Category Archives: New Zealand

Great Barrier Island

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Matt and I were very excited to leave the dock and get out into the blue waters.  We were so ready to move after 3.5 months on the hard at Norsand and then a week at Port Nikau Marina. 

Despite having super light winds we raised our sails.  Mostly to dry them out and give the impression we are a sailboat.  In the end, we motored the entire way.

Did not matter to us as we were out on the water enjoying a beautiful sunny day!

Kiwiriki Bay

Our first anchorage at Great Barrier was called Kiwiriki Bay.  We were tucked in all by ourselves.  However, by the end of the day a dozen launches dropped the hook in the bay’s surrounding areas.  Evidently, there was a fishing tournament happening the same weekend we visited.

Sugar Shack at Kiwiriki Bay with her new arch.

We took the dinghy over to Port Fitzroy (about 2.5nm) to stretch our legs.

Glenfern Sanctuary Loop Track

We went on a lovely 2hr return loop trek at the Glenfern Sanctuary with our friends Dan & Lexi on the boat “Amok”.  It was an overcast day with the sun making random appearances.  The track was shaded and very well marked.  

We decided to go counter clockwise and went up the bazillion stairs (rather than come down them on the return). 

Everything was so lush and green.  It was a beautiful walk through the forest, and along the river.

We stopped at the iconic kauri tree which is over 600 years old! 

They built a bridge from land to the tree. Then you climb up a ladder to a little lookout over Port Fitzroy Bay.

On the way back we stopped by Sunset Rock which offered more views of the Port Fitzroy Anchorage.

Our blog posts run 6 weeks behind actual live events.  We were at Great Barrier Island the first week of March 2026.

Find Onerua Bay (Red Cliff Bay) on No Foreign Land.

Did you find out why our beers were not staying cold?  If not, read here.

Why Aren’t the Beers Cold?

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Lots of good things happening in this blog post. We leave Norsand Boatyard and finally splash in the water! We stay at Port Nikau for a few days while we discover why our beers aren’t staying cold and we do a big provisioning run.

Splashing at Norsand

We splash back into the water after what seemed like a lifetime on the hard.  In reality it was 3.5 months of living in dirt, dust, and chaos.  

It was time to ensure our boat was water tight after installing (3) new thru-hulls below the water line. It is always frightening making new holes in the bottom of the boat – but Matt did a great job and we had no issues at all!

As you know, we have keel coolers for our fridge and freezer.  Because of this set up we were not able to run our fridge or freezer while we were on the hard.  

We bought a small 3′ refrigerator for $100NZD and kept it in the cockpit.  It kept our drinks, beers, and butter cold.  

Since we were not cooking on the boat we did not need much in the fridge.  

Now that we are back in the water we have to test the refrigeration systems and see what needs some attention.

Kevin and Shane did an excellent job putting our home back in the water.  

Port Nikau Marina

We did not go far once we splashed.  We headed a few miles down the river to Port Nikau Marina.

Normally, we would not go straight from the yard to a marina, but we had some work on our refrigeration.

This two-year old marina is new to us.  It is fairly small with two piers holding about 48 yachts.  They also have a superyacht and commercial dock on either side of the private yacht piers.

The marina is run by Blaire who is absolutely wonderful!  He met us on the dock to catch our lines and gave us the details of this pretty marina.

One morning we had an absolutely beautiful sunrise.

Matt had discovered that our main fridge was not keeping his beers cold.  So, we planned to stay at Port Nikau Marina for a few days to figure out why.

We hired Big Fridge to do a quick maintenance and add freon to the fridge.

Keeping the Beers Cold

Oh no, back to tearing up the boat?  Seriously.  Luckily it was only a one day mess, 

Big Fridge came and did a basic check of our refrigeration systems.  We quickly determined that one of our connectors had a leak. Big Fridge changed four gaskets and stopped the leak.

Matt used a special wand to test for other leaks and it was going bonkers. 

Matt tore up the bead and followed the lines to our keel cooler.  The wand went crazy again. 

I was  horrified as this meant the keel cooler had to be replaced.  The only way to replace the keel cooler is to haul out again!  Oh no.

We decided to let it all sit for a few hours and went back with the wand.  This time the wand was quiet as can be.  We topped up the freon and watched the temperature drop!  It is working!

