Bay of Islands

(If you get the email version of these posts, please remember to click on the title of the post above so you can view the online version and see the videos!)

Kiwis are very proud of their boating prowess, being the current holders of the America’s Cup… so we couldn’t visit (even in winter!) without taking a sailing trip.

Side note about the sailing contest, America’s Cup – it is the oldest international sporting competition in the world, the first having been conducted in 1851. (The first international Olympics competition didn’t occur until 1932.). The New York Yacht Club (obviously American) won the competition continuously from its start until 1983, the world’s longest sports winning streak at 132 years! New Zealand was awarded the cup in 2021 and will be facing a challenge in October of this year.

Back to our little adventure under sail – we joined Russell and Karen (and their dog Woody) on their yacht, the SunKiss, for two days exploring the Bay of Islands along the coast north of Auckland. It IS winter here – not freezing but nights getting down into the 40s (Fahrenheit – 10s Celsius) and days nice and cool. And a bit of rain. But we were lucky in many respects….

A break in the weather allowed Russell to put up the sails and Henry to take the helm.

Felt like I was with the Gorton’s fisherman!

Another very lucky happenstance (for us!) is that Russell is an accomplished professional chef… the meals he prepared (with such incredible ease) were simple and delicious. Great food and great company, as the state of the universe was once again carefully examined.

Breakfast on the bow…..

And Woody the dog had a job, too – helping return undersized fish to their watery home…..

And still another bonus – sleeping onboard a ship in peaceful waters is about as good as sleeping gets. What a beautiful part of the world! Thank you to Karen and Russell for sharing a little piece of this paradise with us.

The nearby town, Kororareka (called Russell in English), has a rich history as the first permanent European settlement in New Zealand…. But I like best the story of how it was named. A Māori chief was wounded nearby, and given a broth made from the carcass of a blue penguin. Upon tasting the brew, he commented, “Blue penguin….. sweet!” Presumably he was also healed. Here is the town coat of arms (with the penguin in orange for unknown reasons).

Beautiful succulent wall.

Also sweet!