Boating in Australia and New Zealand is incredibly popular and often the best way to see the sights. Surrounded by water, the good people of Oceania have figured out how to incorporate boats into tourism, entertainment, and daily transport. I've always loved being on boats, and we've been super jazzed to be afloat exponentially more than usual since being down here.
Our last night in Sydney, we stayed with the Brightons in Cronulla. Barb is the big sis of one of my besties from SU. We went out for a sail and a dip; wine, cheese, and sunset included. It was awesome! Only Dave had the stones to dive in from the mast. Made us want a sailboat. And to know how to sail a sailboat.
From Auckland, we took a day trip to Waiheke island and hiked all over it, often through private property, which the locals graciously endorse. Its beautiful and WASPy and nautically themed. Apparently there are also white sand beaches there, but we hoofed it to the south shore where there were ruins of old boats, an equestrian club, and plenty of strangers' dogs to accost.
After Auckland, we headed north to the Bay of Islands. We stayed in an amazing cottage (Sunseeker Cottages in Paihia, if ever you're in the 'hood) overlooking a valley and tooled around the area for a few days. We saw a ton of stuff and really dug it up there, so perhaps that bit merits a separate post. One of the days, we went out on the boat pictured below for a day-long sail around the islands. We anchored in a bay for a swim, a hike to a bluff vista, and a picnic lunch on deck.
Once on the South Island of NZ our first itinerary item was a trip to Milford Sound. About 4 hours from Queenstown on the windy-est roads since Pai, we took the early boat out because we'd read there would be less traffic on the water. We basically had the joint to ourselves. It was a quiet and nature-filled few hours as we traveled through the sound and were reunited with our old buddy, the Tasman Sea.
We'll likely only be land lubbers for a few more days before we head to the Cook Islands, where we'll be in and on water for almost a month. We'll be taking a break from cultural exploration and replacing visits to temples and climbing up shit with snorkeling and competitive seafood eating. Expect scintillating tales of tan lines from the South Pacific...
Our last night in Sydney, we stayed with the Brightons in Cronulla. Barb is the big sis of one of my besties from SU. We went out for a sail and a dip; wine, cheese, and sunset included. It was awesome! Only Dave had the stones to dive in from the mast. Made us want a sailboat. And to know how to sail a sailboat.
From Auckland, we took a day trip to Waiheke island and hiked all over it, often through private property, which the locals graciously endorse. Its beautiful and WASPy and nautically themed. Apparently there are also white sand beaches there, but we hoofed it to the south shore where there were ruins of old boats, an equestrian club, and plenty of strangers' dogs to accost.
After Auckland, we headed north to the Bay of Islands. We stayed in an amazing cottage (Sunseeker Cottages in Paihia, if ever you're in the 'hood) overlooking a valley and tooled around the area for a few days. We saw a ton of stuff and really dug it up there, so perhaps that bit merits a separate post. One of the days, we went out on the boat pictured below for a day-long sail around the islands. We anchored in a bay for a swim, a hike to a bluff vista, and a picnic lunch on deck.
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