Land Ho or Lanaho in Hawaiian. We will have to find out the translation now in Maori.
We made landfall in Opua, on November 13 and hit the ground running. We couldn't have asked for a better introduction to this new world. Gliding along toward a spectacular setting sun with 30 knots of wind at our back and calm seas was the perfect way to end our 7 day crossing from the Tongan islands. Apparently we got out of there just in time as riots and trouble occurred the following month in Nuku Alofa. Our crossing though rather uneventful dished out a little bit of every type of weather. 15 foot seas and 25 knot winds on the nose. Complete flat calm with steep seas or flat seas. Continuous days of water over the bow. We sailed East, we sailed due West, and eventually we made it South. We have to say though that there was something amazing about reaching this destination over any other.
First impressions are it looks and feels a lot like home. Rhododendrons, azaleas, jasmine mixed in with kiwi's and palm trees. We could be cruising anywhere up in the San Juan Islands in early spring for all we know minus the funny accents and people still driving on the wrong side of the road. Though they say summer is on it's way here we are often found running around in long sleeves, pants and fleece vests. Big babies we've become. It has all the flare of the pacific islands and all the comforts of home. There are more varieties and choices in the stores than we could have ever dreamed of. A bit overwhelming at first.
In our first week we cleared customs, bought a mini-van, placed the boys in a local school for a couple of days and then sat down to catch our breath. Whew. We have quickly assimilated to life on the docks and are thoroughly enjoying out 6 min. $1.oo HOT showers any time we like, connected to endless power, free water, and lots of room with friends for the boys to roam and run. Bruce has mastered the internet when it is running and we can even listen to our favorite radio station KMTT The Mountain at home, skype our friends and family, and yes, he found a download to watch television. We can catch Comedy Central or watch the latest football game when the airwaves are just right. We even watched the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade! Week two and three were spent helping our friends on Lawur as they emptied out their baby and put her on the hard and up for sale, while they returned home to Austria for some family time with the grandparents. In between there somewhere we celebrated Thanksgiving at the local yacht club, explored some other marinas father down south, took a yoga class, learned how to make glass beads, the boys got in a Saturday morning of dinghy sailing with the local kids club, Bruce has joined a gym, we go trail running, we took a road trip to explore the north tip of the island discovering the ancient Kauri forests and the gum diggers, of course while scoping out the best surf spots. As with this whole journey, one of the best parts are the wonderful people we get to meet. We had the opportunity to swing around on a true circus trapeze at a fantastic Adventure World Park run by some dear new friends, Carol and Freddy Osler-Weppenaar. Once the greatest trapeze acts in the world, they have set up a park that allows you to experience the fun of their world by doing just that "flying from the trapeze" among other things like a high tight rope walk. See mom, all those years of driving me to gymnastics practice paid off.
We have managed to get moving on some of our boat projects and begin to lay out a game plan for the duration of our stay here. We look forward to some visits from family while we are here and continue to explore the north and south islands of New Zealand. The land of the extreme tourist sports we already have our eye on quite a few adventures like kite boarding, black water rafting, kayaking, camping and climbing. The good old everyday rituals still apply like school each morning, cleaning, and shopping. We are making sure though that we try to enjoy each minute here until we decide what to do with ourselves come next April.
until next time,
Lisa and the boys
