Lat: 36 50.5S / Long: 174 45.8E
Our
journey from Tonga to New Zealand was challenging in every respect. High seas,
strong wind and rain. The Pacific Ocean made its name no honor.
We sailed
a daily distance of about 220 to 240 nm (400 - 440 km / 250 to 280 miles) with
a good average speed of 10 knots and reached the northeastern tip of New
Zealand's North Island after five days.
The east
coast is rugged with numerous offshore islands and some natural harbors such as
the Bay of Islands where we dropped our anchor, about 230 nm away from Auckland.
The climate had changed significantly, fickle spring weather with corresponding
temperatures averaging to around 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit) made
us shiver quite a bit after the wonderful Polynesian warmth.
 |
| Bay of Islands - View from the golf course – not so bad |
The clearing-in
formalities with customs and emigration were much more complex and severe than
in previous ports. Despite intensive preparation to find out which food, animal
and plant products may be imported in the country, some T-bone steaks didn’t
make it and landed - much to the chagrin of the crew - in the sealed dustbin of
the custom officer. New Zealanders are very careful that parasites and other
pests which could threaten its endemic flora and fauna and of course its
agriculture, are kept away from their islands - too many mistakes had been made
in the past, so that like in Galapagos many species are threatened or have been
extinct.
Bay of
Islands is a historical place. It was here were the ‘Treaty of Waitangi’ was signed on 6
February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Maori chiefs.
The contract is the
oldest constitution of New Zealand. After the signing the first government of
the country was formed.
The town
of Russell also has quite a historical past:
This tranquil seaside settlement was considered
as ‘The Hell-Hole of the Pacific’ once it became known to whalers and began
acquiring unsavory European residents – a stark contrast to its present day
population.
 |
| The picturesque buildings reminded us of the coastal towns we had visited last year in America. |
 |
The Anglican Christ Church is New Zealand's first church. One of the first donations for its construction came from Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution – who could not believe the “very refuse of society” that he saw in Russell.
|
 |
| Photo - The charming old fashion hotel and restaurant "The Duke of Marlborough” was New Zealand's first pub to receive a liquor license in 1827. |
The last
leg of our sailing trip for the time being was the trip from the Bay of Islands
to Auckland. Zefiro is berthed in Viaduct Harbour, in the center of town. Here
she can take a well-deserved break for a few months, while being maintained and
repaired.
 |
Zefiro’s berth is located directly behind the ‘Maritime Museum’, according to Gerhard one of the most interesting maritime museums, which he has ever visited.
He stayed there for more than five hours.
|
 |
| An exhibit of America's Cup winner Black Magic, a comprehensive documentation of the New Zealand sailing hero Sir Peter Blake, and even a little discourse of the gentleman pirate of the Imperial Prussian Navy, Count Luckner, are to be found there. |
Similar
to our stay last fall in the U.S., we exchanged the wheel of Zefiro with the
steering wheel of a rental car and explored a large part of Auckland's North
Island. We followed the compass heading southeast, past Lake Taupo, where you
can ski from June to September, down to the wine-growing region along the
Hawke's Bay to Napier - a tourist town whose residents are particularly proud of
the Art Deco facades of the buildings.
 |
| After a major earthquake, which destroyed the town in 1930 almost completely, the Art Deco facades were rebuilt with much dedication according to historical patterns. |
 |
| The climate in Napier was much milder than in Auckland. With temperatures of about 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit) we enjoyed the blossoming cherry trees in October (!). |
New
Zealand belongs - like all other countries that lie on the edge of the Pacific
plate – to the Pacific Ring of Fire, notorious for its high volcanic activity. And
indeed New Zealand has some of the most active volcanoes on earth.
 |
| When driving past the hilly volcanic landscape that makes up a large part of the North Island, it becomes clear that sheep and cattle are the only options to manage this uneven landscape. The picture this time without sheep... |
 |
| …otherwise the green meadows of New Zealand rather look like this |
We could
see how very active New Zealand's volcanoes are, when we visited the ''Mission”
Estate Winery, one of the oldest of the area's 35 designated wineries: We were
just tasting one of the Chardonnay wines when suddenly the whole building
started to shake violently. At first we did not know what was going on until Trevor,
the sommelier, pointed out to us that there had just been an earthquake. He
looked at an App on his IPhone and informed us that it was a quake with a
magnitude of 5.5 in 108 m (354 feet) depth and about 114 kilometers (71 miles)
away.
 |
| After this shock, we intensified the wine tasting session... |
 |
| New Zealand wines in particular the young Sauvignon Blanc white wines have really done it to us: They are light and taste of fresh grass and citrus fruit with a hint of peach ... delicious. |
We celebrated Gerhard's birthday in a Lodge - which was in the midst of a large farm, stretching out over an area of 2,430 hectares (6000 acres). The drive from the entrance gate to the main house took more than 10 minutes! In addition to the Lodge guests there were 880 Black Angus cattle and 3000 sheep also lodging on the grounds.
 |
| The latter were surprisingly shy - they were watching us with great interest only to quickly run away as soon as we got closer. |
 |
| We took some wonderful walks to the cliffs of Cape Kidnappers… |
 |
| …and on the Lodge’s terrain |
We liked
what we have seen so far in these few days of New Zealand’s North Island. The
"Kiwis’’ are welcoming, friendly and with their down-to-earth love of
nature pleasantly relaxed.
The towns
are well maintained, the roads in good condition, the hotels very clean, the
food is of good quality, the restaurants serve creative light cuisine and the
coffee...
Its worth
a special mention: Any Italian will be amazed at the New Zealand coffee culture
and feel right at home. We drank excellent cappuccini, espressi and Americanos.
When asked about his good coffee, a barista proudly told us that in the small country
of New Zealand there are about four times as many coffee roasters compared to
the large neighboring island of Australia. We certainly enjoyed it.
 |
| When we were back in Auckland, we invited the crew to a farewell dinner. |
After
almost three months on board, we had a lot to celebrate:
- Zefiro sailed
safely 7000 nm (13,000 km / 8,000 miles) with no major damages in the keel
waters of famous European maritime explorers such as Captain James Cook, Abel
Tasman and Louis Antoine de Bougainville.
- We especially
learned to respect the navigational skills of these gentlemen in the sometimes
very shallow waters with the offshore coral reefs, where they sailed without
the technical possibilities of today.
- Except
for the "thumb-incident’' of crew member Peter which came to a good end,
we had no diseases or other injuries on board
There
were new things which we learnt and experienced:
- About the
migration of peoples and the Polynesian culture as well as the exotic flora and
fauna of many islands
- The
kind, gentle and humble nature of the Polynesians, their deep Christian faith
and their incredible musicality
- About
their propensity for obesity (girls, forget the usual five pounds too much – next
to the Polynesian ladies we all look like swans!)
- About their
habit to keep piglets as pets.
- Our absolute
highlight: Swimming with the humpback whales
We look
forward to Part 2 of our New Zealand adventure, visiting the South Island with
its glaciers and fjords. This all then in 2013.
Thank you
for your interest and the many positive and kind comments. Please stay tuned!
Please
click:
