Minerva Reef

Question: What looks tropical, feels tropical, but isn't tropical?

Answer: Minerva Reef

Lying some 60 miles south of the Tropic of Capricorn, North Minerva Reef is just barely subtropical--and at about 2/3 of the distance from New Zealand to either Tonga or Fiji, North and South Minerva Reefs provide convenient stopovers to break up that 1100 mile trip. North Minerva is particularly popular, with a clear pass into the lagoon and few underwater hazards once inside.

North Minerva Reef from less than a mile away;
it's unsafe to approach without accurate GPS readings--and sharp eyes--since it is barely visible

Going through the pass;
it looks nerve-wracking with breaking waves at the sides,
but near slack tides the center is clear

It's a sunken volcanic cone, almost perfectly circular and about 2 miles across; inside, protected by the reef, the water is usually relatively calm. Parts of the reef get exposed at low tide, but most of the time all that's visible is a huge surround of breaking waves, accompanied by the constant rumble of surf. More interesting is the way it feels: how bizarre, to be anchored in the middle of the ocean!

Question: What does one do in the middle of nowhere for a week?

Answers:

Putter around doing projects from the low priority list

Installing a cockpit light;
not a necessary item, but enhances evening activities while anchored

Read something besides manuals and guidebooks. I finished and Art started Ellen MacArthur's autobiography, "Taking on the World"--the young Briton who raced around the globe single-handed when she was only 24. Such courage, such stamina, such passion! An inspiration to all, not just sailors.

Play Bach on my violin...

Spend the day in stitches

Adding webbing to reinforce a corner of the genoa

Replacing a zipper for one of the cockpit enclosure panels

Count the boats in the Minerva Reef Yacht Club

Yes, it's a joke, since there's absolutely nothing there--but enough boats transit every year that there is a MYRC t-shirt available in New Zealand!

There was just 1 other boat in the lagoon when we arrived, and 4 when we left--but at its peak, there were 32 boats anchored inside (due in part to weather changes, and the presence of not one but two groups of boats traveling together to Fiji). Some boats we knew, some we didn't, but there was definitely a feeling of community.

"Hey! Who moved the clubhouse?!"

Walk on the reef at low tide

Oceanfront property

50' of water inside the lagoon, and over 1600' outside

Wading through the warm pools we found darting fish,
sea slugs, anemones, sea urchins, and large blue-lipped oysters

One of our Best Days Ever

Another day we planned to go back, but couldn't: a 17' ocean swell arrived from a strong system in New Zealand, bringing crashing surf that made the edge inaccessible (and the lagoon water quite choppy!).

Change anchorage locations when the wind changes

Sailors don't like to be anchored on a lee shore; if the anchor drags--infrequent, but possible--the boat will end up on the rocks. Prudent sailors keep themselves out of that situation by anchoring "close to the wind" whenever possible.

 

Anchorage #1, light SE wind
Anchorage #2, fresh NNW wind
Anchorage #3, strong SW wind

View from Anchorage #1

View from Anchorage #2
(all just looks like water, doesn't it?)

View from Anchorage #3
(definitely more wind & wave action)

Watch the world turn

Sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, stars and planets (Mars looking so very red!) moving across the sky, with everything reflected in the water...

 

Sunset (or was this sunrise?);
the edge of the reef is barely visible as a large wave on the horizon

We felt what it was like not to go somewhere, but to be somewhere. Living for a week in the middle of the ocean, Minerva Reef was a unique and precious experience.

Quick Update: Where We'll Be, and How You'll Know

We arrived in Opua on April 20, ready to depart from New Zealand in the first good weather window. We'll be looking for a high pressure center over the Tasman Sea with corresponding SW winds here (to carry us off the coast), with no low pressure cells (= potential cyclones) forming up in the tropics. Though right the forecasts don't look promising, veterans of this trip say these conditions usually occur for a short time in late April/early May--a good thing, since our visas expire on May 10. 

