After almost a month at Stewart Island, we’re back at the Middle Island.(Some would call this the South Island but to me, that’s disrespectful of Stewart Island which may not have a big city but is quite consequential.) We have internet again so we’ll start posting some of the things we couldn’t while out in the wilderness.
Just before we left, we learned that a clean boat certificate is required to go to Fiordland. We didn’t end up going there, but we didn’t know it at the time, so we put the GoPro on our boat pole for a look around our bottom. All was well, except for our rudder. We tried to do a quick haul-out but the yard was fully booked. That necessitated this descent into the icy harbor depths.
Bottom Cleaning in Dunedin
I was already cold to start with and our ride out of the harbor required this attire…
Dressed for the cold, and not happy about it!
No, this wouldn’t be my first venture into the water down in the roaring forties. I’d get mostly in, once by necessity and once by choice. At Stewart Island, backing to a mooring to tie up our stern was the reason for the necessary plunge. Well, not really a plunge: I was able to lay in the dinghy and lean over with my mask and snorkel on to untangle the line in the prop.
Shortly after we’d arrived at Stewart Island, a fisherman gave us a bag of beautiful trumpeter fish fillets and two abalone (called by their Māori name here – Pāua). Wow. He also told us that they were plentiful and at low tide, we wouldn’t even have to get in the water. A light bulb went on. Maybe I could use my propeller untangling technique?
The next day at low tide, off we went in the dinghy. I didn’t see any at the first spot. At the next spot, I found one and dropped it. At the third spot, I stuck my face in the water and below me was a rock with about eight abalone, all out in the open. I was able to grab two large ones on the first plunge and that was all we needed.
Burr! But so worth it. Even the difficult preparation was worth it. The good news is that I could get warmed up with the vigorous pounding required.
On a walk a few days later with people we’d met on a boat called Sur-reel, we learned that I was a fool. An upper body plunge was not required. They showed us that by simply wading among the rocks off the beach at low tide, we could bend down and secure an abalone dinner.
I was so happy to have abalone again, I seriously thought about moving to Stewart Island. Subsequently, a couple days of rain nixed that idea.
For a little while, I thought this might be the only view I’d get of New Zealand’s true South Island. But the sun would come out again, we’d get more abalone and I’d start making house-hunting plans. -Rich
We’re back in the world of internet (mostly). We spent the last two weeks in the wilderness of Port Pegasus and southern Stewart Island and have only been able to post on YIT via satellite phone. For those who didn’t follow us on YIT, here’s what we posted from last to first…
We made it to the big city! Well, I guess it has about the same population, not including tourists, as our dock back in Tauranga, but after a couple of weeks in the wilderness, it’s a big city for us.
What did we do there? Got lunch of course, and shopped at the Four Square. It’s a bit of a trek up and down a hill to get to Oban, especially carrying eight bottles of wine, but we needed the exercise.
Oban is a cute little town. We didn’t get to explore much. We got a break in the rain and took off for home. Maybe tomorrow as it looks like rain and wind today.
By the way, there’s plenty of room to anchor here. We were needlessly worried about that.
Sun Mar 24 7:57 2019 NZDT
47 02.854s 168 10.495e
We took a tour in Legacy of Port Adventure yesterday and ended up in the Heron River for the night. Nice spot. We’re anchored in a small, deep hole (7 meters deep) and tied to a tree on shore. “Did you get more Paua?” you ask. Why, yes we did. This time, just wading ankle deep at the rocky end of a beach. “Haven’t you had enough yet?” you ask. NO! For us, there’s no such thing as enough, and there are plenty here.
Sat Mar 23 7:45 2019 NZDT
47 03.63s 168 10.21e
We moved to a nice anchorage in Port Adventure that’s called Abraham’s Bosom or Redsand Cove depending on where we look. There’s a mooring buoy in the middle of the most ideal anchorage area but there’s still room around the edges. A tale of two abalone: Yesterday morning at low tide, while we were still in Lords River, we took the dinghy to a kelp bed. I took off my jacket and shirt, put on my mask, and was able to get two abalone by just hanging my head and arms over the front of the dinghy (Cyndi sitting on my legs as a counter balance). What a dinner! This place is paradise!
