Our two weeks tied to Ashby’s Wharf in Opua went by fast. It had been 6 months since we’ve had access to water and electricity that we didn’t make ourselves so we were profligate in washing the boat inside and out and topping off the batteries. The nearby laundromat and chandleries meant Wendy could do heaps of laundry and I caught up on my boat projects. We also rented a car for a couple days to revisit our favorite geothermal pools at Ngawha hot springs, refill propane tanks and of course, dining and shopping in nearby Kawakawa, Pahia and Kerikeri. Sadly, there were very few geocaches left undiscovered by us during our last visit to this area.

One of my boat projects, pictured above, is a solar powered water heater, which we found at the local trade show. It uses the small photoelectric panel to power a pump during daylight hours which circulates water from the hot water tank through the two heating panels and back to the tank. I haven’t completed the installation yet, but if this works, it will raise our standard of living a big notch up while we are at anchor and off the grid. Fingers crossed...