February 18-21, 2013
We were paid up at the Opua marina until early March, and after that we planned to do some cruising in the islands off the New Zealand coast. The decision we needed to make was whether or not we’d come back to Opua.
Back in Samoa, we met a Kiwi couple, Colin and Jeanette, who were there doing some fishing. They were from an area called Tauranga, about a 2-hour drive south of Auckland. They described it to us, and it sounded like not only a wonderful place to visit but a great place to haul our boat and get some work done. One drawback was it’s a little further south than most people go when cruising the north island and off the beaten path for cruisers. That said, we knew some people who ended up there and they had great things to say about it. Another drawback was having to go around a huge peninsula that sticks out of New Zealand below Auckland. We’d need good weather to get around that peninsula to Tauranga. (That’s one reason why most cruisers never get down there.)
We’d gotten very comfortable in Opua and were reluctant to leave what felt like home, and as time went on we were thinking we might stay. Then we talked to the boat yard in Opua about the work we needed done, and their approach wasn’t really satisfying. Still, we thought we could work with them. We went back and forth and finally we realized that we ought to just drive down and take a look at the twin cities of Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. If they turned out to be really special, they could pull us away from Opua. Otherwise we’d be satisfied we’d seen them and made an informed decision. So, we packed our backpack and headed south.
Here is as good a place as any to put a From the Car gallery of pictures. These are of the drive between Opua and Auckand. –Cyndi
