April in Tauranga and Climbing The Mount (Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)

April 15 – 30, 2013

We had a few weeks to spend in the area, but we had a lot we needed to do to prepare ourselves and Legacy for the trip to Fiji, and the time flew by quickly.

We started by waiting out the stormy weather which arrived right after we did. We knew it was coming; it’s why we came into this area a little sooner than originally planned. It was just as well; we had a lot we needed to do in the coming weeks.

Stormy weather in Tauranga. (New Zealand)
Stormy weather in Tauranga. (New Zealand)
Rich enjoying sushi while dressed to battle the elements. (Tauranga, New Zealand)
Rich enjoying sushi while dressed to battle the elements. (Tauranga, New Zealand)

Our first order of business was to schedule our haulout (for the first week of May) and start on boat projects. There are more specialty boat stores here than you can imagine, and I think eventually we ended up at all of them. Meanwhile, in between boat projects, we treated ourselves to lunch out every day, saw a few movies, and did some small excursions.

One of the first things we did after the windy, rainy weather passed was climb the Mount. We’d been around the base, but we hadn’t yet been to the top. There are a couple of ways to go: a vigorous climb up the steep slope, or an easier climb spiraling around and up. We chose the easier one and found that “easier” does not actually mean easy. We figured we could get into great shape by doing this several times a week, but like many good intentions, that didn’t pan out and we only climbed to the top one time.

Still, the one climb was memorable. The scenery was beautiful, and the views were fantastic. Below are pictures from that day. (As always click to enlarge and scroll through).–Cyndi

Marsden Cove Marina (Northland, New Zealand)

January – May 2013

This post should really be among the posts I did about cruisers having to pick a home base in New Zealand, but I never managed to fit it in.  Since it’s something we pass on our way to and from Auckland and Opua, I’ll put it here.

Actually, I’m stretching the truth here.  There’s another reason I haven’t written about Marsden: Rich and I disagree about it; and since the blog is a team effort, the team should be on the same page.  It’s tempting to say nothing, but if someone is trying to do some research using our blog, they probably wonder what happened to Marsden.  So, here goes.

To Recap: If you are going to the North Island of New Zealand, you have a few choices as to where to keep your boat for awhile: the Bay of Islands (including Opua), Tauranga, Auckland, Whangarei, and Marsden Cove.

Marsden can actually be linked to Whangarei as it’s at the head of the river that leads to Whangarei, and people who stay in Marsden make Whangarei their town.  There’s a major highway running between the two places, and it takes half an hour to drive from one to the other.  So if you’re in Opua, Pahia and Kerikeri are your towns.  If you’re in Marsden or Whangarei, Whangarei is your town.  If you’re in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Tauranga are your towns.

Marsden Cove is a nice, new marina with lots of slips and a few businesses onshore, including a restaurant and bar.  In the distance on the other side of the river are mountains that loom over the scene.  Up the river are a good boat yard and storage.  As long as you have a car and can get to Whangarei, Marsden Cove has everything a cruiser could need.

Maybe I should stop writing here and make my life easier.  But I think I’ll go on and try to sum up our issues with Marsden Cove.  The first issue is that not only is it out in the middle of nowhere, it feels like it’s out in the middle of nowhere.  There’s a housing development around it, but it’s struggling, so amid some scattered houses are empty lots and foundations waiting to be sold.  It does have a central area meant for the yet-to-be developed neighborhood, with the restaurant/bar, a car dealership, and a few other assorted business.  It’s newness amid all the free space makes it reminiscent of the strip malls that dot US highways.  Down closer to the mouth of the river is a power plant and/or a refinery.

In all, Marsden Cove is clean, nice, and in parts even pretty, but if I had to come up with a word for it, it would be soulless.  Rich’s word is less nice and I won’t print it here.  We can both agree that we don’t care for it, but we do know people who have stayed here and liked it just fine!  So where we disagree is what to tell other people who are thinking of staying here.  If you are a friend of Rich’s, he would (in a well-meaning way) say don’t do it.  I would say it’s not a place we like, but it works for a lot of people, especially those who plan to leave their boats for awhile.

So, we have come to an agreement as to what to advise others heading this way.  Before you commit, check into Opua, then take the bus to Whangarei. Rent a car and make the drive to Marsden Cove.  Walk around, see if you like the area, and see if you mind the half-hour drive to Whangarei.  If it works for you, great!

