Although we have been missing our families during the holiday season, we’ve been lucky to enjoy some great experiences here in New Zealand.  After Christmas in Auckland, we spent a few days back in Tauranga doing some small boat projects and getting ready for Lauren’s parents to visit before heading off to bring in the new year with friends in Raglan.

We also had a mechanic stop by the boat to have a quick look at the port engine.  Hopefully he’ll be able to make sure things are in order while the boat is at the yard and we’re out visiting the south island.  There are basically three problems we’re working on.  The first is that the low oil pressure alarm has been going off since the Galapagos.  I assumed it was the oil pressure regulator because we’d just had to replace it in Panama, but it may be the sensor.  So far, after going off consistently all across the Pacific, it has refused to act up with an oil pressure gauge on it here in New Zealand.  I bought one and have it installed now, so we can see exactly what’s going on next time the alarm goes off.  The second problem is that the engine seemed to get hard to start and lose power (0.5-1.0 knots slower than the starboard engine at 2400 rpms) at about the same time on the way down from Tonga.  That seemed a bit odd as it was just rebuilt before leaving Florida, but luckily the mechanic didn’t think it is a compression issue.  We’ll take a look at the fuel pump/injection system to make sure things are OK there.  While we were troubleshooting the oil pressure problem in Opua, we noticed that the transmission was having a little trouble going into gear.  It sounds like that’s going to require taking the transmission apart to have a look, but at least the timing is good — we’re near a mechanic and not planning to do any travelling with the boat for a couple of months.  It seem like we’re on track to have all of our major repairs completed by the end of January, which would be nice.  The last project before leaving for Raglan was to put a new zinc on the starboard prop shaft.  When we were out troubleshooting the port engine a few days ago I noticed it had gone missing.  A cold dip in the murky marina water wasn’t high on my list of fun things to do in the morning, but I didn’t have any intimate jellyfish encounters and it’s done.

This expression means I failed at talking Lauren into jumping in and installing the new zinc

For New Year’s Eve, we headed to Raglan, a small town on the west coast of the North Island that is famous for its left-handed surfing waves.  Although we had several boards at our disposal, the winds were a little too strong for the surfing to be good so we only had a quick peek at the famous waves while drving through town.  Antoine, who we met in Niue when he was crewing on a sailboat and then saw again in Tonga, is living there for a while and invited us and several other cruisers and friends over to celebrate.  Antoine is younger than us, but he’s now the “father” of a house with a great view overlooking the water and rugged countryside.  We had a pretty international crew that included people from New Zealand, the US, Germany, Sweden, France, Canada, and the Czech Republic.  Leo from Disa and the Avel Mad crew were there as well as Ash, a great Kiwi guy we met in Tonga as he was preparing for his first passage on a Moorings delivery to New Zealand.  In addition to making some new friends and having a great New Years, we enjoyed a couple of the most relaxed and enjoyable days we’ve had in a long time, which is saying something for us.  The people you meet while travelling really make the trip so much more enjoyable than it would be if you were just checking off the list of local tourist attractions.  Most of the others were travellers as well, although Antoine is staying put long enough to work and earn some money.  We stopped by the fish & chips place where he’s working to get some ice cream (ice cream is even bigger here than in the states) and remind ourselves what it looks like to work and earn some money.  We all got a kick out of it, especially since he was working hard on a busy New Year’s Day with only an hour or so of sleep in a noisy house full of people.

The view from Antoine’s place at low tide (the square at the left is a Kiwi tide/sun pool)

High tide

Lauren looking beautiful in her New Year’s formal wear

House father Antoine (left) is always in the center of things when the dancing becomes inspired and innovative

Add limbo champ to Leo’s continually expanding list of talents

We’re picking Lauren’s parents up in the morning at the airport here in Auckland, which is pretty exciting, especially for Lauren.  On the way here we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls which is a short drive from Raglan.  The walk to the falls was short, which was a little disappointing as it’s always pleasant to spend some time hiking here, but the waterfall was impressive.  It’s about 180 ft high and you’re able to see it from the top and bottom thanks to a nice set of stairs.  It turns out most of the people from the Antoine’s house had the same idea.  By chance, we all arrived about the same time, so we said our goodbyes after seeing the waterfall.  Hopefully we’ll see some of them again at some point while we’re here.

Bridal Veil Falls

Get your very own 2010 Pura Vida calendar! If you have enjoyed checking out the photos of the idyllic South Pacific islands, then you will appreciate having their beauty captured on the wall of your home or office. Calendars are $20, paid through paypal, which covers printing on heavy cardstock paper and shipping. Just send Lauren an email (lricherson@hotmail.com) if you are interested, and your calendar will be mailed to you via U.S.P.S.

Thanks for your support of Pura Vida and her crew!