We Love NZ

We love New Zealand… let me count the ways: the fishing, the anchorages, the harbors, the food, the yacht services, and—mostly—the people.

The Kiwis have made us feel so welcome here!  Genuine, non-nonsense, passionate about the sea and the environment, the Kiwis easily share their love of nature with us, cruisers.  And so, in the last 3 months, we have enjoyed a lot of what New Zealand has to offer, from land to sea.

HAULOUT at NORSAND (Whangarei)

Our first order of business has been to haul DOMINO out and repair the hull damage suffered on the reef in Vanua Levu. 

NORSAND Boatyard did a great job hauling us out on a trailer, with specially-designed cross-beams to support DOMINO in all the right places.  Kudos to Kevin who patiently and meticulously measured to the centimeter the proper placement of all the supports.  On the hard, JP hacked away at the hulls.  

The port side was quite munched up but the Corecell closed cell foam had done its job, compressing a little and not letting any water in.  

On starboard side, although the scratch looked minimal, upon exploration JP found out that the shock had caused a partial delamination.  So, he hacked away at quite a bit of the previous glass and re-laminated a large section. 

  
The choice of antifouling paint is always a hard one.  We started 6 years ago with Awlgrip (lasted 3 years with 1 small re-coat), then switched to Seahawk 44 with tin (lasted barely a year), then stripped the hulls and used Pettit Trinidad Hard which lasted just a year.  Still not happy, we switched to Carboline, 3 coats sprayed-on… time will tell.

The props had shown quite a bit of pitting and electrolysis.  Arthur, the propsmith at the Propeller Shop modified the profile and filed the edges, rectifying the pitch of one of the blades, polished our big 84cm props, and we hope to gain ½kt from this small modification.  For the first time, we applied Propspeed (a silicone-based prop-anitifouling.)  Now, Arthur didn’t like that very much.  His perfectly smooth props are now coated with a product that, once applied, had dried with some runs and contours that could create some disturbance… The jury is out on that choice.

            Amid fire suppression system inspection and Fireboy electrical re-wiring, John Deere engines and NorthernLight genset maintenance, replacing the fried alternator controller, fixing the Tank Tender, changing the chain chute (smaller nose, more vertical drop), dropping the bridle to lower and permanent anchor points and a good wash and wax, we escaped for a 2-week trip to the wine country.

WINE COUNTRY TOUR– Although our trip was short, it was filled with new friends, the marvels of a pristine countryside, and the pleasures of food and wine.  A nice break from the boat.

Tony made us discover Piha and its Croatian community

PIHA, on the west coast, near Auckland.  Alerted by their son who is our son’s co-worker, Tony and Jennifer in Auckland emailed us to please, stay with them… which we did, and were delighted to make new friends.  They took us to Piha where the surf is treacherous and the friends are true. 

Driving through Titirangi, we couldn’t help remembering Malcolm Tennant and our first visit here in 2002, when the DOMINO project started.

Count them!  ONE surfing class!

RAGLAN, on the west coast, west of Hamilton.  Another surfing Mecca.  Never had I seen some 50 people line up behind a surfing instructor and trot into the waves, each one carrying a surfboard.  A bit comical, but this is how much the Kiwis love the water.  JP and I took our ukuleles everywhere and strummed along in the most beautiful spots.

LAKE TAUPO.  This is a favorite destination, close to the Waitomo Caves (famous for their glow worms) that we had visited on our last trip.  We rented mountain bikes and followed the trail to Huka Falls.  Well, either I was very tired, or had not been on a bike in a long time, but I can tell you that this is not a beginner trail!  I biffed more than once!  But it was nice to see how much the Kiwis enjoy the outdoors… swimming competitions in the cold lake (15-17c), triathlons, rock climbing, trekking, biking… they do it all to the max!

At last, I got my wish to relax in the hot pools, even though the pools were not quite genuine... but still, my skin and nails thanked me for getting the grime out of 5 weeks of antifouling dust exposure!

HAVELOCK NORTH – HAWKES BAY .  We were expecting to see vineyars everywhere.  Instead, we came through orchards: peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, avocados, all the summer fruits were on sale in small shacks along the road… delicious!  But enough of all this dawdling… we had to get serious about wine tasting.  The innkeeper at Te Mata lodge was most helpful in directing us to the best wineries.  Did I mention that all the motel rooms we booked included fridge, cooking stove, microwave, cooking pots and pans and dishes, sink for doing dishes, dinette, either luxury shower or Jacuzzi or both, free Internet, Sky TV and really, really comfy beds… really nice for about 90-100 USD/night.