There, thank God that’s done.  Here are some photos of the area, taken on a rather gloomy day. –Cyndi

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The Opua Decision (New Zealand)

April 27, 2013

On the 27th there was an Island Cruising Association seminar about Fiji being held in Opua, a 5-hour drive from Tauranga. We really did’t want to make that drive, nor did we want to pay for a night in a hotel, but at the last minute we decided to go. We knew pretty much nothing about Fiji and figured it would be worth our while to attend and hopefully come away with lots of valuable information.

I’d been surprised there isn’t a current cruising guide for Fiji. We’d enjoyed Charlie’s Charts across the South Pacific, Ken’s Guide in Tonga, and David Thatcher Guides in New Zealand, and I assumed Fiji would have something like those. Alas, there were only a couple of out-of-print, outdated guidebooks, pdf copies of which were being shared among cruisers, but they weren’t the kind of books I like to use. This season, whenever we’d meet Kiwi cruisers who’d been to Fiji, we’d anxiously ask how they liked it. Some people loved it, and others didn’t care much for it at all! This divide only added to our confusion.

So we hopped in the car, big coffee drinks in hand, and made the long drive north to Opua, arriving in plenty of time for the seminar. I was expecting Opua to look exactly the same as when we’d left it; so it was a big surprise to find fall had arrived. The change of season had been subtle in Tauranga, but we could sure see it here. It was a reminder that we’d have to be sailing off soon.

The seminar was a bust, remarkably useless and consisting mainly of arguing between the audience and the speaker about entry requirements (“No, they don’t use that form any more.” “No, you need to fill out two forms now.”) and discussions about how much booze you can bring in. There were useless tidbits of info about a few anchorages that only served to confuse us in that we didn’t know any of these places. The main thing the presenter emphasized was, “Suva’s a pit, don’t go there,” which turned out to be terrible advice. After booking a hotel and making a 5-hour drive, this was a major disappointment. We were more perplexed about Fiji than ever! We figured we’d just have to go there and learn about it for ourselves. (The seminar was by ICA; Island Cruising Association. From our experiences, we don’t recommend any of their events or activities.)

There were some silver linings on the cloud of this trip. We discovered a really neat restaurant in Pahia (where we stayed). It’s called the Waterfront Restaurant, and we’d never been because it seemed to be one of those trendy, touristy places. But the manager of our inn recommended it and we could walk there; so we gave it a try. It was perfect for this fall night, full of fire features that provided beauty and warmth. The food was fantastic, and this turned out to be one of the best dinners we’ve had in New Zealand. The next morning we went to raid Makana chocolates before before heading back south. We may not have learned anything about Fiji, but we could find solace in eating delicious chocolates.

The gallery below shows some highlights of our drive north, including my favorite part: driving the Karangahake Gorge through the mountain range with sheer cliffs on one side of the road and a river on the other side. There’s also the giant L & P bottle in Paeroa, stormy skies just south of Auckland, and a picture from the Waterfront restaurant, a new favorite. –Cyndi

Another Round in French Polynesia? (New Zealand)

April 25, 2012

We are off to have dinner with some friends who are sailing back to Tahiti from New Zealand tomorrow!  That is a long passage against the prevailing winds.  Part of me is horrified for them, and part of me is envious as it would be wonderful to do another round in French Polynesia.  I wish them good luck and great sailing! -Cyndi

PS: Just when you thought we were finally done with the tropical South Pacific sunset pictures, I drag out yet another that I really like that never got posted.

A closeup of some sunset clouds in Tonga.
A closeup of some sunset clouds in Tonga.

Bay of Plenty Excursion #1: Ohope Sandspit and Ohiwa Harbour

April 19, 2013

Luckily, our final destination was right down the road and easy to find as our now-soggy phone would not be helping us with any further navigation today.

We drove out on the sandspit that creates Ohiwa harbor, a place of grassy dunes, peaceful shores, and some very nice homes. After that, it was time to head back to our marina and meet some friends for happy hour. –Cyndi

Driving out on the sandspit by Ohope Beach. (Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)
Driving out on the sandspit by Ohope Beach. (Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)
Nice homes scattered among the dunes. (Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)
Nice homes scattered among the dunes. (Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)
Looking at Ohiwa Harbor. (Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)
Looking at Ohiwa Harbor. (Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)