We have finally managed to get away from Bay of Islands marina and are anchored off Roberton Island.  This area is called the Bay of Islands for good reason; there are so many to explore and it was lovely last night, with just 5 other boats in the anchorage, to enjoy the quiet and the bird song.

The anchorage at Roberton Island

A peaceful evening at anchor

Our time in Opua has been busy.  The Island Cruising Club, based in Opua, lays on a series of events around the marina each November for  visiting yachts that have come down from the Pacific islands.  There are seminars on everything from New Zealand slang and customs, through fishing to weather, plus sessions on maintenance issues by the businesses around the marina that had some useful ideas, but were also a bit of a sales pitch for the business.  In between there were social events, including lots of ‘sausage sizzle’s”. 

We enjoyed the Pizza and Pasta night at the Cruising Club, and the ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ presentation by the Indonesian Tourist Board and the man who runs yacht rallies to the Indonesian islands, which was followed by a buffet and drinks, all courtesy of Indonesia.

Wine tasting at Omata Vineyard was one of the rally events

Followed by lunch in the Vineyard restaurant with views over the bay

Outside of the rally events, this has been a sociable time, as yachts arrive in Opua from across the Pacific, and we have met up again with friends old and new.

There are several excellent walks around Opua, and we have sampled some of them and have learnt never to underestimate a walk in New Zealand; they all seem to be hilly.  The walk from Russell back to the ferry to Opua was a lovely mixture of town, mangrove, forest and coast, until the last section, which was a hill too far.  We expected the Oromahoe Road Traverse to take us along a pleasant ridge, but although we stayed on a ridge, it also went up and down a lot, but the view point at the end was a reward for the hard work.

Russell is a tourist town with pretty wooden buildings

The old wooden church in Russell is New Zealand’s oldest existing church

Views over the Bay of Islands on the walk from Russell to the ferry

The trails go up and down through the woods

Well made trails make walking easier and protect the vulnerable roots of the Kauri trees.

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