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S/V Freya
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...click on the small photos for larger versions...
Sailing south from Opua to Whangarei, we pass the Hole In The
Rock. A tourist boat made the hole when surf threw it into the rock. Hmmm,
no... |
In Whangarei we spent 4 weeks on various fix-its, including rebuilding
the base of our compression post. This post sits under the mast and supports
it. |
Rotted wood and broken fibreglass was cut out of the bilge. The
blue line shows where the new base will be constructed. |
We combined high-density foam and fibreglass to form a new base.
When we later put the mast back up, the compression post took the weight without
sinking. Yippee! Oh yes, a lot of flooring had been pulled up. |
All was not work in Whangarei. Here's the Friday night potluck
BBQ and sailboat races. Most of the homebuilt entries failed to cross the
finish line - the skippers later consoled themselves with copious brewskies. |
Barb & I drove to Auckland to pick up my parents, flying in
for a 5-week visit to NZ. Kiwis are keen on sailing, as can be seen by the
thousands of masts at the marina in this photo. |
It was a picture-perfect day when my folks arrived. From -18C
winter to +20C summer: ahhhhh! |
We drove a few hours from Auckland up the Coromandel peninsula,
to acclimatize and do some tramping. |
A 45-minute clamber up to the top of Castle Rock promised great
views. However, 10 metres from the summit a nasty squall hit, wiping out visibility
and making the descent rather slippery. Crikey! |
One small town has made its mark from the many corrugated-metal
sculptures scattered around. |
These sculptures contained washrooms, the tourist office, and
various businesses. |
Seeing this sign, I had a fantastic idea for the next product
that SPE should diversify into. (I used to work at SPE. And, no, I don't
miss work yet :-) |
A cute little skink |
Around Rotorua there's lots of volcanic activity. We spent the
night at one holiday park that featured its own boiling mud pit. |
Being later in the summer now, the water temperature has improved. |
Bjarne and Mom cavort in the surf. |
Near Thames on the Coromandel Peninsula we tramped past many abandoned
gold mine shafts. Here's one that I wandered a few dozen metres into. Alas,
no leftover gold. |
Nocturnal Cave Wetas are plentiful on the cave ceilings. Creepy,
but not harmful - they eat insects. The biggest Weta species can grow to 10
cm. |
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S/V Hoku Pa'a 1000 DeCosta Pl. Victoria, BC Canada V9A 6Y3 |
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