So we are anchored in Paradise Bay (easy enough name) on Urupukapuka Island - Gottcha! Since it is a work day for Abbie, Glen and I head into shore on our own, there is a supposed to be a beautiful walk on this island. Well our fitness level has now spiked to a "9" ("1" being the best) so we huff and puff our way up the steep inclines that lead us to fabulous "look outs" and hang on to branches (I do so I don't fall) on the declines down to the cozy beaches. It proves to be a steady walk of 2 hours to circumnavigate the island. We meet a couple who live in nearby Russell, that are just over to this island especially for the walk, and chat to them for a bit while we catch our breath and admire the panorama surrounding us. Lush green hills, plopped into azure blue water with tiny white dots (sailboats) snuggled into all of the protected bays that are lined by golden sand beaches. It's a "Stunner" as the "Kiwis" would say. We have been told that we can have dinner out at a small resort in the adjacent bay - Otehei Bay - so after our walk we motor over there to make a reservation (as they may not have food otherwise). Woohoo, we get to go out for "Fush 'n Chups" tonight. We love the accents here. So now it is evening and we all pile into the dingy to go out, but take a moment to ask a few simple questions of some folks that have "buddy-buoyed" their two boat together in the bay. Now we have an invitation for drinks when we get back from dinner. Long story short, it was a very nice night talking to some new boating friends.
There are literally 100's of little coves and bays in this single small area that one can set as a destination, so in the spirit of boating, we set off the next day for another "fab" spot with another sandy beach and another lovely walk. This one on Roberton Island (second name - Motuarohia Island), bay un-named, is unique in that it is a thin strip of sand between two hills. On the seaward side of the strip of sand are a few large rocks to break the ocean swell and we are anchored on the sandy side. The evenings are calm and moon lit and with the high tide, the thin strip of sand almost submerges to give the impression of an infinity pool to the ocean. Surreal.
We try our hand (or rod) at fishing for a couple of day, but the little stinkers just eat our bait and we have to let them go - because they are just "little". But our new boat friends make our day by dropping off a massive King Fish that they just snagged on their way to their next anchorage. They've been living on board in this Bay of Islands area since September and they are Kiwis so they should know how to catch fish here and we are thankful that they know how, because now we have fish!
The town of Russell is just a short boat ride from where we are parked, so one day we head in to do a bit of shopping and have lunch. This is also an opportunity to pick up the "sure to catch fish" lures and gadgets that we will need to feed ourselves, by living off of the ocean. Our next day out fishing still nets us a big "Zero".
Fine! We need to move on anyway and make our way over to Opito Bay which is on the main North Island and our mission here is to take the dingy and head into Kerikeri for a day of shopping. It is a long, winding channel with seriously low clearance, but going slow and paying attention to the markers (yes I know that’s what we are supposed to do anyway) it is a fun trip of exploration. We were in Kerikeri last spring - it is fall now - it is a cute little town with a bunch of early history attached to it and some good stores for groceries and other shopping. On our way back to the big boat we get a wave from a Canadian flagged catamaran, Bella Via. We met these people back in Tonga, so we spent the afternoon catching up with them on their New Zealand experiences. Most of the cruising boats from last season will be slowly collecting here in the Bay of Islands in wait for the perfect crossing weather to Fiji, so we will be having many such meeting in the weeks to come.
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