Month: May 2016

May 2016

When we first came to Nelson in April, I worried about finding a weather window to the tropics by the time our visa expired near the end of May. A few neighbors, well-experienced cruisers, assured me not to worry, a window would surely come. It goes to show that there are just years when you can’t count on “dependable” weather patterns. In the end, we needed to extend our New Zealand visa and opted to do so by flying out of, then back into, the country. (Melbourne, Australia, was the cheapest option we found for this trip.)

Returning a few days later, we now had the time we needed, but we couldn’t ignore the changing season. It was disconcerting to watch the colorful leaves now falling, to wake up to snow on the mountains and colder temperatures, and to see local places lighting their fire pits at night.

We still hoped to get that weather window that would take us up the west side of the North Island and on to the tropics, but we had to start considering another option: hopping up the east coast of the north island and leaving from Tauranga or Opua. Other cruisers were starting to do just that, but we didn’t want to give up yet. We decided instead to do a small road trip, a final place to see before we left (and something to keep us from obsessing about weather). Again it was a tough choice, but in the end we decided to head to Marlborough’s wine country in Blenheim (which will be the next posts).

For the moment I want to mention one more interesting area in Nelson: the South Street Cottages, a small neighborhood of cottages dating back to the 1860s. These charming little houses have been saved from demolition, lovingly restored, and are now of a protected historical site. –Cyndi

May 26, 2016

We just got back from our little four day, renew-our-visa trip to Melbourne, Australia. While there, we saw this boat in a downtown marina. This is the first Catalina 38 we’ve seen since we’ve been on this adventure of four years, so far. That’s interesting, at least to us, because Legacy is a Catalina 38.

(OK, for you boat aficionados, don’t scoff at the name Catalina–which brings to mind mostly coastal cruisers. The 38 is an S & S design and very much unlike other Catalinas. It used to be the Yankee 38 and was used in the congressional cup races before Catalina bought the mold and made 366 of them. We don’t claim it’s the ideal cruising boat, but it’s worked well for us. OK, enough with the apologies and justifications, back to our regularly scheduled story.)

We thought we’d see more out here. When we cruised to Hawaii, we found five others in Nawiliwili harbor. Lynn and Larry Pardey endorsed it as a cruiser and it really is a lot of boat for the money.

But no. Not a one. Not until now. And while it had a wind generator and solar panels, I’m not sure Boheme (that’s it’s name) is used for cruising. We’ll keep looking – searching every idyllic bay in the Pacific if we have to.

In the mean time, we’re back in Nelson after a wonderful trip to Melbourne. More on that very soon. -Rich

Note from Cyndi:  Life was easier before Melbourne.  We’d been to Australia.  Australia had issues.  I loved it in spite of the issues, but they were too much for Rich.  End result: New Zealand was our place down under, plain and simple.  Then, to renew our NZ visas as cheaply as possible, we took a trip to Melbourne, Australia.  End result:  We love Melbourne, Australia.  We love Melbourne so much, we want to go back and stay there. Australia is now back on the table as a cruising destination, and suddenly life has become more complicated.  Where will we end up next year?  It could be New Zealand, or–I never thought in a million years I’d be saying this–a second round of Australia.  It’s amazing how quickly things can change.

May 24, 2016

Why’s he posting a picture of a kangaroo? They don’t have them in New Zealand?!

No they don’t, but we’re going back to Australia. Let me explain…

We’ve been waiting for weather to sail to New Caledonia but it’s mostly looked like this (today’s weather). All those colors are bad!

Our New Zealand visas expire on the 27th of May. “No problem, we’ll just renew them” he naively said.

Cost to renew: application-$165, doctor visit-$250, x-rays-$230,  blood tests-$170 for a grand total of $1,630 for the two of us.

That’d give us three more months to leave, but we’re hoping to be out in the next week or ten days. Sixteen hundred bucks is a lot to pay for a few extra days.

