Early on Saturday morning (April 22nd), before the winds kicked-up too much, we motored into Auckland Harbour and Westhaven Marina. Here we rushed around with the usual marina chores of laundry, grocery shopping, and internet projects. While down by the waterfront in town, we stumbled upon a bicycling race that was part of the World Masters Games which was being held in New Zealand. This multi-sport event is held every four years, with a minimum age of 35 for most sports (25 for a few events). Anyone can compete for themselves as there are no country designations. We did not recognize the names of winners that were being announced but we did see plenty of athletes wandering around the city. A 101-year-old woman from India won a gold medal by completing the 100 m sprint in 74 seconds (she was the only entrant in her age-class) with her 79-year-old son as coach.

However, our main reason for stopping in Auckland was to see my Uncle Frank (Francis) (who had flown up from Wellington) and his cousins Helen and Tony. We had a tasty lunch with the three of them today (Monday) at the little Buoy Café, here at Westhaven Marina, to which Frank generously treated us all. It was lovely to catch-up with their news and to see them all before we leave New Zealand. Tregoning was spruced-up in case they wanted to see her, but given that she was rather a long walk down the dock and Frank needed to rest-up before his flight home the following day, that option was postponed.



Pre-dawn view of downtown Auckland from Westhaven Marina

We will catch the southerly winds tomorrow to start heading back north towards Whangarei. We will probably check into the Marsden Cove Marina by the weekend and start watching for a good weather window to allow us to sail to Tonga. Before we leave New Zealand, we plan to rent a car to drive up to Whangarei to buy provisions, fill our propane tank, and see our friends there. With our current plans being to return to New Zealand for the next summer, we will look forward then to exploring the Bay of Islands, visiting Frank in Wellington, and meeting Helen and Tony again in Auckland.

Note: I have also added several new posts from the rest of our UK and Iceland trip in 2016 - posts from 17th August to 1st September 2016.