We let the fridge cool down to our standard – 4 to 6 over the next 36 hours. 

When we realized it was working normal we did a provision run.

Final Touches Before We Go

We did a quick trip to Auckland (6 hours return) to visit Costco.  Loaded up on essentials. Another trip to two grocery stores for fresh produce and few more stops.

I sold our cockpit fridge to one of the workers at Norsand.

Next, I sold our beloved Audi A6 Quatro. 

We have really enjoyed this zippy car!  But it was time for someone else to enjoy her. I sold her for what we put into her. We bought it for $5,500 NZD and had a major service done which cost $600NZD. So, she sold for $6,100 NZD ($3600 USD).  Yep, can you believe that?

Now we are off to explore New Zealand’s coast!

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.

We were in Port Nikau toward the end of February 2026.

Sail GP in Auckland

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Matt and I head to Auckland to visit friends, run some errands and delve into the excitement of Sail GP!

What is Sail GP?  Sail Grand Prix is a fleet of (13) F50 foiling catamarans that rip through the water at unbelievable speeds!  These boats are 50 feet (15 meters) long and are high-performance, hydro-foiling catamarans.  They are designed for incredibly high speeds often exceeding 100km/h (50kts) making them some of the fastest boats in the world.

Great beginners guide to Sail GP – click here.

Auckland is the 2nd stop of 13 race locations across the globe for the 2026 season.

The atmosphere was a buzz and everyone was excited to see these magnificent boats fly across the waters.

I tried to capture all of the boats but some were not cooperating.  Didn’t they know I needed a team photo for each boat for this blog?

That gives you a fleet of 13 powerhouse sailing nations battling in Auckland — and let me tell you, the drama on the water has been epic (including a pretty gnarly collision between the French and Kiwi boats).

Here we have Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden.

United States, Denmark, Canada, UK, and Australia.

You might notice that we are missing New Zealand and France….

Horrific Crash

Unfortunately, the weather conditions were not very good during this race weekend.  It was rainy on day 1 and had gusts up to 40 kts which is too high.

On day 1, race 3, turn 1 there was a catastrophic collision between NZ and France.  Read full story here.

NZ was making the turn, was caught by a gust and their rudder came out of the water.  They immediately lost steerage (with no rudder) and the boat made a sharp turn directly in Team France’s path.  There was nothing and no time to react.  Team France’s bow severed Team NZ’s hull right where the crew were located.

One man on Team NZ had compound fractures on both legs.  Another man on Team France had abdominal injuries.  It was a blessing and a true miracle that nobody lost their life.

Racing ceased for the rest of the day.

Links about the Accident:

Catching up with Friends in Auckland

We have several friends that live near Auckland. We had the pleasure of spending time with Tony and Jaqui who live in Long Bay.  They took us to a tasty dinner at Birds of a Feather (Asian Fusion).

The next day we met Brian and Sue from Sea Rose and had a lovely dinner at Portofino near the Viaduct.

Eyes in the Sky

We ran several errands in the “big city” of Auckland. 

First, we stopped in at Costco, then Martha’s Backyard (an American “big box” store) and finally at Drone Depot. 

We had a Mavic 2 Zoom which we purchased 8 years ago.  It is a great drone but it was getting increasingly difficult to find battery replacements.  So, it was time to upgrade. 

The Drone Depot is a well stocked store with super knowledgeable and friendly staff.

They had enormous drones, small drones and everything in between.  Plus every accessory you could ever imagine.

We were considering 3 drones and then narrowed it down to the Mavic Pro 4. 

Now we had to decide on a package or piece meal our accessories.  

In the end we went with a discounted package with a dented box (we never found the dent). 

We swapped out the crappy shoulder bag and went with a Smatree waterproof and shockproof case. We also added a battery and a stick catcher.

The original bundle was going for $6500NZD, but this was discounted to $6200.  Drone Depot offered it to us GST free since we had our T.I.E.  The total cost was $5500 ($3300USD).

A super expensive toy, but one that captures the most amazing photos of our journey.

The top left photo compares our old DJI Mavic 2 Zoom to the new DJI Mavic Pro 4.

We are super excited to try our our new toy and showcase the amazing anchorages we visit.  Stay tuned!

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  We were in Auckland at Sail GP mid-February 2026.