We should arrive at Minerva Reef about a week after leaving New Zealand--so if it looks like we've stopped in the middle of the ocean, it's because we have!  From there it's about 3 days to Tongatapu (Tonga's main island), then on to spend about a month in Tonga's Ha'apai Group of small islands.

The following couple of months--approximately early July to early September--we'll be in Fiji. As always, weather and local activities will shape the itinerary, but right now we plan to spend much of October in Vanuatu, then make a couple of stops in New Caledonia before heading back to New Zealand in early November (2016).

When we are making a passage, I send daily position reports via SSB radio to the Pacific Seafarer's Net. You can track us by going to their website:

   http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps_reporting_boat_list

Search for KG7HKF (the list is organized by ham radio call sign, then vessel name). Like last year, I won't send daily reports when we're anchored, though I do update the location when we move from one anchorage to another. I'll also upload photos on the blog whenever I find good internet access, which can be a rare thing...

We do think of our family and friends out there, and we enjoy knowing you think about us!

Is a blog post complete without photos? Here are a couple peeks at voyage preparation:

6 months of staples: planned & purchased, soon to be stowed

A visit to the hairdresser

                                                                                                        

NZ: Top 5 Things We'll Miss

THE PEOPLE

They are unassuming, practical, skilled, helpful. generous, good-humored, and incredibly friendly (except when behind the wheel of a car).

Who wouldn't like a country that produces its own soft drink,
proudly labeled "World Famous in New Zealand"?

And where freshly baked pies--
meat pies, that is--
are the most common fast food?

Two of our favorite kiwis: Rod & Brenda on State of Mind, our closest neighbors at Riverside Drive Marina. 

When they're not sailing the Pacific,
Brenda works at Whangarei Hospital...

...and Rod bikes to his job at Norsand Boatyard.
He built the sailboat they live on

BUSH WALKS

Ferns! Huge shrub ferns, tall tree ferns, gigantic fronds overhead and a myriad varieties underfoot; it's no wonder the fern is NZ's national icon.

View down into the forest canopy;
these fronds are about 3' wide and 8' long

Bird songs! With no original land mammals as natural predators, NZ boasts a spectacular array of birds--many of them ground-dwellers--that developed long and melodious calls. We can't begin to count the number of times we stopped in our tracks just to listen to their music.

At this site you can hear recordings of two of our favorites, the tui and the bellbird. The dawn choruses are delightful; also try the Bellbird/korimako group and the Chatham Island tui song:

www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/bird-songs-and-calls/ 

MAORI SONGS AND DANCES

Speaking of music, we never ceased to be moved by the kapa haka (group performances) throughout Aotearoa ("land of the long white cloud", the Maori name for New Zealand). With the resurgence of Maori culture and language--we actually learned quite a few words ourselves--there is great pride in continuing their traditions.

Many schools have their own kapa haka groups, and all we heard were excellent; these young students are singing and dancing at the Auckland Pasifika Festival.

Recordings are sadly rare, but it's worth checking out videos on YouTube. Some samples:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olO3K_BtVX8  

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neTjlWb8DHM 

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Zjgj9x4Yc

(The constantly 'fluttering' hands are symbolic: "where there is motion, there is life".) 

KIWI ENGLISH     

     "G'dai, mate!"

     "Headed out for a sweet as bush tramp?"

     "Yees. Kit's ready and I packed heaps of gouder, sultanas, and biscuits."

     "Kahl going with you?"

     "Don't think so. Sahr him yeesterday and he had bits chucked everywhere, his torch was buggered and rah rah rah. It's not likely he'll sort it out."

     "Beeter for you; he likes leevel tracks anyway."

     "I'm kinder the same, but I'll just pop by for a flat white from the dairy and everything will be tickityboo."

     "Good on ya!"

     "Cheers, bro!"

Between the accent and the colloquialisms, we had a hard time at first trying to decipher what people were saying. Now we rarely miss anything, though occasionally Aht Shore*

still has wee troubles...

*Art Shaw

Translation:

                "Hi, buddy!
                "Headed out for a terrific forest hike?"