Fri Mar 22 8:45 2019 NZDT
We were expecting some wind last night so we tucked into a spot the Mana Cruising Guide for Stewart Island calls “The Nook”. We had some shallow water getting here but we anchored (and as usual, tied back to a line already here) in 17 feet of water (5 meters). It’s another great spot. For future reference of those using YIT’s incredible Destination Planner, I’ll say that The Nook is a Stewart Island must-do.
The sun came out yesterday and it was warm! We sat around in tee-shirts and shorts… And bug spray, although they don’t seem to like the sun. When it comes out, they disappear. It got to 77f in the cabin (25C). It was like being back in Fiji again! Well, I guess it wasn’t quite that warm.
We might move on to Port Adventure today. The name certainly sounds intriguing.
Thu Mar 21 7:36 2019 NZDT
47 06.304s 168 07.759e
We moved from Port Pegasus to Lords River, about 12 miles east. What can I say… another day, another beautiful bay. A beautiful bay with a bonus: as we were coming in, we slowed down to talk to three guys on a little tinny. They asked if we’d been getting any fresh fish. “No, we’re not doing very good in the fishing department” I said. “How’d you like a feed? When you get settled, I’ll bring you some fish. We’ve got tons!” And an hour later, he dropped off a bag of trumpeter and two abalone (don’t know how to spell paua?) Wow, what a dinner. People are so nice here!!! I love you New Zealand!
Wed Mar 20 8:27 2019 NZDT
47 10.377s 167 40.306e
Yesterday started with heavy cloud cover and some fog that turned into a glorious, sunny afternoon. We took the dinghy across this little bay (twice) to find Smuggler’s Cove. Our first pass was unsuccessful. After reviewing satellite images, we went on another search. First, we found a great cave. I thought that was it. Cyndi said it didn’t match the pictures she’d seen. Then, around the corner, we saw the opening. Wow, what an amazing little keyhole bay (well, pond, really). Inside a narrow opening, there’s a sand beach, all flanked by 15 meter tall vertical rock walls and covered by trees growing over the top.
Back at our bay, there were two big pinnipeds relaxing on the beach. (I say pinnipeds because our id skills are somewhat lacking. We think they were NZ sea lions. Once we have internet again, we can use the thousands of pictures we’ve taken of them to make a more exact id.) Another dropped by to swim around our boat for a few minutes. The background music was a beautiful chorus of bird song. Yep. Doesn’t suck to be us right now!
Tue Mar 19 6:36 2019 NZDT
47 10.85s 167 39.85e
Another day, another beautiful bay, what we saw of it, that is. We mostly had an indoor, rain day in pretty constant drizzle. Our heater is getting a pretty good workout here, but it’s keeping us toasty and warm.
Note on the bay: there’s room to swing here. There is a buoy that can be used to pull your boat closer to shore, but with the way the sandflies have been the last couple of days, we decided not to use it. We’re anchored in about 4 meters with what seems like good holding.
Mon Mar 18 7:18 2019 NZDT
47 11.758s 167 40.141e
We’re anchored off a tiny but beautiful white sand beach in about 4 meters of clear water. So far, of the five nights we’ve been here, all but one time we’ve had to stern-tie to a buoy, line or tree or stern anchor. The water is pretty deep and the bays we’ve been in are pretty small. Most of the time, there are lines with buoys on them that you can tie to. Here, we had to put out a stern anchor. Up until yesterday, we didn’t think bugs were a problem. Yesterday, the sand flies appeared. We are each nursing a couple of itchy bites. This must be unusual here as someone even said something about it on Meri Leask’s radio net (Bluff Fishermans Radio).
We’re off to explore the north arm of Port Pegasus today. Happy travels, boat work and sailing everyone.
Sat Mar 16 8:24 2019 NZDT
47 12.371s 167 37.070e
Weather: Wind still. Barometer still 2021 steady.
