Getting ourselves and the boat back into shape
15 December 2009 | Urapukapuka Bay -
Scott
Hello from the beautiful Bay of Islands, New Zealand. We have been doing a mix of chores in "town" and exploring the islands. Chores included replacing the headstay, on close inspection two lower shrouds were starting to break and we replaced them as well. For a while, we were reduced to motor-boating around the islands while waiting for parts, but still managed to spend a nice relaxed week digging buckets of clams and hiking together to get into shape after months of sitting on the boat. Whisper is now back in full form and we are anchored with friends in Urapukapuka Bay in the outer islands. Yesterday, we had one of our prettiest hikes ever in what we decided was a flawless climate for walking, just hot enough in the sun and perfect in the shade of the trees with stunning views of the entire archipelago from each hill top. After a while I gave up taking pictures and just enjoyed the day. While gorgeous, the picture all started to look the same and had no hope of recording what we were seeing. The morning sun was lying across the rich green islands, spotlighting rugged black cliffs dropping straight from under our feet into impossibly white surf foaming against rocky points and sandy beaches; reproduced in glittering blues, greens, and whites in every direction.
We will spend a quiet Christmas and after the first of the year we are looking forward to firming up plans for what to do next in New Zealand.