It turns out, at least in theory, that if we leave the country and come back, our visas will be renewed for another three months. We can go on “vacation” in Melbourne, Australia, spending four nights in a luxury hotel (thanks wotif!) for about $1,200 total. Needles and doctors or a luxury hotel? You do the math!

And by the way, it’s really time to leave NZ. This was the view this morning from our dock…

Why yes Matilda, that is snow on the mountains! And it’s cold here!

We’ve been so lucky here in Nelson with the weather. We’ve had mostly warm, summer-feeling days with some rain overnight and an occasional grey day. Nelson has a reputation for the best weather in NZ and it’s not a lie. It’s been wonderful. But even in this magical pocket of summerly weather, we can feel the change a commin.’ Time to leave.

And in fact, we were all set to leave. It looked like we might get a good (or good enough) weather window, our bags were packed and we were ready to go, but not only did the weather window evaporate, but this happened while we were sitting in our slip…

The new owner of a boat called Cochise lost control while backing out of the channel. Luckily for him, Legacy was there to stop him. (Not so lucky for us though!)

Our repairs are started and a new paddle for our monitor windvane is due to arrive Monday. The weather window that we would have taken earlier turned into another low and associated front, and it brought in rain to slow down the fiberglass work.

Oh well. Champagne problems compared to our lives back in the real world.

Tiger Bait Again…

Here’s Susanne on Nehaj departing for the tropics this morning, despite the weather (she’s tougher than we’ll ever be). There were a few cruising boats here in Nelson and they’re all gone now, leaving Legacy trailing behind – tiger bait once again. -Rich

May 23, 2016

Our final destination for the day was a place called Labyrinth Rocks Park. It wasn’t in my guidebook nor in the local brochure guide I had; so I must have stumbled across this on the internet. I certainly know what caught my attention: it’s a karst geology extravaganza!

We picked up one of the little maps at the entrance gate and it instantly became apparent that seeing the entire place could take a couple of hours. We just made our best guesses as to what might be most interesting and set out into the park.

The park is truly a labyrinth with paths that wind through fantastical rocks, most of them with intriguing side paths that we couldn’t resist exploring. It’s also a very lush green place with lots of moss, ferns, vines and trees. Like the Grove Scenic Reserve, it’s quite beautiful yet surprisingly doesn’t seem to get many visitors–we were the only people there.

Below, some photos of our walk though Labyrinth Rocks Park. (click to enlarge/scroll through gallery).

There is one very unique feature here: the figurines. Whoever’s in charge of this place has scattered little toys (about 1 to 2 inches in size) amongst the rocks with the idea that they would surprise and delight small visiting children. I’m not sure at what point in the weathering process a toy goes from being cute to being scary, but a few of the toys had passed that mark. While I appreciate the intention, I don’t think these items are an asset to the park. Still, the place is beautiful enough that the strange toys don’t really detract from it. This was definitely a cool place to visit.–Cyndi

Below, a few photos of the park’s toys. Enlarge and scroll at our own risk; we will not be responsible for any nightmares that may result. –Cyndi

May 23, 2016

Te Waikoropupu Springs boasts some of the clearest water in the world, second only to Blue Lake (in Nelson Lakes National Park, New Zealand) and the sub-glacial waters of Antarctica.

I’m not sure whether to describe these springs as being a very large pool or a very small lake, but I can describe it as a beautiful body of water surrounded by bushy forest. Its white sand floor lets the beautiful colors (ranging from blue-violet to pretty greens) of this pure water show through unimpeded.

This place is spiritually significant to the native Maori people and considered sacred. While I don’t really know the legends, I can say it does seem to be one of those places that seem to naturally compel quiet and respect.

In all, a visit to these springs starts with a good informational display at the entrance followed by a combination trail and elevated boardwalk through the scenic reserve, including some viewing platforms over the springs. You can stop at the springs, but it’s really worthwhile to take the trail all the way through for beautiful river and forest views (about 45 minutes but it’s an easy walk).

Below, a gallery of photos from Te Waikoropupu Springs and circuit loop walk (click to enlarge and scroll).–Cyndi