These are our two favourite islands in the Bay of Islands, both good anchorages in decent weather.  As soon as we get a good day (not too often)  we head off to one of these and take a good walk. Mike has been struggling with his Achilles tendon, but has still managed to do some pretty good hikes.    Being confined to the yacht in bad weather is pretty boring after a while. You can only do so much maintenance and watch so many movies/ TV shows. Last week our microwave oven went bang...damn, its a Miele, and difficult/ expensive to replace, but hoping to sort that out when we get down to Auckland.  

 

 

         

 

 

Not much success on the fishing front – only one feed of snapper, which Mike caught while fishing with Greg on Liberty IV.

 

One tricky thing in the Bay of Islands, is getting provisions, or going to the chandlery.  There are no decent anchorages near the marina, or near the town of Pahia.  Pahia is so close, yet so far – drives me nuts. Russell is a better option, but much smaller and unpleasant in windy weather from the west, which we have been getting.  Today we are going to attempt to anchor near the marina, as there is a big market there today. For the two weeks at the end of November, boats come streaming into New Zealand from Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The marina lays on a bit of a festival, with BBQ’s , talks and even a bus trip. We did this trip last week to Keri-Keri (nearest big town), while we are on the marina.

 

Here are some more pics from the lovely Robertson Island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our plan for next week, is to head south. As soon as the weather settles (maybe Tuesday), we will head down the coast to the Great Barrier Island, stopping at some bays along the way.