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Fulaga, Lau Group: Part 1
Fiji is spread out over quite a large area of ocean and, with limited time to spend here, we are trying to cover the highlights. We decided to head to the most remote location first, as we enjoy the mix of quiet peaceful nature along with cultural experiences, and the Lau Group of islands fits…
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Day 5: Passage from NZ to Fiji
Cora did 2 hours of watch last night, still not feeling great, but pushing herself; I’m proud of her. Winds continued to make frequent shifts. Not great sleep for anyone with the movement and noise. Okay, this is a low point this morning…the seas and winds have now moved more forward of the beam and…
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Day 4: Passage from NZ to Fiji
Temperatures rising. 71 degrees F today, long underwear off and barefeet out. Each day increases just a bit. Needing to top up our batteries, but found that our generator stopped working, as cooling water wasn’t circulating correctly. We ran our boat engine, but this was a very slow and inefficient way to top up batteries.…
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Day 3: Passage from NZ to Fiji
This morning, Code Zero up in light winds. Ahhh, now this is lovely sailing! Not going as fast as before, but feels more peaceful and able to move about the boat much easier. It’s calm enough where Calder can attack the mountain of dishes in the sink. Every morning and evening we check the weather,…
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Day 2: Passage from NZ to Fiji
Woke up to no sight of land, still some seabirds about. We can visually see one sailboat in the distance and are in a “lump” of about 8 boats on our radar and AIS system with many other boats pouring out of NZ behind us. Continuing on with beam seas and winds, which gets a…
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Boat Sweet Boat: Back to Terikah
Back to boat late after helping a friend on SV Linnaea with a haul-out in Whangarei. Home sweet boat – the distinct smell of our boat greeting us, the comfort of the warm wood interior, and a cozy cabin in which to sleep. We all slept great. Next day, busy with work for me and…
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Christchurch, Tekapo, a NZ Hunt, and Kaikoura
Off to Christchurch with our caravan amongst roads filled with orange traffic cones, the sheer number a somewhat contentious topic here between political groups. There is an insane amount of cones, cones every cone length on both sides of the road at times. It’s almost comical. I have to admit that in today’s world, I’m…
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Physical Education Class: Making up for Time on the Water
Heading north to the Dunedin area, we parked for the night at a beachside Freedom Camp near the end of the Otago Peninsula, where we spotted a male sea lion resting in the sand during our evening walk. One of the highlights of our trip was a nighttime little blue penguin tour—there’s nothing cuter than…
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The Healing Power of Nature: Milford Sound and the Catlins
Back to our caravan in Queenstown after our drive from Dunedin, we tucked into 12 Mile Delta Campground outside of Queenstown (featured as Ithilien in LOTR). I took time with my cup of coffee and had an excellent meditative morning. It can be an interesting gift to talk with one’s mortality, reflecting on the best…
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“I’m going on an adventure!”
We head out on a 2-month New Zealand road trip, a combination of tent camping, caravan-towing, and Air BnBs. The car packed to the brim, we left only one hour after planned…on our 5-hour drive to Hobbiton in Matamata. Hobbit: “Bilbo, where you off to?” Bilbo Baggins: “I’m already late.” Hobbit: “Late for what?” Bilbo…