The City of Sails

We arrived in Auckland almost two weeks ago after an easy three day trip from the Bay of Islands. After all those gale force winds we experienced up in the bay, the seas were still a bit rough when we took off. They smoothed out soon after and made for some great sailing. We stopped two nights along the way. One night in Tutukaka and the next night in Mansion Bay Cove on Kauwa Island which is some thirty miles north of Auckland. Mansion Bay Cove is home to one of the first governors mansions in New Zealand. It is now a museum and is guarded by peacocks and surrounded by lush trails. We spent our day there hiking and even spotted two wallabies (who knew?).
The next day we set off at dawn for Westhaven Marina in Central Auckland. We entered the bay on a Sunday morning and wow was it hopping. The city is aptly named, as I haven't seen so many boats since we spent a busy summer day in San Diego harbor. We tucked into our slip with the wind in our favor and breathed a sigh of relief as we shut Scholarship down and hooked up the hose. Unlimited water and electricity. The marina is heaven. We have a fantastic view of downtown in front of us and behind us, the harbor bridge and Americas Cup boats sailing by at a steady stream. Since we arrived we have been busy. Since we have decided to stay here in New Zealand for awhile, a car was in order. After a bit of searching Mark got his dream van and is now "pimping his ride" like only Mark can. We intend to take it on it's first road trip in few days. Other exciting news is that we had visitors. The first set, our friends Lee and Shelly from Phoenix arrived in Auckland and spent a few days hanging out before setting off on their own New Zealand adventure. We had a great time cruising in the van and checking out Aucklands hot spots. Shelley and Lee are no strangers to Scholarship as they were regular visitors when she lived in San Diego. Our second set of visitors was Heather and Mike from Chica Bonita who came from Keri Keri, New Zealand to spend Christmas on Scholarship. You will recognize them as they have been on the blog many times before. We met them in Ecuador and they have been good friends ever since. We cooked up a storm as we had a party Xmas eve for about fifteen people made up of cruisers and also some local folks we had met. We had a great time and we hope you all did too. So Happy Holidays to our family and friends out there. xo L & M