Cavalli’s to Whangaroa
The water was a little cooler this morning and the swims a little shorter, maybe for the better as we hadn’t been out for long when a 2m shark decided to swim under the boat. We had a simple brekkie, just cereal today, before taking the dinghy to the shore and hiking up to the lookout atop the island of Motukawanui. The walk was at times a little challenging with the “summit” at just over 200m, but the views were worth it. The downhill walk and dinghy back to TK was easy going and we got back to the boat to find that Pearl had been hard at work cooking up a very tasty Tortilla Española, delish.
Anchor weighed we motored a short distance and and threw out lines to see if we could catch our dinner. Around 10 fish were caught but most were returned to the sea with only a couple measuring up. We unfurled the genny and sailed to Whangaroa. This is one of the best and most beautiful natural harbours you are ever likely to visit. The entrance is only 300 meters wide and is almost invisible when approaching from sea as the twist and turns in the harbour behind present only a view of land and volcanic outcrops. The harbour sits in a drowned river system which over the last few million years has emptied and filled over 200 times. The volcanic plugs appear like toothpaste extrusions forced up through the earth contributing to wonderful scenery rarely visited.
We found a sheltered spot and anchored in a secluded bay off Wairaupo Island and paddled around it, only to discover that it is only an island at high tide. Rather than paddle back we decided to portage and carried our kayaks, the tide leaving a small causeway linking to island to the mainland. Back at the boat others SUP’ed and swam enjoying the calm waters of our sheltered spot.
Dinner was another delight. Fresh snapper with butter, lemon and onions wrapped in foil and gently steamed in the oven was the highlight, accompanied by a Greek salad and a quinoa and green been salad it was a great end to the day, not forgetting the lamb chops cooked on the barbi. We have plans to climb the Dukes Nose tomorrow so hopefully that will work off our excesses of today.