On Saturday morning the 7th of November at 7.30am, Calypso and her crew arrived safely back into Nelson Marina, tired but very happy to be back on dry land again! Unfortunately the sun was not shining as was forecast but nothing could dampen their spirits. Heather was on the pontoon to meet them and help with the ropes and Mike backed Calypso perfectly into her old berth, relieved he hadn't lost his touch! We all sat down to a breakfast of croissants and pink bubbles to celebrate their safe arrival home and were visited by friends, Barbara & Simon, Rob and Marilyn & Pat.
A huge thank you to Simon, Raewyn and Rod for being such fantastic crew and a special thank you to Raewyn, the Galley Queen!
As everything on the boat had become a bit damp and salty, we took everything off the boat and have so far done 11 loads of washing! Just as well the weather has been good since their return.
You will be glad to know that Mike has now shaved off his scruffy beard as he was looking a little too like the actor, Donald Sutherland, for my liking!
Thinking back to being in Opua before we set off, neither of us can really believe we have been away for nearly 6 months. The time seems to have gone so fast but what a great adventure it was. Our house seems so huge compared to living on Calypso, so we are very happy that Rebecca and Hannah are coming home today from Wellington for the holidays to fill up the house again!
Thanks to everyone who has followed our blog and for all the wonderful comments! It is a great record of our trip and so much more fun than writing a diary. So goodbye for now, until our next adventure....