We only stay for two days in Opua (Bay of Islands) before heading for Gulf Harbour marina (north of Auckland). Armel needs to catch a plane to return to his family for Christmas.
Docking Chasse Spleen in a marina has never felt so good. We will be in Auckland for a few months back to a "land life". The boys are adapting tremendously fast, the highlight of their day being jumping in the blue car for any purpose, long shopping sessions, going to the beach, parks etc. They also both attend local schools which gives the Chasse Spleen's head teacher a nice break and more time to work with the Captain on the boat. The experience is proving great especially for Alexis who cannot get enough of school and absolutely loves it. His teacher has the reputation to be very strict and for our boy who effectively has never attended school, this is very good news.
Our social life picks up as we make many friends locally. We are feeling very welcomed everywhere and privileged to be invited very often.
We also meet our fellow yachties from Evolution, our old acquaintance from the Marquesas.
This is becoming a very comfortable stay; Gulf Harbour is north of Auckland (40 minutes drive) and we can access to the Shakespear Regional Park and 7 beaches all within 15 minutes!
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We resume the work on Chasse Spleen in the New Year. Some serious maintenance is needed after a long period at sea moreover with some rough conditions, starting by ordering new sails. The Captain spends much of his time working like mad for the best of 5 months on about anything we have on board: electricity, electronics, diesels, dinghy outboard, corrosion, various pumps, rigging, hydraulic systems and the rudder where we discover some serious problems. Chasse Spleen is hauled out of the water on the day of our departure (Constance and the boys) to Europe to visit friends and family. We leave the Captain behind on the hard with the help of a few specialists to look after the "bottom" of Chasse Spleen!
As we return from Europe we find a shattered Captain. It is time to leave the boat for a few days and fly to the South Island where we rent a campervan. As we arrive in Christchurch we meet Mr Tom (our crew from Panama to Tahiti) and share a long awaited beer in a British pub!! We are thrilled to recall old souvenirs, such as long sails sewing session in Tahuata, his first snorkelling experience with sharks in the Cocos etc

The South Island landscapes are proving very varied: The wild pristine sceneries are either mountains and rocks or the amazing cold rain forest along the Tasman sea coast.
We are surprised by the extent of the agriculture developments and the number of sheeps, deers and cows mostly raised for export markets.
We are limited in the activities we can do with the boys, but the helicopter ride on the Fox, Joseph and Tasman Glaciers was an easy choice. They thoroughly enjoy walking on the Glacier snow. On our way to Queenstown we enjoy a few wines tasting and heading to Dunedin we have the opportunity to show the boys orchards and eat the lovely fruits that are sold by the road. We spend a day in the Otago Peninsula where the boys see some seals, different types of penguins and Albatros. We have to skip the North part of the South island, one week is far too short to drive around, It was a good break from our daily routine!

As we return, a few bad surprises about the boat show up and the Captain upbeat moral does stay up too long!
During our stay in Auckland we have also the opportunity to contact John and Judy Salthouse who have commissioned and built our boat. We discover that Salthouse is a very renowned boatbuilder family for three generations. We also learn that Chasse Spleen was aimed to be their family cruising yacht and was designed by one of their son Phil. It was the first time Chasse Spleen (ex Monsoon II) returned to New Zealand. The visit of different family members proved quite emotional for all of us. The visit of the yard in a beautiful sunny day guided by John and Judy is a very special day.

After 6 months in New Zealand, we feel Chasse Spleen has never been as ready to head at sea; after a successful sea trial, it is time to organise a nice drinks party at Pastis restaurant (Auckland) to thank all our friends and finalise our preparations for the big departure.
As we cannot leave the country without seeing the All Blacks! We get tickets to attend a friendly game All Blacks vs England in Eden Park. We will not mention the final score to spare our English friends!
We are also happy to welcome Lucie as our new crew for the next few months. Our friend Rob is also joining us for the crossing to New Caledonia.
We are ready to go on 24 June but a major Low front is preventing us from taking the sea. 40 knots wind, major rainfalls and thunder are forecasted. We decide to stay in the marina until further notice, hence more opportunities to share a few drinks and meals with our friends. As soon as we have a window we head to Opua to stay for a few days awaiting better conditions to depart New Zealand. 30 June 2008