NAPIER – Food heaven!  Napier is a city like no other.  Rebuilt in Art Deco style after an earthquake, it’s the mecca of shopping and restaurants.  Our best experience:  BISTRONOMY, where innovative cuisine leaves you with tingling and teased taste buds.  They now serve a Pavlova for desert that I really want to hear about!  The 6-course menu (oh-so-tiny portions!) with 6-wine degustation is worth every penny!

After all this wine and food, we needed some serious recreation… off camping with Jeremy Burfoot north of Gisborne.  We’re not much of campers and the weather was neither warm nor dry, but reuniting with Jeremy 8 years after he had come to visit us in Paraguay was quite a moment, along with meeting the entire Burfoot Clan, mama included!  Stay tuned with our upcoming adventure with The Burfoot!

COROMANDEL Peninsula – Some say the coastal drive along the Coromandel is difficult, and yes, it is a very windy road.  But the landscape is stunning, lush vegetation of pines and ferns on one side, vertiginous drops over the ocean on the other side… pristine, wild, very NZ.  We arrived Whitianga at our friends’ John and Ann (M/Y WHAI) whom we had met in Fiji only to be ordered to hop on the WHAI for an overnight fishing trip.  OH yes, Captain John Ellwood is the undisputed KING of fishing!  He runs the historical WHAI in masterful fashion and the 12 of us on board are only too happy to fish, cook, dive, clean fish, eat and drink, and mostly laugh!  If you are in Whittianga, check out Marine Adventures and book a trip with John!

PUHOI – No trip in the Auckland area is complete without a stop a PUHOI.  Settled by the Bohemians, this little village proudly conserves its authentic and historical feeling. 

            The PuhoiCheese Factory, though it doesn’t really offer tours or tastings, still caters to discerning cheese lovers.  We loved the Blue (NZ knows Blue Cheese!) and the washed rind Brie.  But, disappointingly, no picnic is allowed, even if you buy your cheese and bread from the store.  You ALSO have to buy your lunch from the deli… nothing was really appetizing, so we moved on to the best picnic spot in town:…

The veranda outside our room...

            The PuhoiPub and Hotel… no problem… just buy a pint and open your picnic box at one of the outdoors tables (or get some mussel fritters and wedges), watch the crowd go by… motorbikes, families, classic cars, lovers, rowdy kids, friends, enemies… lively spot!  We stayed for the night at the hotel, lounging on the balcony, sipping port (the house even brought us a bottle of Moscatel!) and listening to friends insult each-other and laughing while getting copiously drunk at the table below!

Early morning saw us pick up some fresh croissants and coffee at the Puhoi General Store where we really wanted to get oysters and wedges, but, at 7AM, didn't dare ask!

It was fun and we have now been back on the water for 2 weeks, enjoying—really, really enjoying—cruising Great Barrier island, Kawau Island, and now starting in the Bay of Islands.

GREAT BARRIER ISLAND– So many anchorages, so many fishing spots, so little time!  It’s easy to load on fish and seafood here… drop a bottom line for snapper or Blue cod; hunt around the kelp and rock for Kingfish (yellowtail); dive for scallops; forage on the rocks for oysters; clean the underneath of barrels for mussels; snorkel the rocks for crayfish;  if you don’t catch it, someone might even give it to you! 

Encounters?  Oh yes!  The 78’ powercat IETA  joined us one day… we had been corresponding by email for years and here we are: IETA from New Caledonia, and DOMINO from Paraguay!  Simply put, IETA is the next generation of powercats, and I urge you to take a close look at the photos… Marc Deborde is an amazing innovator!

But wait!  There is more!  Who else shows up next to IETA and DOMINO in Nagles Cove?  None other than The WHAI, loaded with 10 rowdy boys!  Now, that was a historical meeting:  the original WHAI, possibly the first powercat ever built,  DOMINO, the elegant passagemaker, and IETA, the futuristic expedition boat.  With crepes and beer to celebrate the moment, what can be better?

KAWAU Island – Across from Omaha Bay, Kawau Island is an easy 1-hour ride from Leigh.  Time to pick-up some friends.  After Jeremy and Manola Burfoot (yes, there will be more on this later) it was Anthony Stanton’s turn to join us.

A VISIT FROM ANTHONY STANTON....

Tony is all smiles: the boat he had in his head and drew on paper is all he had envisioned... and then some!

Anthony Stanton is DOMINO’s daddy.  Sure, Malcolm Tennant designed the hulls and had it all in his head, but the one who crunched the numbers, drew the plans, and supported us during all the construction phase is none other than Anthony Stanton. 

And now starts a new chapter in our Cruising NZ adventure… more with Jeremy Burfoot and his PWC buddies… we are in Opua, Bay of Islands, getting ready for the SkiNz for Melanoma event… but more on this in the next blog!

Until then…

dominomarie