We have just realised that we did not blog yesterday. Sorry: rest assured, all is well on Barracuda. It was a fairly rough day and we were probably just trying to hang on without doing too much extra.

We now have about 24 hours left until we get into Opua in North Island, New Zealand. We are motoring forward in fairly calm seas as the sun goes down. It's an interesting time for reflection. This may be our last night at sea for quite a while.

Today we saw our first ever (wandering?) albatross, effortlessly flying close to the waves; what a massive bird. I guess that means that we are not so far from the Southern Ocean.

We are now trying to work out how much of our fresh food we will be able to eat before the bio security people take it away. There is a whole long list of what we are not allowed to take in with us, from rice and porridge through to dairy, fruit and veggies - but we think it's ok if we eat it during quarantine, before we get off the boat. I guess we will find out in due course.

We are feeling the need to put into NZ for some TLC for us and for Barracuda. It's time to stop and give everything a good going over. The soles are falling off our sea boots - it's a thing that happens when they are stored in the heat. Our loo pump is really in need of a service and we are trying to wait until we get into port before we do the deed. The engine is right up against its hours for an oil change. Our steering is making a strange noise when the autopilot wants to make a rapid course correction - think we have worn out some of the joints again. Our chart plotters need a software update to correct a few gremlins. We would benefit from a full night's sleep. You get the idea.

We haven't been able to hear the news for the last few days. As far as we know, Northland (the district we will be landing in) is still in Level 3 COVID lockdown so we have the added uncertainty of not knowing what happens next. Hey ho!