We’re still way down in Port Pegasus, about thirty miles south of Oban. We saw one yacht leaving the area as we entered the other day. They’d been here for five weeks (Night Music). There are a couple of people in tinnies camping about two miles north of here. And of course, the one fishing boat that threw a crawfish into our cockpit. Literally. He told me to stand back and made a perfect toss. I tried to call Meri Leask from Bluff Fishermans Radio but couldn’t get through. We really are totally isolated.
Yesterday, right after we anchored where we are now, we threw some less-than-fresh blue cod to what we think was a fur seal. She was skeptical at first, and kept her distance. Then she smelled it and came in to investigate and chow down. After that, she was our best friend. She put on the most amazing acrobatic swimming display right next to our boat. It went on for an hour or so. We giggled, oooh’d and aaah’d the whole time. We got some video that we’ll post when we can.
This place where we’re anchored/tied up now is really beautiful. Then again, all the places we’ve been here are really beautiful. We’re using the Mana Cruising Guide for Stewart Island but it’s not great. It seems there are a lot of places here the author hasn’t visited. It does give us a starting point so we still view it as essential. The Navionics charts aren’t great for this area either. According to them, we crossed over an island yesterday. It wasn’t even bumpy. I’m glad I made satellite charts and it’s so handy to be able to display them on our chartplotter (Navico brands).
Fri Mar 15 8:36 2019 NZDT
47 14.606s 167 37.123e
Weather: Wind still. Barometer 2021 steady.
Wow. I’m tempted to leave it at that, but… We’re anchored/stern tied in Disappointment Cove and it’s not at all. It’s beautiful. We took an arduous hike over the hill to the furthest south white sand beach in NZ. Beautiful. There were NZ sea lions (we think that’s what they were) on the beach and they didn’t seem to care too much about us. The hike was mostly a game of “which way do you think the trail goes?” and we’re sore today. Later in the evening, we had a sea lion playing under Legacy. It’s cold here and I play “the air is acid” every morning, trying to keep all my skin under blankets to escape the “acid” cold. Cyndi ran up to turn on the heater this morning. Much appreciated. It does warm up during the day. We had an hour of sitting in the cockpit in tee-shirts yesterday afternoon.
Tue Mar 12 16:45 2019 NZDT
47 13.889s 167 33.471e
Weather: Can’t comment on the weather as it seems to change every few minutes, with the one consistency so far being COLD.
We made it: Port Pegasus on Stewart Island!!! We had a really nice downwind passage (if you don’t count the brutal beat to get out of Otago Harbour and the two hours we spent beating the final 5 miles into Port Pegasus when the wind turned noserly!). At times the wind got to 33 knots, but with it behind us, it was still very pleasant.
I’ve heard from life-long cruisers that this is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I guess that’s not a first impression type thing. It’s pretty but so are so many other places we’ve been. We’ll see if this grows on us, and give it every opportunity to do so.
Sun Mar 10 9:08 2019 NZDT
45 47.609S 170 39.168E
After 28 days in Dunedin, we are finally on the move again. We left the marina on high tide and motored a little over half way out the 12 mile channel where we’ll anchor for the night. Tomorrow, we’re off to Stewart Island.
Cyndi said that she feels like a fan worm that attached itself to Dunedin and has now been set adrift. We really did get attached to the place. It’s a wonderful place to stay for a while.
We’ve finally found weather we (mostly) like and we’re off this morning for the 160 mile run to Port Pegasus on Stewart Island. It could be a week or three before we have internet access to post here again. In the mean time, you can see updates from us on YIT: www.yit.nz/yacht/legacy
-Rich
P.S. Since Google is killing off Google+, some of our very old photo galleries no longer work. We’ll fix that when we’re back in internet land.
A South Island Cruising Gem: Barry – the manager of the Otago Yacht Club!
We’ve been here 27 days waiting for weather to sail south to Stewart Island and Barry has been incredibly helpful and welcoming. He is truly a terrific human. We’ve never seen him without a smile and he has always gone to extra mile to help us.
