As of 1^st June winter is officially upon us and the days have certainly shortened.  The cricket stumps on the nearby Victoria Park have been stowed for the season and replaced, as if by magic, with rugby posts -  6 pitches in total.  However, life on board Macushla is very cosy thanks to the dehumidifier and oil-filled radiator acquired a few weeks ago via TradeMe, New Zealand’s equivalent of eBay.  Most cruising boats departed for the warmer climes of Fiji or Tonga several weeks ago, but like us a few are staying for the winter and we’re trying to knuckle down and chip away at the still daunting jobs list.  So far the weather is milder than we were led to believe, although the fronts keep rolling in with seemingly clockwork regularity, at which point indoor tasks are the order of the day.

Skipper has done a great job installing two new regulators and wiring for the new wind and hydro generators and last Friday saw us take Macushla over to nearby Pier21 for a few hours for a spot of welding work relating to the wind generator bracketry.  When the artisans put forward a date of the following Wednesday, some swift negotiation was required to bring the job forward to the Friday before the long Bank Holiday weekend (One’s 90^th Birthday celebrations).  Why is it that artisans never look at the weather forecast?  Trying to manoeuvre in marinas when it’s blowing over 30 knots is never a good idea and we all agreed that a sunny and windless day was a much better proposition.

In addition our brand spanking new anchor chain is all marked up and stowed in its locker and the re-galvanised Manson anchor is back where it belongs in the bow roller.

Back in May Sue’s birthday was one of endless and torrential rain, so we had the day off and went to the Auckland Museum which we’d kept for just such an occasion, followed by lunch at De Post, a funky Belgian bar; an excellent day out.

New anchor chain (and the old) and skipper marking up every 10 metres:

Sights from the Queen’s Pier Waterfront and Shed 10 where there were family friendly activities for the Queen’s 90^th birthday celebrations and we had a nostalgic saunter down memory lane:  

Auckland Museum has an excellent collection of Maori artefacts of which just a few photos are included here, but it also has an interesting section on volcanology and, just to keep Aucklanders on their toes, there’s a simulator room to demonstrate what it would feel like if one the city’s volcanoes were to burst in to life.  Frighteningly realistic.  Finally, the museum also houses the Auckland War Museum, a humbling display.

Volcanology Section, including the Sitting Room Simulator:

War Museum exhibits, including bead snakes made by POWs in Turkey: