Te Kaihōpara woke up completely drenched as the weather tried to play spoilsport. The crew were unphased as we got going, with exploring Torrent Bay that morning. Cleopatra Bay on the Torrent River was a tad too cold for our fearless explorers, as we then upped anchor and headed towards Tonga Island.

With all the seals in Tonga Island having retreated to cosier spots within the confines of the island, we vowed to come back on sunnier day and carried on towards Awaroa Bay, to anchor for the afternoon. The crew took the tender in search of a hidden cafe, its location could only be deciphered by finding a crudely wooden etched drawing of a sunflower, on a crude signpost. Once the crew were done playing Sherlock Holmes, I said a brief goodbye to Te Kaihōpara again as we took the tender to the beach. No bad weather was going to stop us!

We decided to end the day anchored at Bark Bay. On our way their, I saw what looked like a seal atop a giant white rock. The binoculars proved me wrong. Someone had gone to the effort of climbing the giant rock on the waterfront and piling a bunch of rocks to look like a sunbathing seal, flippers and all. Kudos random prankster, you definitely got me and Te Kaihōpara on this April Fool’s Day!

- Arjun Thimmaya, Chief Mate, Te Kaihōpara