                "Yes. My gear is ready and I packed a lot of gouda, raisins, and  cookies."

                "Karl going with you?"

                "Don't think so. Saw him yesterday and he had stuff tossed everywhere, his flashlight was broken, and blah blah blah. It's not likely he'll get it taken care of."

                "Better for you; he likes level trails anyway."

                "I'm kinda the same, but I'll just stop by for a coffee with cream from the convenience store and everything will be just fine."

                "Good for you!"

                "See ya!"

WHANGAREI

Whangarei: Love it Here! It's the city's slogan, and one we repeated often; we love it here! It's a complete package, with everything we could need or want: specialty stores and services that could fix/make/supply absolutely anything, most within walking distance; easy access to all kinds of food; an active art and music scene; heaps of scenic activities nearby; and a close-knit cruising community.
As icing on the cake, we even got New Zealand driver's licenses and Whangarei library cards: home away from home.

Town Basin, with a photogenic marina in its midst;
an Arts Market flourished on Saturday mornings on the Canopy Bridge in the background

When we waded into nearby Waipu Caves and turned our torches off,
we found a living galaxy of glowworms overhead

The Riverside Drive Marina gang gathered for a potluck BBQ every Sunday evening.
I often played a tune or two; for our last night,
Art joined me on the ukulele that David Ingalls made for us

 NEW ZEALAND: LOVE IT HERE!

NZ: Great Barrier Island

Our target date to leave Whangarei was April 11, and after all the boat work we'd done for several months, we were ready to go. Great Barrier Island beckoned: a wild and scenic place with many secluded anchorages, the 45-mile trip provided an ideal sea trial for Second Wind  (and ourselves) after being tied to a dock for so long.

We did take care of a few tasks while there--e.g. re-starting the watermaker, which shouldn't be operated in a harbor area--but it was primarily a last chance to steep ourselves in the native bush we've come to love so much.

                    

The ferry from Auckland, which comes just once a week now that it's autumn,
dwarfs the small wharf at Port FitzRoy

Port FitzRoy is made up of a general store, a nurse's cottage, and a one-room library, 
pictured here; what else could a village need?

A waterfall near Akapoua Bay; the hike wasn't long, 
but did involve fording a stream several times

The famous silver fern is green on top, but silver on the undersides. 
Laying overturned fronds on the ground helped guide Maori on trails at night

I've always liked photos of people on trails with packs on their backs

Second Wind in Kaiaraara Bay (yes, that is spelled correctly), one of the many picturesque and protected anchorages within Port FitzRoy Harbour (yes, that's spelled correctly also)

On one of the best hikes we've ever taken, we expected the destination to look like this:

In the kauri logging days, the huge cut trees were floated behind this dam;
when the water was released, the logs crashed downstream into the bay far below
(this photo is from a brochure)

...when in fact it looked like this. Two years ago a major storm washed away much of the trail and most of the remnants of the dam.

It took a year, 10 bridges--including 3 high suspension bridges--and 618 stairs
to rebuild the 2-mile trail. Kiwis take their tramping seriously!

After being logged almost to extinction, kauri are now protected. Cutting is prohibited, and stations to clean shoes before entering trails help guard against disease.

 Scenes from the trail:

 At the end of the day, we returned to the beach for happy hour,
while being serenaded by a tui bird

(could there be gin & tonics in those thermoses?!)

There is nothing at Whangaparapara Harbour but a small lodge, a few scattered houses, 
a wharf, and a shed with trail maps and used books to trade. 
Time has stood still there; we were enchanted.

Having a beer at the lodge;
though it's busy in the summer, we were their only customers on that fall day

For our last hike in New Zealand--this year, anyway--we headed to Kaitoke Hot Springs.
The trail's boardwalk through a swamp was an interesting change of pace...

..and the hot springs, essentially a warm bath in the woods, were deliciously relaxing

Why not end with another waterfall photo? 
In a place where there are countless streams and the terrain is steep, waterfalls are common