Within an hour of writing the last blog post on Wednesday morning, we listened to the Yachts in Transit weather forecast that was streamed over the internet from Gulf Harbour Radio. The news was not encouraging for Plan A, our intention to leave New Zealand on Saturday May 6th. Not only did it seem that the tropical depression north of Vanuatu was quite likely to develop into a cyclone but, if that occurred, at best there would be 6 m (20 feet) waves along our intended route and at worst there would be a risk that the cyclone would move southeast and cross our path.

Of course, those conditions are not acceptable, so we spent the rest of the morning hashing-out our possible alternative plans of action. The forecasts suggested that the earliest that there would be another suitable weather-window would be the following weekend (May 13th) which is after our visas expire on May 11th. While it might seem tempting to officially depart the country on May 11th and then sail away very slowly until the weather improves, this not only raises the risk that conditions on the 11th and 12th might be very unpleasant, but any delay in the weather-window leaves us in limbo, unable to return to shore (unless an absolute emergency) and having to deal with whatever weather arises from then on. Weather forecasts are rarely accurate beyond five days, so making plans based on forecasts for more than a week distant is very shaky.

Instead, we have both applied for visa-extensions based on the need to wait until there are no more late-season cyclones. We are both eligible for up to three months more on our tourist-visas and by applying for this extension, we can depart when we are really confident about the weather conditions and not feel pressured into leaving as soon as possible. The downsides to this were:
1. There were forms to fill-out, copies of supporting documents to make, and a NZ$184 filing fee for the two of us when mailing a hardcopy (oddly, it is that price for each of us if done online).
2. Because we will be in New Zealand for more than 6 months and we have spent more than 3 months in a country with some risk of exposure to tuberculosis (Mexico) we each had to get a chest x-ray at a cost of NZ$200 each.
3. There is a limit for tourist-visas of 9 months in New Zealand out of any 18-month period, which could limit our stay here next summer. However, if we stay out of New Zealand for as long as we will have been here since our return on 12th November 2016, then the 18-month clock starts all over again. Thus we still have a bit of an incentive to leave here as soon as seems safe, otherwise it will be very late in the year (and at the beginning of the next cyclone season) before we could return to New Zealand and spend more than two to three months here.

There is a two-year limit on how long the boat can be in New Zealand without having to pay import-tax on it, but fortunately, that clock starts again on each arrival from another country. So that would not be an issue for us unless we did not leave until 19th October 2017. If that all seems a bit complicated…well, welcome to the world of international cruising.

Even though we may end-up leaving within a day or two of the expiration of our current visas, we have decided to regard the costs of renewing our visas (almost NZ$600 with the x-rays) as the price of peace-of-mind from avoiding the current and any impending cyclone systems. Since we are planning to return to New Zealand, we are also willing to comply with all of the immigration rules by-the-book and not risk future problems by trying to avoid or bend any rules.

Luckily, we were able to arrange the chest x-rays for Wednesday afternoon and after spending this morning (Thursday) filling out forms and copying bank statements, our marriage certificate, boat insurance, boat documentation, and our GST (sales-tax) waiver certificate, I was able to mail our application to Auckland at noon. By using the Auckland office, we do not have to submit our passports which is very important if the weather is suitable and we want to leave before the applications are fully processed.

The change of plan put the brakes on my shopping for provisions. Tregoning is awash with non-perishable food but I will wait to get the perishable items until closer to our actual departure date. For this reason, we will remain in the Town Basin Marina and not move to Marsden Cove until just before departure. This delay should give me time to finish my online projects…but with so many friends around it is tempting to be distracted by other activities.

One of these was the Farewell Dinner last night which was well-attended by cruisers (all talking endlessly about how cold it has become and wondering about the late-season cyclones). As well as a good buffet dinner and an exhibit by representatives from a marina in Fiji, Naylene from the office was providing excellent entertainment by singing and playing the keyboard. Randall and I danced a bit (mostly on our own) but we were completely overshadowed by an excellent performance by a local Kapa Haka troupe.



Māori men performing a war haka

War hakas were the traditional war cry, dance, or challenge that the Māori performed before battle to provide group unity and to intimidate the opposition. They have been made famous internationally by New Zealand sports teams such as the New Zealand “All Blacks” national rugby union team. Other, less aggressive, hakas are used to welcome distinguished guests and to acknowledge significant achievements and events. Kapa hakas (literally translates to “form a line and dance”) are the Māori performance art that involves harmonic choral singing of a suite of various songs (e.g., entrance, action, challenge, old-style, and exit songs) and dancing. The latter is usually in lines with the women mostly performing hula-like dances with graceful hand movements but they also have more intimidating dances twirling balls on strings (poi) or using sticks. The men tend to use loud chants and shouts, fierce warrior-like fist-pumps, stomping gestures, and aggressive facial expressions. Men may have tattoos over their whole face (real or painted) and women have them extending below their mouths and across their chins so that when they open their eyes and mouths widely, the effect is quite alarming.

Members of the group that we watched are mostly from three-generations of a local extended-family and some of their performances were accompanied by guitar and all were explained by the grandmother and her son. Being confined inside the meeting hall, the performance was particularly intense.



Māori women performing a poi dance

Having not seen a traditional Māori kapa haka before, Randall and I were very pleased to have this opportunity before we leave New Zealand. It seemed like a very fitting farewell gesture. Now we wait to see if our Plan B (departure on May 13th) comes to fruition.