Tuesday
Marina life continues.
Towels in hand, David and I set off for the Visitor’s Lounge to shower, shampoo and shine. Slight snag: the shower only operates using $2 (NZ) coins, of which we possessed none. Jet lag had us moving early, and the office was closed for another half hour. A wander down to the mini-mart (up and at ’em) to purchase the forgotten paper towel and bread yielded the benefits of a cheery bloke ready to help, fresh baked loaves of Russian rye, and paper towels, but neither coins nor replacement shoes (my cheap Fijian ones ripped the skin off that little space between toes).
So back to the chandlery where yet another cheery bloke happily helped me acquire the perfect pair of jandals, on sale. He also managed to exchange our two $1 (NZ) coins for one coveted 2$ (NZ) one. And like naughty kids, David and I snuck into the mens’ shower room for shared ablutions.
Clean and giggling, we headed back to Leona to get underway.
We have pulled out of our Santa Barbara slip countless times, slipping lines and smoothly whipping out and into the channel. Yet somehow the prospect of doing it in a new space, despite all the similarities (same line placement, same slip size) required extreme deliberation and pre-planning. Would the wind be different? the current?
The answer: no.
We decamped uneventfully and gently motored out of the marina. Smooth and glassy, minimal winds saw us positively dawdling past Russell (the first European settlement in New Zealand) and Waitangi (with boats already gathering to watch the waka taua races and waterside festivities).
Linguistic tidbit:
Jandals was not a typo. They are the NZ version of flip-flops. Unfortunately for me, no known derivation.
Waka taua are the large Maori war canoes. Fortunately for waterborne visitors, no longer used as originally designed.
In what felt like no time, we arrived at our destination: Moturua Island. Actually, we ended up anchoring on the leeward side of the privately owned Motukeikei Island across the passage to avoid a potential lee shore. (See Day 30 of the Log for a deep dive into the usage of “lee” and the dangers of a “lee shore”)
The Bay of Islands is in the middle of New Zealand’s Northland coast, with about 40 islands all a hop, skip and a jump away from each other. White beaches, forested hillsides, grassy saddles…they beg you to explore.
Moturua has a beautiful 2.5 mile hike around its perimeter, mostly under a tunnel of tea trees bordered by tiny rosy maiden-hair ferns and giant tree ferns. Every time we pop out of the trees, we are greeted with a view of pristine beaches or the sparkling sea out to another island and another island and another…
The view from Motutua looking back at Leona and Motukeikei
A tea tree tunnel and a blue pouwhenua
The island is part of Project Island Song, a conservation project covering seven islands in the eastern bay. Pest-free, pet-free and fire-free, they ask you to wash your gear before coming onshore to prevent the spread of non-native weeds and bugs, all to encourage the restoration and conservation of the natural eco-systems.
Chirps, whistles, cheeps and squawks accompanied us throughout the walk, testament to the Project’s success. I acknowledge my complete inability to identify a bird by its song, but I didn’t need to know their names to appreciate their beauty.
Thank-you, Project Island Song
