits, neoprene socks, boots and hard hats with lights, we set off across a field and squeezed down a ladder through a very narrow hole in the ground. Turning off our lights, we were rewarded with the first sight of the glow worms that cover the roofs of these caves. For the next two hours we walked, waded, climbed, swam and floated on inner tubes through the caves. We floated on our backs in the dark, holding onto each other and a rope, gazing at the glow worms. The water was icy cold, but the wet suits kept us warm. It was a fantastic experience. At the end, we climbed out of the caves, sloshed our way across another field and were back at base for hot showers.

To continue our holiday with Jan, we returned to Sentinel for a voyage around the Hauraki Gulf and north to the Bay of Islands. We first sailed out to Waiheke Island and then to the Coromandel Peninsular where we met Linda again for her final evening in NZ. The weather had been lovely and we had enjoyed the sailing and scenery. In the morning, however, we heard about the tsunami coming from the earthquake in Chile. We were advised to clear out to sea, so we set out for Great Barrier Island. In the event the tsunami amounted to very little, though we did notice some unusually high swells early in the afternoon. By evening, the all-clear was announced on the radio and we anchored without worries.

Our guidebook mentioned hot springs not far from where we were anchored. As we started walking, we realised that the twisty mountainous road meant it was a lot further than it looked on the map, but we were lucky enough to get a lift part of the way. The springs were deep in the bush. Two hot streams met, slowly cascading over rocks which had, in places, been arranged to dam the stream and make pools. One of these was just right for sitting on stones on the bottom with the hot water up to our shoulders. It was so relaxing. Then it was a 2½ hours walk on a rough hillside tracks through the forest back to the anchorage. But it was a beautiful route and took in a waterfall tumbling into a circular, rock lined pool. Had the water not been so cold, we might have bathed in that pool too.

The area around Port Fitzroy, on Great Barrier Island, was a stunning area to sail around, with a great many options of sheltered anchorages where the bush came right down to the water. After, we had a great day sailing the fifty miles across to Whangarei Heads making 5-6 knots all the way.

But after that things did not go so well. While anchored in Urquhart Bay, a bad weather forecast was announced and it sounded as if we would not have time to sail round to the Bay of Islands before faced with storms. We decided to go up river to Whangarei to wait it out, and while doing so collected the car from Auckland. The bad weather did not arrive after all, and it seemed like wasted time. Then our car was badly vandalised during the night, and it was clear we would have to stay longer to get it repaired. Jan decided to leave us to tour the South Island, and may meet us in the Bay of Islands afterwards, for a few more days of sailing before returning to Belgium.