Cruising with Becky, New Zealand

35 44.393S 174 20.339E

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Posting by Barb:

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So you all know that based on our previous blog postings that our trip from Fiji to New Zealand with Becky was a ‘cake’ walk. The only thing we worried about was running out of fuel. The only thing Becky worried about was catching that one last fish. Yes, Becky actually wanted more fish. Well 2 days before landing in New Zealand we did catch a Yellow Fin Tuna and it was a Big One!!

Becky spent 3 weeks with us in New Zealand. During the 3 weeks stay we did have to haul boat out at Dockland 5 so we couldn’t go very far. The weather was cool and Becky even thought it was freezing. That was before she arrived back in Minneapolis!

We celebrated Thanksgiving on the boat and managed to find and buy a small turkey to cook. It was so long since we had had turkey and the smell of it roasting in the oven  brought back so many family Christmas / Thanksgiving dinner memories!

 

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We did one road trip that took us all the way to Cap Reinga. We drove the car a little way on the famous Ninety Mile beach and ended up with a flat tire. Has anybody ever tried to change a flat tire on a beach? Well it cant be done. The tide was rising so we had to drive off the beach. We demolished the tire getting back on the access road and then drove the rest of the weekend on a little spare.

 

 

 

 

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We made it to the famous giant Te Paki sand dunes. Dennis, Bill, Ella I had already been there but with Becky we managed to work up the nerve to actually try the sand surfing. It was a long hike to the top and then we flew down the sand waves. Denny gave me a great tip to stay far behind the board so I didn’t get a face full of sand. The challenge was to go downhill without dragging the feet to slow us down but neither one of met that challenge. Doing a ‘sand’ face plant at a fast speed was not that appealing to either one of us.

DSC_5273DSC_5337We did the usual tourist stops which included Cape Reinga and a visit to Tane Mahuta, Lord of the
Forest, New Zealands oldest Kauri tree.

 

 

 

DSC_5300DSC_5318But one of Becky’s favorite stops was visit to Parrot Place. We played and fed the beautiful birds. Becky wanted to figure out a way of smuggling a parrot back to Minneapolis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DSC_5397 One can’t go to New Zealand with at least spending one day in Auckland. Aside from the shopping and dining we did visit the Sky Tower. The view from the top was impressive. If it wasn’t for the cost we may have almost convinced Becky to bungee jump from the top. But all we did instead was sit at a window seat in the café  and occasionally see people flash by screaming as they fell to the bottom, attached to their bungee cords of course.

DSC_5415Naturally we had to do the signature picture from Mount Eden. Every one of our guests visiting us in New Zealand will have their picture taken from this spot, the one of many volcano craters in Auckland.

As the weather in New Zealand started warming up and one could actually sit out on the beach it was time for Becky to head home to the ‘real’ cold.  We loved having Becky on Landfall!DSC_7202

 

 

 

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