Waitangi and Motorua Island

 We have been moored in Russell for most of the past few days.  The forecast inclement weather came in but we were protected from the worst of it given it was Easterly.  We took a mooring in Russell instead of anchoring to get us into the calmer water and closer to the town.  We had decided to come closer to town during this period so we could amuse ourselves off the boat as sitting around the boat when its raining is not much fun.

This sign in the shop window says it all

Russell (or Kororareka) is a quaint small seaside town with a “Nantuckety” feel to it although a lot smaller.  It was the first foreign trading port in the Bay of Islands and given the preponderance of sailors with money, time off, lax morals and virtually no laws it developed into a bit of a party town and earned the sobriquet of “Hell Hole of the Pacific”.  Since then it has died, been revitalized and is now a very pleasant tourist town visited by cruise ships.

Sea Otter moored in Russell

Russell waterfront

The main attraction here was on the other side of the bay at a place called Waitangi.  This is where the treaty was signed with the Maori in 1840.  The Treaty grounds are now a national trust site with museums, a cultural centre and original buildings from the treaty days.   On the Saturday and Sunday Nik and I caught the ferry from Russell to Pahia on the other side of the bay near Waitangi and trekked to the site along the coast.  We then spent the best part of the day wandering around the various attractions of the Treaty Grounds taking in the guided tour, a Maori cultural show and the various museums.  It was really fascinating.  This is really the birthplace of modern New Zealand and where the Maori and British started to collaborate.  Going forward there were still issues but the foundations of the nation were laid here.

Waitangi Treaty Grounds looking over the BoI

Maori welcome address

We spent the rest of the time shopping for some supplies and kitted Nik out with some fishing equipment.  The Bay of Islands was called the Anglers Eldorado by Zane Grey, the American writer cum fisherman, who spent a lot of time here and helped establish it as a fishing mecca.  So we are expecting big things in the seafood department going forward.

The anglers El-dorado

Today we headed back out into the bay to visit some more islands.  The weather has improved and so we headed for a protected anchorage called Honeymoon Bay off one of the main islands called Moturua.  There were not too many boats so we found a spot with some space and anchored.  It’s a really idyllic spot. In fact, the whole of this area is spectacular and well worth a visit.  It reminds us of sailing in Maine.

Enroute to Moturua Island

We are mainly motoring at the moment as the distances between the islands is relatively small and we use the transits to recharge the batteries.  The new lithium battery system which we had installed in Auckland is working fantastically and paired with the solar panels we can go for at least five or six days without having to recharge from the engine.

One thing that has not worked so well is the anti-fouling which we had applied in Opua before X-mas.  When we came back to the boat the bottom was covered in small barnacles.  Hence any new anchorage we go to I spend the first hour or so trying to scrape these off.  Another week or so and I should have the hull clean.  If not, at least Sam will be here and will hopefully be able to help me.

Still trying to decide what is next after New Zealand – either north to Tonga/Fiji or east to Panama.  Will be putting feelers out for crew so if there are readers with adventurous ambitions let me know.

Honeymoon Bay