When we arrived, the tide was wrong. Barry arranged for us to tie up at a wharf in downtown Dunedin for the night until the high tide the following morning. He was there to meet us when we arrived and came down to Legacy early the next morning to ride to the Otago Yacht Club with us to help get us tied up and situated.
The Otago Yacht Club overall has been a wonderful experience, as has been Dunedin. I guess we should be upset at having to wait a month for weather, but instead, we’re upset to be leaving tomorrow.
Thank you Barry. Thank you Otago Yacht Club. Thank you Dunedin. -Rich
It’s been a bit of a hectic time for Legacy as we’ve been hopping down the east coasts of both the north and south islands of New Zealand in an effort to get as far south as we can. When we’re not on the move, we’re either sightseeing, seeking out new and delicious things to eat and drink, or doing boat maintenance.
Meanwhile, I’ve decided to table my post about our arrival issues, my thoughts on the current management of the Opua Marina, and the new entry regulations until a later time. We have lodged a complaint with New Zealand Customs and will leave it at that for now.
I will mention here for the benefit of any cruisers unhappy with the northernmost entry-point marina, pretty much any other marina in New Zealand would be very happy to have you! Some, because of their remote locations, are better for short stays while others make terrific hubs for taking a breather from cruising and a base for road trips while having access to a good boat yard.
Over the past five years we’ve had terrific short stays at the marinas in Tutukaka, Viaduct Harbour, Gisborne, Napier, Wellington (all on the north island), plus Picton and Havelock (on the south island). We’ve had longer stays at the Bayswater Marina (near Auckland), Tauranga Bridge Marina, and lovely Nelson (on the south Island).
While these marinas may vary in the services and facilities they offer, they have all been terrific places to stay. (We almost stayed at the charming Whitianga marina but our draft was a bit too deep). I will add that we’ve never stayed at the marinas in Marsden Cove, Whangarei/Riverside, or Gulf Harbour so I can’t comment on those, but people seem to enjoy them. As for the other marinas in Auckland, they were either too big (Westhaven), too small (Pier 21), or too hard to get a slip in (Orakei Marina).
(Note: if you do decide to stay in Auckland, some of New Zealand’s other marinas might want you to haul out and wash your hull before coming to visit them. Auckland has fan worms, an invasive underwater pest that might attach to your boat, and New Zealand is working very hard to prevent their spread.)
Our favorite north island hub is the Tauranga Bridge Marina which, in our opinion, has one of the best boatyards in New Zealand because whatever boat problems you run across, they always have suggestions about what steps to take or who you can hire to fix them (and they will often call and arrange to have said person come over to take a look); plus they do excellent work. A big plus is that this marina has such a great location between two lovely towns and is the perfect spot from which to take road trips in the central and south North Island. It also has some of the best weather in New Zealand. While it is preferable to have a car here, we have a friend who got around fine by bus, and now there’s Uber.
As for us, we are now heading into new (for us) territory down the east coast of the South Island. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we’ve been very impressed! It turned out the new marina in Lyttelton, not far from Christchurch, is a fantastic place with great facilities. (More on this in my next blog post). In Dunedin we’re at a yacht club that’s been so welcoming and is also walking distance from town.
A stunning photo we found on Reddit of Lyttelton by u/RobDickenson.
So far we are loving the east coast of the South Island. Lyttleton is a lovely little town and Dunedin a lovely little city. Both are surrounded by scenic beauty and have lots of day-trip excursions you can take. We’re hoping to get weather to go further south so we’ll see what the future brings.
Below, a map of New Zealand showing the marinas we’ve stayed in over the pasts five seasons in New Zealand (including a few we haven’t been in ourselves but know friends who have).
Below, the marinas we’re familiar with on New Zealand’s north island. Click on the markers below for a little information about each marina (with the notable exception of the Bay of Islands Marina–we’re not too happy with them these days).
And here, our latest discoveries in the south island. One is big and modern, the other small and a bit rustic. Both are terrific.
Bottom Cleaning in Dunedin
