Commodore
November 4, 2023

4 – 5 November – last blog until we set sail sometime in May

We all had a wonderful night’s sleep here in Marsden Cove marina, it was as calm and quiet as anything. We heard customs board Shindig (the other boat on the Q dock) at about 8:30am so dragged ourselves out of bed. We needed to eat up the last of our breakfast and fresh provisions before Bio Security arrived. The customs guy was an enormous guy who said our ladder would not support his weight, our stern was too far away from the pontoon for him to step aboard. He had to go off and get his own step ladder which was still a bit precarious! He was very pleasant, we filled in endless forms with him and he finally signed us in, we just had to wait for Bio Security to clear us.

Having successfully eaten a hearty breakfast with the last of our bacon supply from Roy and the last of our eggs and tomatoes, the Bio Security guy arrived. Equally friendly but much more officious. We had thrown at least a dozen eggs overboard out at sea yesterday plus our frozen chicken. All left over fresh fruit and veg we had put in a bin bag for him to take away and incinerate. We had thought we would get away with our frozen meats, as they were all from NZ. Our Tongan meat although it was labelled from NZ was not vacuum packed so was taken. Roy had brought us 6 salamis from NZ all sealed but it all had to go as no pork or chicken of any description is allowed in. He checked the fridges and freezer and was happy we had nothing fresh left. I had been very honest and said I had a few little pieces of coral with my shell collections, and that was taken along with the lovely old metal float we had found covered in coral on a beach in the Tuamotus. My Aloe Vera plants had to go too. My little plants from Cain had been flourishing, it was sad to see them go. We finally got cleared by 11am, we could take the quarantine flag down and we were free to go.

Rowan has booked PolePole into the Whangarei town marina for 6 months. It was another 8 miles down the river. We had a narrow escape when we nearly collided with a stationary fishing boat on our way out. The channel is not very wide and you have to follow the markers carefully. There was a huge amount of boat activity on the water, I suppose it was a glorious day and a Saturday, everyone was out fishing. It was a lovely slow pootle down the estuary into the river. We came to a lifting bridge and had to call them on the vhf to lift it, all extremely efficient. It reminded us of our first time we set sail in our original PolePole, going down the river in Fort Lauderdale, I think we had to call and get 14 bridges lifted.

We finally got to our berth, Rowan had been sent a map of exactly where we were tying up. We had people waiting to help us, and there was no boat in front of us, so it was pretty easy. Libby, Roy’s wife was also there to meet us. What bliss to be finally safely tied up. It feels like we have reached a mile stone getting to NZ. We celebrated with tea!

Our berth is right outside the new Hundertwasser Art Gallery, which looks very Gaudi-esque and is very colourful. We went and had lunch at the very cute quayside, loads of quaint little restaurants. Everywhere looks so beautifully manicured, loads of paths and parks we saw coming down the river, I think we are going to have fun exploring here. It feels the most civilised we have been in absolute ages.

You can see the headland we went around to enter the estuary. The red dropped pin is where The Marsden Cove Q Dock was. The blue dot is us berthed in Whangarei

Looking back at the huge estuary as we head to the river

The opening of the bridge for us

After lunch we locked up PolePole as we were going to stay the night at Roy and Libby’s house. They live about an hour south in a place called Mangawhai (wh is pronounced like an F). It was a stunning drive along the coast, we finally got to their amazing house. They live in a kind of housing development which incorporates a farm, and over 300 acres, with about 30 + houses. It is right at the end of a spit of coast land that is attached to a wildlife reserve that is full of huge sand dunes. They are the only people who have access to this reserve, so it is wonderfully wild and full of bird life. They have a lovely modern house with massive windows on all sides, so airy and with great views across the estuary. They are in the process of getting a new kitchen installed, the old one was ripped out while Roy was with us.

Mangawhai in relation to Auckland and Whangarei

The red circle around Roy and Libby’s house and the wonderful sand dune reserve at the end of their development, that is their own playground!

We had a lovely walk to the river and then went for a great pub supper on the water’s edge. We were all pretty exhausted and didn’t last staying up too long. What a wonderful treat in our comfy bed and a lovely hot powerful shower in the morning.

We had another lovely walk after breakfast, this time up to the dunes which we climbed to the top of. Really spectacular. We participated in the compulsory Gormley run down the steep dune on the way back, which was quite a challenge but exhilarating, definitely got the blood pumping.

We returned to the house and took off shortly afterwards to head back to PolePole. Libby has very kindly lent us her very snazzy red mini until we can swap with their other spare car that their daughter has in Auckland. We did a massive grocery shop when we got back and then got stuck into the Sunday papers and admin. It is lovely in our berth here. The pontoon has filled up and a catamaran has arrived in front of us.

This is my last blog until we set sail again, sometime in May, most probably heading for Fiji. We are going to South Africa for Christmas, where all the kids are meeting us, we will be away for a month. PolePole has lots of work that needs doing at the boatyard, plus we are hauling her out to give her bottom a good scrub, and to attend to the dagger boards that we have managed to do a bit of damage to. We plan to explore NZ by camper van in the new year.

Wishing you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!