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Hi

Now time to leave the travel blog, for more updates on us "trying to be normal" see Facebook Neil Michell.

"Farewell and thanks for all the fish"

(Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy)

Merry Christmas from Auckland

Jacque, Chloe, Ivan, Neil & Cheryl "Farewell to freedom, back to work" party on board Camelot.

Christmas parade Auckland

Santa, downtown Auckland.

Megan, Brian, John & Annette..... lovely friends in Warkworth NZ

Dock on right, marina walkway, on left, Ferry to Auckland.......easy peasy!

View of our marina from the road behind us shows marina and Auckland across the water.

Fiona, Rory, Arend & Isobel,( living in Auckland) family of our very good friends Tessa & John in San Francisco

Merry Christmas and happy New year.

It's all go here, new country, new jobs lots of new things to do & find out.

Have not taken the boat out for a sail around yet, its too busy with all the Kiwi's out & about in their boats enjoying the Christmas holidays.

Everyday here at the marina, the locals pour down the docks with huge cartloads of food & booze to take out on their trips.

We'll wait until the big rush is over. There are quite a few islands to visit just off the coast, some have small towns and wineries on, others nice hikes and cycle routes.  

Boatyard blues..........

Yes we've got the boatyard blues.

We are high & dry "on the hard" as us boaters call being out of the water.

We are in a town called Warkworth about 30 miles north of Auckland. The yard is way up the Mahurangi river.

Usually we don't mind being in the yard, but this time we had torrential rain holding up progress initially, and now as of today one of the top painters on the crew ( Jackie ) is incapacitated and can't go near the paint.

Had an allergic reaction to all the toxic stuff in the yard, so had to be invalided out to a beautiful local bed & breakfast!!

(Yes I spent hours during the night punching myself in the eyes to make them swell up, the wheezing and tongue swelling took a little more ingenuity to pull off!)

Seriously Neil is having to finish off the painting on his own, which is hard work, but I did book a room with a huge bath so he can soak his aching muscles.

Back in the water soon, hopefully I can stand the fumes for the time it takes to relaunch the boat.

Off to our new home ........Bayswater marina, and starting work Monday Dec 14th.

DEJA VU!!!

Cetacea with Old and new owners.

Cetacea with old and new owners.

Captain of the Land yacht.

Had the shock of our lives last Sunday, went to check out our new marina in Bayswater (opposite the city) and look who we found lurking in the slips...........CETACEA!!!

Cetacea was the first boat we owned . We bought her, and sailed her through the Bahamas and Caribbean, then we sold her in Florida in 2003, and now she's HERE!.

Of all the harbours in all the world, we found her here!

Now just have to keep an eye open for Voyager ( our second boat) and the "family" will be reunited.

Here are Brian and Clare Cetacea's new owners, they sailed her from Florida a few years ago, they added a wind steering vane and radar, and set off

We had fun telling them the stories behind each scratch and scuff ..........and there are plenty of stories!

They also added baby Quinn, so they are staying here for now.

The last photo is of our new "land Yacht" a Toyota Camry we bought the other day..........really makes a difference having a car,

no more rationing shopping etc on the grounds of not being able to carry the weight on the bike, also enjoying getting reacquainted with Auckland and surrounding area.

Auckland at last.

Bay of island Oysters served by a couple of "pearls".

Bay of islands.

Whangarei marina on the river.

Peacock, and very plain Peahen Kawau island.

Peacock Mansion house bay Kawau island.

Wallaby Kawau island.

Old Coppermine Kawau island.

Catch of the day.....Kawau island.

Sauntered into Auckland harbour yesterday after a run down from Kawau island.

It's all business now, rushing around getting work visas, car etc etc.

Opua New Zealand

Bay of Islands New Zealand.

"Anzac" the customs dog.

Boarded by customs offshore.

They ask permission, but I wouldn't like to say no!

Squall alert!!!

Norfolk island.

Dock party, cruisers and locals Norfolk island.

Norfolk island........notice red and blue parrot in foreground.

Cascade bay Norfolk island.......sailors you can see why it can get rolly in here.

Trying to download important documents via wifi in bright sunlight!

Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Highest point, Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Kuta Bay Isle of Pines New Caledonia.

Relaxing in Opua marina and watching the daily arrivals from the rest of the South Pacific, at least 5-6 boats daily chug in for clearance.

Of course we are having to celebrate with all our old friends as they roll up, its a terrible trial !

In between boat cleaning and celebrating we've been busy hiking and cycling.

The weather has been lovely so far, sunny & settled.........it won't last, a front is forecast and we hope the boats heading in from Fiji will make it in port before the big blow.

On Monday we start the work visa process, and have to go to Whangarei and Auckland to submit paperwork, we'll hire a car or buy one to do this, so the partying will  be over !!

Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?......04/11/09

Yes we bloody are!!!!
Arrived in Opua New Zealand this morning, November 4th.
Our weather was good for the trip, so we consider ourselves lucky.
Some other boats are still out there and the storm is on its way. We're tucked up nice and cozy in the Marina.
Later on we'll crack the champagne and start reminiscing about the 12,468 nautical miles we've done.