Tag Archives: whangarei

Kiwi Fun

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It is difficult to live and work on the boat while she is on the hard in the boat yard.  We wake up and start working right away (0700) and then work until the sun goes down (2000).  We work on the weekends on projects that don’t get in the way of the contractors.  Work work work.  So, we periodically have to blow off some steam with a little Kiwi fun.

The Seaside Sirens

There was a flyer on the bulletin board outside the boat yard office that caught my eye. It was an advertisement for a one night only show of the Seaside Sirens.  Intrigued I googled it and to my surrpise it was a cabaret.  Oh ya, sign me up for this type of Kiwi fun!  I called a few friends and dragged them along with us.

We stopped by the Quay for a cocktail prior to the show.  Daniela, Mirko (on Yum Yum) and Kara joined Matt and I.  Check out my pretty drink (lower left) called the Autumn Sun.

The Seaside Sirens are mer people and the two sailors have been caught under their spell to do their bidding.  The live band called “The Otherlies” were land based but worked with the mer people in exchange for favors.

And then the show began!  It is not a strip show per se, but they do strip down to pasties.  They had performers dancing, singing, performing on a pole, silks, large ring, and with a hula hoop.

It was serious fun with great laughs and loads of entertainment.  The performers were lovely and put on a great show!

It ended at 8:30pm and we were all starving.  We stopped by several eateries which were open but their kitchens were closed.  Finally we found Loco, a Mexican place that fed us and wrapped up our night.  Kiwi’s know how to put on a good show but they need their restaurants to stay open past 8:30pm!

Welcome Cruiser Party

Whangarei throws an amazing party each year to welcome the new cruisers to Whangarei, NZ!  This year I had the pleasure of assisting (albeit very little) Kara from Town Basin Marina.  The party was held at Aqua Restaurant located at the Hundertwasser Museum.  It was great fun seeing old and new cruiser friends.  Upper left is Kara and I and upper right are two of the amazing performers.

The most spectacular Maori group, Hatea Kapa Haka Group  performed and they did not disappoint!  They take my breath away, brought me to tears with a Maori version of Ava Maria and showcased their local traditions and songs.  It was spectacular.

Christmas Tree Farm

It was nearing Christmas and our friend Kara from Town Basin Marina asked us to come along to get her Christmas tree.  We went to an actual Christmas Tree farm called “Crane Road Christmas Trees.”   The family had a beautiful ranch style home overlooking their gorgeous farm!

Oh how I wish I could have brought home a tree to the boat!  But even though they were “small” in American standards (between 4-6′) they were way too big for our boat.  But they smelled devine and they keep all of their trees in buckets full of water.  

Kara found a beautiful, round tree that we gently stuffed into her car and brought to her house.  She did a fabulous job decorating!

After our tree farm we went to Parua Tavern for a tasty lunch!  Check out this super fun mailbox.

Me having a little fun with a NZ phone booth in Whangarei.  I don’t know how to actually make a call from this phone.

I purchased a wooden vase in Panama for cheap and have been using it on the boat on the rare occasions I get flowers.  It has cracked in several places so I commissioned a new vase out of Rewarewa wood (native NZ tree) and it came out beautiful (the darker vase).

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This show was 22 November.  Our last blog post documented our rudder rebuild, did you read it?

A Whangarei Christmas

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We headed to Town Basin Marina after we splashed.  It was no surprise to find that the Christmas cheer was in full swing!

We quickly put up a few lights and decorations.  Nothing compared to last year.  But I had to do something as I was judging the annual Christmas Boat Light extravaganza.  We did not have much time to do our full decorating, but we showed a little spirit.  if you recall, we won “Overall Best Boat” last year so I had a repuation to uphold.

The judges met for dinner at Local Talent, then headed to a cruiser’s boat called Rewa for drinks while we waited for sunset at 8:34pm!  Yes, it is summer here and the days are long!

Bribing the judges is strongly encouraged so we were gifted with lots of snacks, treats, and cocktails along the way.

Santa is played by Dave on the Rewa, Sharon is in the beautiful red dress next to santa.  The mayor of Whangarei is dressed in his royalty best and Matt was awarded Grinch of the year.

Santa asked that I be the bell ringer.  This was a really heavy and very loud bell.  After an hour everyone was tired of it but Santa insisted I keep ringing it – so ring I did.  That is until the mayor decided it was enough (around 10:30pm) and stuffed it with a shirt to quiet it down.

Lots of boats got into the holiday spirit with music, dancing, lights, and decorations.  It was a really great night!

A week before Christmas I finally got our decorations out.  It was killing me not being in the holiday spirit.  I feel so much better with them out.

Christmas Cookie Galor

I carried on the tradition of baking cookies for friends.  I used to do this with the ladies in our family when I was young and ever since I had my own kitchen I’ve carried out the tradition.  This year I went a little overboard with over 800 cookies (gingerbread, white mice, sugar cookies, peppermint bark), 3 batches of Toffee and 2 batches of caramel fudge!

I put together 12 gift boxes for cruising and local friends!

Myt friend Kara came over to help decorate the large sugar cookies which will be presented on Christmas day.  It was so much fun having her help to decorate – she brought her “A” game!

Of course we had the cookie monster there to help too.

There was some rose wine helping spur our creative side.

And the final product of 60 sugar cookies decorated in a rainbow of colors and designs.

A New Zealand Summer Sunrice from our dock at Town Basin Marina.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events normally.  But I moved this blog post ahead of the rest so that it coincided with the actual holiday season.

Sweet As….New Zealand

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New Zealand, specifically Whangarei, has been our home for the past 8 months.  We have had an amazing time exploring this beautiful country, meeting new friends, and getting lots of much needed work done on our beloved Sugar Shack.  As our Kiwi friends say, ‘sweet as’ time!  “Sweet as” means “good, right, ok, excellent, great… in Kiwi”

Sugar Shack spent most of her time tied to the dock at Town Basin Marina while she got her make over.  Many locals knew us by Sugar Shack as she was a constant for so long.

Lots of Work Done:

We managed to get a lot of work done on Sugar Shack.  The boat was under construction and in complete chaos for nearly 6 months.  

  1. (2) New Lithium House Batteries
  2. (5) New windows on the cabin
  3. Rebedded all of the other windows and painted protective covering
  4. New Dinghy and new chaps to cover her
  5. New Interior cushions
  6. New Exterior cushions
  7. New Cockpit enclosure
  8. New Main sail and Genoa (by North Sails)
  9. New Stack pack
  10. New Stainless Steel countertops
  11. New Ceiling panels and new interior lights
  12. New artwork and pillow covers

She looks like a new boat….almost.  Just a few more things to do when we come back.  Sweet as!  You are probably thinking…what “come back?”  Yep, we decided to come back to New Zealand next season (which is just a few short months away).

Next Season

New Zealand has the expertise and resources to work on Sugar Shack.  So, we decided to come back to replace our bottom paint with copper coat.  This requires highly skilled workers to apply the copper coat properly. We are also considering a wrap around Sugar Shack to make the side of the hulls look better.  Still in the researching and contemplating stages on the wrap.

Hopefully, we will come back, haul out for a few weeks, then spend the rest of our time sailing around New Zealand as opposed to sitting at the dock.

But with a nightly view as sweet as this…who can complain?

Our blogs run 10-12 weeks behind actual events.  We left New Zealand in early July.