Tag: Featured

New Zealand, South Pacific, The South Pacific, Whangarei

Just Another Day In Paradise

We woke up this morning to a somewhat yucky day outside. It wasn’t raining but it had been and it was overcast. This put a damper on the boat projects Dan wanted to accomplish and neither of us was really feeling much like working. So, what did we do? We got dressed and headed outside. It was time for some fresh air and a good long walk.

We headed first to A.H. Reed Memorial Park. It’s a park here in Whangarei that is known for it’s Kauri trees. These huge trees remind me of giant redwoods. They are one of the mightiest trees in the world growing over 50 meters tall with trunks as much as 16 meters around. They have been living for thousands of years and now are endangered due to what they call “dieback”. The movement of soil particularly around their roots spreads a fungus type disease that is killing them. In order to even enter the park you have to clean your boots and have them disinfected which was something we’ve never experienced before. The even ask you to do it on the way out.

We parked at the lower car park and took the Alexander track up through these beautiful woods. We came to a fork in the path and took a left over the wonderfully done wooden walkway. It is so high up you are actually in the treetops! At the end of the walkway are several huge Kauri trees. They are absolutely magnificent!

After admiring God’s grand creations we made the loop back to the car park. The entire trip was about an hour. From there we drove to the top level car park. Yes, we could have hiked there but the website says it’s a pretty steep trail and sometimes my asthma just won’t let me hike such difficult trails. That’s okay though. We arrived at the top car park which is the beginning or the end of the McKinnon track. After a short ten minute, easy hike we arrived at a wooden platform that looks out over the Paranui Falls. It was actually quite beautiful. The sun was out and sparkling on the falls and the fern-like Ponga trees were perched to the right of the falls. I just love these trees. Next to the Pohutukawa trees these are my favorite of the New Zealand trees. They are like a forest style palm tree.

With both journeys taking just about an hour and a half we were still interested in seeing more. After all, the sun had come out and made a beautiful, warm day here in Whangarei. So, we left the park and headed to Abbey Caves. We’ve read about them too. They are just about fifteen minutes from the Town Basin and from what we’ve heard you can see glowworms in these caves. The Arachnocampa Luminosa Glowworms are only found here in New Zealand and most caves where you can see them charge for the pleasure. These three caves are completely free. Of course with that comes the element of danger and a big risk if you don’t have the proper equipment.

We arrived at the entrance to the park area and parked along the main road. The track is all downhill! That’s great on the way in but it’s not so much fun on the way out. LOL

It was a beautiful hike with lots of wildflowers and huge trees. There was what we believe to be a Norfolk Pine that was absolutely massive! And, everywhere we looked in the valley we saw giant rocks rising from the tall green grass.

We found the first cave known as Organ Cave. Dan made his way to the entrance but I wasn’t so sure. First of all we didn’t have a torch and it looked pretty doggone dark in there and secondly Dan said the rocks at the entrance were wet and very slippery. I decided I’d wait to do my cave dwelling until we make our trip to the South Island where we will have professional guides takes us into Waitomo Caves to see the glowworms. There we will actually take a boat ride through the cave to see them!

We explored down the path a bit more and then decided it was time to turn back. Now for the UPHILL part of the trek. Here’s where the real exercise comes in.  It actually didn’t turn out to be that bad of a walk back to the car but I’m sure my thighs and calves will tell a different story in the morning. Of course Grape Ape had the time of his life climbing in the trees and running in the fields.

And, for a reward for the exercise we got today we headed to Frings, one of our favorite hangouts here. They have ice cold beer and great pizza. We tipped a couple of cold ones and then went to another favorite spot, The Judge House of Ale. It was a nice way to end a beautiful day that started out kind of icky!

Until next time,

Jilly & Dan

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Maintenance, New Zealand, South Pacific, The South Pacific

It’s Not All Fun & Games

We know that to many of you it probably looks like all we do around here is play but the truth is that living on a boat full time is a lot of work. During the six months we are here waiting out cyclone season in New Zealand we have a list of projects to complete that’s as long as Dazzler. Many of these things can’t be done in the islands because you just don’t have access to supplies so when you do, you have to work.

SO TRUE!

If you know anything about boating you know that no project is ever easy. What starts out as a simple project can quickly become a massive one and some projects are tedious and just take a lot of time. Dan does just about everything on our boat. I’m sure you’ve heard me say more than once that there’s nothing the man can’t do and he proves that time and again. One of his favorite things to do on the boat is to varnish her. Yeah, I know, sounds like a sentence not a pleasurable activity but Dan loves it and when he’s done it’s nearly perfect.

I’d be more than happy to help him but there’s two reason he won’t even think about it. The first is that I shed like a long haired pup and long black hair doesn’t look very good in the varnish. The second reason he won’t let me play the varnish game is that he is an absolute perfectionist and he’s afraid I won’t be able to do it exactly the way he does. Honestly, it doesn’t really hurt my feelings that much. I mean, varnishing is a lot of work and I’d just assume stay below deck writing articles and creating videos for you fine folks.

Dan recently spent three weeks varnishing Dazzler’s cockpit. This time he needed to take it back to bare wood which meant it would require eight coats of varnish! Yes, that’s a lot when you consider he has to sand in between each coat. And, like I said, no project is easy. Just after getting started sanding the cockpit he found wood rot in one of the seats. This required him to completely rebuild the seat. He’s never done anything like that before but he didn’t let that stop him and the finished project was perfect!

And there’s been a whole host of other projects from cleaning stainless to removing the sails for when we take our trip back to the states. There have been parts to find and engines to service. In the two months since we arrived Dan has replaced the front main seal on the Yanmar, serviced the shower bilge pump, rebuilt the propane locker door, cleaned the rigging, replaced the deck waste fitting, replaced gimbal brackets on the stove, rewired our steaming light, installed a 240V battery charger, had injectors and our spare alternator serviced, varnished, and even managed to fit in a bit of sight seeing. I guess you could say he’s been a busy man.

It’s a whole lot more fun doing it this way than in a bucket on the deck of Dazzler.

As for me, I’ve been maintaining things below deck, writing, making videos, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry and doing research and planning for a three week trip to the South Island with our friends, Jack & Mary, who are coming here from Los Angeles. Not long after they leave we will be making a trip to the U.S. to visit our families for a month. We’ve got lots going and before we know it cruising season will be upon us again.

But don’t think we won’t pay for the “vacation time” because when we get back Dazzler will be on the hard and there’s a bottom to paint, deck repairs, a thru hull replacement, provisioning and a list of other items that must be done before we can take off for this year’s cruising season. Yes, the sailor’s life can be exotic and take you to amazing places but there’s always work that must be done. As Dan always says, “Nothing’s free in Water World!”

Until next time,

Jilly & Dan