Auckland
20 January 2010 | Auckland
Scott
Whisper is finally back together and we are very happy to be back out on the water.
The trip down to Auckland was two very short day sails in feeble breeze, and then frustrated by the lack of progress, we did the remaining 100 miles in a lovely overnight sail. Timothy kept us fed with a beautiful kingfish on the way.
We love Auckland, the city is exciting and reminds us a bit of Seattle. Our marina is right off the downtown skyline and we have been walking and bussing through wonderfully diverse neighborhoods and the very upscale and cosmopolitan downtown.
We finally made up our minds and are going to park the boat and go camping on the South Island of New Zealand. The last couple of days have been a whirlwind of camping stores trying to find everything we need. We made the big decision yesterday and committed, buying a small mountain of backpacks, tents, and sleeping pads. For the last 24 hours I have been trying to pour most of the contents of the boat into these 4 packs (picture 5 pounds into the proverbial 1 pound bag) but no matter how I arrange they either will not close or no one can hoist their packs off the floor. We are getting closer, it is a good thing as we are moving to long term moorings and can not stay on the boat after Saturday night.
There is a palpable feeling of excitement and panic in the air as we prepare to leave our very familiar boatie world and venture off - living out of a backpack.