Opua day 7

There are many small towns near Opua but the largest is just North of here called Kerikeri.

They had an interesting exhibit at the domain.

And the football season has just started here with winter just around the corner so the soccer players were out practicing.

It's looking more and more like a Tuesday departure to Tonga.

Opua day 6

While we are waiting for a weather window here in Opua, we have been settling into a routine. After breakfast we we first exercise, then we do boat chores, then we do the tourist thing before making dinner. Today we cleaned all the teak on the boat using a mixture of saltwater, bleach, dishwashing detergent and some fresh water. They came out looking like new. This afternoon we walked up to Paihia, a distance of about 7km.

They had a historic Anglican Church.

Persimmons are in season here and the trees are a common sight.

Weather forecast is getting worse between here and Tonga so we are so glad we waited. It may be another week before there is another weather window.

Opua day 5

Today we made the decision not to leave NZ for Tonga because of the weather. Here is the passage weather forecast for next Saturday.

As you can see, we would be caught out in some quite nasty winds and waves.

So anyway we are making the most of the great temperatures here in Opua while we wait and today we walked a lot! First up the coast to Paihia, then across on the ferry to Russell.

Russell used to be called the hell hole of the Pacific with all the whalers, traders and ex-convicts so it has some colorful history. The local graveyard contains many of them.

We had lunch at a beautiful hotel called the Duke of Marlborough.

We walked another 11kms back to another ferry to get us back just after dark and on the way I got to see a kiwi. This was only the second kiwi I had ever seen in the wild so I was quite thrilled.

Opua day 4

Today we rented bikes and biked the coast to coast old rail trail.

We headed to a town called Kawakawa that has public toilet with ceramics.

The train goes up the main Street on the weekend.

Opua day3

Today we visited the Treaty grounds in Waitangi where the Maori chiefs signed a treaty in 1840.

Weather is still a concern but we will make up our minds when we look at the weather tomorrow on whether or not to go on Tuesday.

Opua day 2

Today I walked with Linda and Carol on a bike trail next to the marina called the Twin Coast bike Trail.

The tunnel is actually closed for repairs but we walked through it anyway. The old railway tracks run about 100km from here to the other side of the island to the Tasman Sea.

We spent the morning doing boat chores, getting ready to leave on Tuesday. Weather wise, there is a potential tropical storm labelled 95l developing near Fiji that we are keeping a close eye on. It is supposed to fade away but if not, we will be here another week. Also we were hoping to stop off on the way at Minerva Reef but it looks like it will be too difficult to sail into the trade winds at that point so we might just sail straight to Tongatapu.

Opua day 1

This place is a Mecca for cruising boats.

A lot of the boats here are preparing to leave for the islands because it's the end of the cyclone season. Every day they have activities for the cruisers provided by the local council who own the marina. Tonight they had a get-together for everyone and it was good to share information and talk weather to the other crews making the same voyage. I listened to the local Burnsco rep about fishing from the stern of the boat by dragging lures and he had a table full of products for sale.