After a week of getting reacclimated to the world of the landlubbers while docked in Opua, I decided I was ready to venture out to Auckland. About a quarter of NZ’s 4+ million inhabitants reside here, so it is quite a change from the little villages in which we’ve spent the last 6 months. I just arrived, so I’m still experiencing a bit of a culture shock. Everyone and everything seem to be moving really fast. The advantages of the city are already apparent, though, as I’m sitting here with the best cup of coffee I’ve had in months using the blazing-fast internet. I’m awaiting the arrival of my Kiwi friend Mel, who I haven’t seen for 11 years! She and I met in Germany when I was there working as an au pair many moons ago, and we really hit it off. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to catch up with her in person and help her celebrate her birthday today.

 

Wes and Tiff also made their way to Auckland this morning to catch their flights back home. Tiff has been counting the days until she is able to see her family, and now she can finally stop counting. She has lived most of her life within a few blocks radius of her family, so she has been quite a trooper coming all this way!

The City of Sails (as viewed from the bus)

The City of Sails (as viewed from the bus)

 

 So we are now in the Eastern hemisphere, but I could swear today that I am back in the West. Granted the Maori culture is prevalent in certain areas of NZ such as up in the Bay of Islands where we met Ants, but here in the city (so far) there is a distinct absence of anything remotely resembling Maori or even Asian heritage (although the population is very diverse). With the skyscrapers and strip malls, it seems like an American city. It’s already having an influence on me…I keep thinking about how I need to get back to work! I found a couple of interesting leads in the newspapers, so we’ll see…

Dallas is holding down the multihulled fort for a couple of days back in Opua. When I return, we will most likely move the boat to a boatyard to get hauled out and take care of some of the major tasks on the boat maintenance list such as the “bottom job” (sanding and repainting the hulls), repairing the starboard trampoline, and having the bow inspected and potentially repaired by a professional. (There was damage to the stainless steel plate and base of the roller furler as a result of pounding into the waves.) In the meantime, he is working on the multitude of minor repairs and taking time out now and then to explore the Northland. Yesterday, for example, Ants came by the boat and took Dallas out pig hunting in the woods! Ants has a couple of very big and mean but well-trained dogs that do the actual killing of the pigs, but alas, Dallas didn’t have a chance to see them in action yesterday. Interestingly, Dallas learned that the NZ Department of Conservation is in the process of poisoning all of the large animals such as the pigs in the area in an effort to restore the original habitat of the area (i.e., primarily birds and fish). Obviously, this places the government at odds with many of the locals such as Ants who rely on the pigs for sustenance, but somehow I think that Ants will always find a way to get by.