Great Barrier Island

We made it away from Whangarei–at least for now. Living in Whangarei was too easy. The marina’s proximity to the shops and services was too convenient, too easy. We took advantage of it by getting jobs done, buying spare parts and ordering things we probably could do without. In addition, I made it my mission to sample the coffee from as many cafes as possible. I do like the way the Kiwis do a flat white.

About a week ago we slipped the lines and proceeded to Urquharts Bay where we spent a few days waiting for favourable winds to take us on. You may recall that we spent time in Urquharts Bay last Christmas. There are many walking trails to explore and several steep hikes that were good for our legs. As my friend Darryl used to say, “It’s good to remind the legs what they’re there for.”

We are now at Great Barrier Island. The island is about 45 nautical miles from Whangarei. We made very good time getting here but it wasn’t easy. Leaving Whangarei Harbour we were quickly beating into apparent winds in the low 20’s and steep seas. After nearly two months of being on land or at the dock, we had both lost our sea legs. We both felt pretty green as we pounded into the waves. We reefed down to make the trip as comfortable as possible but still it wasn’t. Thankfully, even with two reefs in the main and a turn on the genoa we were able to average over seven knots so we made the trip as quickly as possible.

Great Barrier Island is a beautiful and remote spot. In places, there are a few cabins along the shoreline but they appear to be closed up for the season. It is fall here so temperatures have dropped but we have still managed to get off the boat each day between showers for a hike. When I say temperatures have cooled off, they have, but they are still similar to a cool summer day back home.

There is some strong weather coming in a couple of days. There are several good anchoring options for us to ride it out. Once it passes, we’ll return to Whangarei to pick up some parts we’ve ordered and finish a few jobs. After that, we’ll make our way back up to the Bay of Islands. We’ll be in the Bay of Islands until sometime in May when we’ll make the jump back north to the tropics.