Life in New Zealand
Safiya
Harvey & Sue Death
Tue 31 Oct 2017 19:50
on land. Using the boat as a floating apartment we've explored the City
whilst carrying out works on the boat.
We took a ferry out to the small island of Waiheke which is home to about 30
boutique vineyards. We spent a very pleasant Sunday with our American
friends touring and tasting in three of the wineries with lunch in a fourth
vineyard.
We hired a car and ventured out to Rotorua which is home to the hot springs,
steaming geysers, bubbling mud pools and a general smell of rotten eggs!
We stayed a couple of nights in a very comfortable hotel overlooking lake
Rotorua and thoroughly enjoyed the luxury of a large bath tub, endless hot
water and a huge bed (that doesn't rock!).
Harvey's highlight of our visit to Rotorua was a flight in a sea plane over
an active volcano and my highlight was the Polynesian Spa and geothermal
pools.
Last Friday marked the official end of the first leg of the Oyster world
rally - we've sailed half way round the world! We celebrated with a party at
the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron - it was a lovely evening, dancing till
the early hours but also sad as we say good bye to about 10 boats who are
not continuing on beyond New Zealand. So when we start the next leg in April
2018 we will be a slightly reduced fleet.
We've spent the last couple of weeks briefing various tradesmen who will be
carrying out works on the boat during November. We leave tomorrow to fly to
South Island, Christchurch where we pick up a motor home for a couple of
weeks to travel around the North of the island. We'll then swap the van for
a car and go to the icy South to explore the mountains and glaciers.
Harvey & Sue
