After our travels we had a brief interlude of doing various maintenance jobs before our Swedish friends Ann and Par came to stay. After their own exploration of South Island they came aboard for an enjoyable 8 or 9 days and we had a chance to navigate the Hauraki Gulf. This is the large bay that protects Auckland, it is full of islands large and small with their various harbours and so many anchorages that somewhere protected from wind and swell can usually be found for the night.

Great Barrier Island

We had some excellent sailing whilst our Swedish friends were with us, including a fast passage down to Kawau Island when we were gradually overhauled by the impressive Spirit of New Zealand, a sail training schooner.

It was good to see Ann and Par again. We originally met them 30 years ago in the Caribbean and we have always had a lot in common. Fortunately they both speak excellent English.

One of the highlights of their stay with us was living off the sea. We managed to catch 3 good sized kawahi, which eat very well especially when barbecued.

We also gathered oysters on the foreshore, some of which we ate raw . We had an amusing evening one night smoking some of the fish and some of the oysters.

We hadn't used the smoking attachment for our barbecue before and I was not sure how much of the smoke pellets to put in. The upshot was that it started to produce clouds of smoke and we ended up with a smoked Gryphon!

Before the smoke.

Shell sculpture whilst beach combing.

Once Par and Ann had gone and the boat had been de-smoked, we had another long weekend with Lorraine's cousin Jill and husband Charles. The weather was rather unsettled but we hope they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Jill was delighted to catch 6 Snapper including 2 big enough to keep. Fish catches are regulated by the Ministry of Fisheries with rules governing the size of fish that can be kept or returned and the number of each particular type that can be caught per person each day. This seems to work as fish stocks appear to be thriving.

Snapper for supper.

The cousins also indulged in some synchronised swimming.

…............whilst the menfolk concentrated on navigating the ship...............

After our weekend away we had a super party at Jean's house with most of her family in attendance including L's cousins Mark, Donna and Jill and their children (first cousins once removed). Young 'uns Harrison and his friend with Donna's twins Connor and Jessica all seemed genuinely interested in the boat when they visited with Mark the following day.

Connor, here in the foreground, clearly has inherited of the same family genes as his Great Aunty Barbara who was once a contortionist.

Reuniting with my Aunt Jean and getting to know her family has been a real pleasure. We have been lucky to spend time with Jill, Charles and Holly who live not too far from Jean. We wished we had had opportunity to spend more time with Mark and Donna and their families but we already feel we are running out of time. Thank you all for your welcome and hospitality.

Soon we will have to do just as this unfriendly houseboat recommended.

Sorry, we just liked the picture!