Category Archives: New Zealand

20th Anniversary of Adventuring

Matt and I were married in St. Thomas during an intimate ceremony on the beach at sunset.  And today, we celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary overlooking the beach at sunset!

Our marriage has been full of great adventures spreading across 33 countries and over 50,000 nautical miles. 

We’ve learned new languages, tried unique foods, and experienced many different cultures and spectacular escapades. 

And we’ve done it together without kicking the other off the boat.

20th Anniversary

We enjoyed some lovely cocktails and dinner at the Quay Restaurant.  I highly recommend the Autumn Sun cocktail decorated with little pink hearts.

The Surprise

Matt had mentioned going to Whangarei Heads to watch the sunset. 

However, after driving around for a little bit he turned onto a super sharp, steep driveway. 

I was totally confused and had no idea where we were going or what he was doing.  

SURPRISE!  He rented a bach (beach house) for the night!  We did not have to spend our anniversary in the boat yard!

What a lovely and romantic surprise. 

It was a sweet, little bach with sweeping views over the river!  Perfect sunset viewing.

The beautifully decorated bach has 3 bedrooms that sleeps 7 people.

There are 2 stories, a large deck, a patio with a pizza over, a game room, laundry room, and access to the beach.

We enjoyed a lovely bottom of rose as the sun set.  

We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on 11 November 2025.

NZ Bound #3: 0 to go, Arrived safely

Rafted at customs dock waiting on officials.

Our fastest trip. 5 days and 20 hrs. Some bouncy, some nice, some motoring, but everything fast…

1192 nm miles averaging 8.5 knots. Only a couple of squalls with only a scattering of rain.

Chilly but happy to be here

The crew.

Now time for some good solid sleep ..

And back to the regular programming..

NZ Bound #3: 9 till we see old friends and new

Arriving the Heads at day break per plan.

It’s friggin cold and I forgot to take the heater exhaust plugs out when we left Fiji, so heaters will have to wait a bit longer .

Bream Head