The Q Dock (Quarantine Dock) in front of the Opua Marina is a floating dock with no access to it except by boat. Until you are checked in and given proper clearance to enter the country you aren't allowed to have anyone aboard. We did receive a few shouts of 'Welcome to New Zealand' and 'Congratulations' from friends in the marina who had walked to the end of their docks across the way to wave and say hello. Don and I were extremely excited to be there but I was also very shaky from that same (over) excitement combined with exhaustion that had not quite caught up with us yet. We were still running on adrenalin. Within half an hour the first of the officials came to the boat. A fairly young fellow with the agricultural (quarantine) department came aboard and questioned us as to where we had been and what kinds of unwanted items we still had aboard. He confiscated the veggies and fruit was we still had left, most of it ready to be tossed out anyway. He also took the rest of my popcorn and honey. He asked a few times if we had any canned duck with bones in it...not sure why. For the cruisers still behind us...he didn't want rice or most of the little things in my frig like chopped garlic, sundried tomatoes, capers, salad dressing, although he did take my mayonnaise because it was from Mexico. He was not interested in fish so catch as much as you can on the way across and fill your freezer. The second official was from customs/immigration. Another easy going fellow, he got the information he needed from us by just chatting with us about various subjects. The only thing he confiscated was our 'bear deterrent' pepper spray; the can was expired anyway. He did not even inquire about the amounts of wine, beer, and spirits aboard Buena Vista. That's a question we might have failed since we've bought plenty of bottles duty free across the Pacific when we had the chance. Don entered New Zealand using his Australian Passport so he can stay indefinitely, but I am traveling on a US Passport so I was only given three months. Once we return from our trip to Australia in Dec/January (by air this time), I'll get another three month visa and after that I'll request an extension. The third visit was the sniffer dog and his handler. A beautiful female yellow lab with cute slippers came aboard and following the handler's directions sniffed through the entire boat. She jumped up on our bed in the back and sniffed all around the edges of the aft stateroom and also jumped up in the V-berth right on top of our huge pile of stuff that ended up there for the passage. Once that was done we were all clear to enter the country. Don took the Q flag down and raised the New Zealand flag. We called the marina for a berth...we call them 'slips' in America but here they are called berths. Also, here in NZ sailboats are called yachts and motor vessels are called launches. Anyway, we left the Q Dock and moved the boat over to F Dock. As we were pulling in to our berth Don's brother Alan, who lives in Auckland, was there waving and shouting. He caught our docklines as we pulled in. What a great surprise and how nice to have family there when we arrived. He brought along a twelve pack of Steinlagers on ice which we all dove into immediately. He also brought an amazing goodie bag with lamb chops, salad, yogart, bacon, orange juice, a fresh loaf of beautiful designer bread and other assorted goodies. It was incredible. Thanks Alan and thanks to his wife Pru who probably had a hand in it too! That meant a lot to both of us. By this time 'La Fiesta' was pulling into their berth a few down from us and we got to catch their lines. There were hugs and smiles and beaming faces all around. Boy were we glad to be here and that the biggest ocean passage we had done in seven months was now behind us. Eleven and a half days to cover 1,250 miles or so, YIPPEE IT'S OVER. Since Alan had a car, we all jumped in and went to a nice restaurant in Paihia to celebrate. When we got back to the boat, the boys drank beer and chatted...I tried to stay awake but ended up falling asleep sitting up in the salon. Alan stayed the night with us on Buena Vista and left in the morning. Thanks again Alan, that was great. Oh and Happy Birthday Pru! We'll see you in a few weeks.