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Kawakawa Just one week after messing around at the All Blacks Experience, we were off again - this time up north towards Kerikeri. On the way to Kerikeri, just off Highway One (think more A33 than M1), the lovely town of Kawakawa offers a scenic break and the chance...

All Blacks Experience A trip to New Zealand wouldn't be complete without seeing the Blacks, at least in some form. So, after landing at Auckland airport after a visit to the UK, we drove to the city to see the All Blacks Experience through four bleary eyeballs. And...

Christmas in the Boatyard Granted, for some, sitting in a boatyard workshop drinking copious quantities of beer may not be regarded as a great Christmas. But even the hardiest curmudgeon would be hard-pressed not to see this as fun. Every Friday, the staff at...

Coromandel Road Trip One week after our trip to Melbourne, we were off again - this time on a road trip to the Coromandel peninsular, east of Auckland. The drive down there is stunning, almost everywhere in New Zealand is beautiful. Our first stop was at a bed and...

Dogging in Philip Island I've left this a bit late. But, in my weak defence, there is so much to do and see in New Zealand that it's hard to find the time to sit down and write about what we have been up to. It's now May 2024, so this post is a large rewind to late...

Balls up at Denarau Well, that didn’t work out well. Despite several emails and a couple of phone calls, just as we entered the channel to pick up our reserved mooring at Denarau Marina, we were told we were too big. I assume they meant the boat and didn’t aim that as...

We finally make it halfway around the world, and continue west towards Viti Levu and the Manuca and Yasawa islands.

A quicker than expected sail from Tonga through a maze of reefs leads us to the beautiful islands of Fiji – and Paradise.

A brisk two day sail brings us to the Vava’u group of islands in Tonga where we swim with whales – twice – dodge the wind and explore this beautiful archipelago.

From Nuku Hiva to Raroia After a day and a half of superb sailing, the wind fizzled out to little more than a zephyr, so we motored the other day and a half towards Raroia. Easing our way through the pass at midday, we made our way to the east side of the atoll to...

Fatu Hiva We couldn't have asked for better weather for our sail to the Marquesas. Just like our passage to the Gambier from the Tuamotus, this was also a single-tack sail all the way. And we only switched on the engine after five days and 800 miles to park up in...

Volleyball, boules and booze Our tour of the islands gave us ideas on where to go - and the places to avoid because they look too sketchy for boats carrying over two metres of draft. Following the channel back out of the Gambier, we turned left near the northern tip...

Practicalities This section is probably more interesting to sailors planning to visit the Gambier, so skip to the next bit if you find your eyelids drooping. Arriving somewhere new is always a bit disorienting. Fortunately, though, our buddies on Ticket To Ride came...

At first, there were three. BioTrek, Ticket to Ride and Jamala: two catamarans and one monohull. The only boats here enjoying the peace and quiet of Hirifa’s beautifully calm anchorage. The only noise we could hear was water rushing against the windward reef and the...