“THE THINGS YOU REGRET ARE THE THINGS YOU DIDN’T DO” are the banner words of Kadey-Krogen Yachts’ advert in Passagemaker magazine, along with “Working hard is one thing, living your life to the full is another. You get only so many spins around the sun – what will you do with yours?”
I was pretty impressed with these words, nicely summing up why Diane and I are cruising at this stage of our lives. Of course it doesn’t have to be living on a boat, just living your dream, whatever that is.
Diane and I get back to Lefkas marina next Weds 27 March, and regular Envoy blogging starts again. For the blog last year we mostly worked on more and better quality photos integrated into the text. This year we’re going to work on including some video clips too. Interesting subjects coming up are visiting Montenegro and Croatia and reports on using marine iPad apps.
Meanwhile here is the completion of our cruise to Auckland’s Great Barrier Island aboard Consort.
Returning to Consort after a great late afternoon ashore smoking freshly caught snapper we found a pod of dolphins leaping playfully from the surrounding waters. We donned our wetsuits to join the dolphins, who seemed to enjoy our presence and approached us almost close enough to touch, providing a magical and memorable experience.
Like much of NZ the Barrier has some thermal activity, and we met some shore-based friends and walked about 90 minutes to the Kaitoke Hot Springs to soak ourselves in a hot water stream surrounded by dense forest.
Diane relaxing in the Kaitoke natural hot water springs surrounded by forest
To visit the springs you anchor in idyllic Whangapapara
The minerals contained in the natural spring are said to have healing qualities and we certainly felt calmed and relaxed in a scene that was totally tranquil except for the calls of native birds. Here in the wilderness we were thankful that NZ has no snakes or poisonous insects.
One day we visited artist and potter Sarah Harrison’s rustic studio in Tryphena Harbour, and had plenty of time to admire her work, chat and meet her family. Sarah makes unique pottery mugs with wide bases providing ideal stability for use on boats, and we ordered some to take back to our own boat in Greece.
Local artist Sarah Harrison with her children in their fascinating studio
Laurie outside Sarah's rustic studio set in the bush by Tryphena's waters-edge
After four years cruising the eastern Med we found it interesting to compare that experience with this. The Med is a very large area with quite diverse areas but here are some observations:
- Summer weather – Auckland’s climate is based on constant ridges and fronts moving in from the sea. Med summers are longer, warmer, generally more stable and less windy. NZ’s air is cleaner and therefore clearer, providing a more distant visible horizon and more beautiful sunsets
- Cleanliness – although we find the Med’s seas largely litter-free, sadly this is not the case ashore, whereas it’s very unusual to find much litter in NZ either on beaches or generally. The waters of the Med though are considerably clearer than we found around the Barrier.
- Points of interest – although the Barrier has fantastic natural scenery, so do many parts of the Med, while at the Barrier and generally in NZ there is little of real historical interest to see (the oldest building in NZ dates from 1840). In the Med we are fascinated by still-standing buildings centuries old and ruins dating thousands of years.
- Sea life – here there is no comparison and the Barrier wins hands-down with its variety and quantity of life. Snorkeling in the Med you rarely see any but the tiniest of fish whereas at the Barrier you see many species of good size and quantity. The NZ fishing is excellent whereas it’s poor in the Med (most fish being caught with nets).
- Anchorages – are excellent at the Barrier and also in most parts of the eastern Med. We find it more “atmospheric” anchoring in the Med, and surprisingly anchorages there are generally less crowded (although this would not be the case in the western Med)
- Support and safety – is much better in NZ with weather now-casting, VHF marine radio trip reports and the availability of Coastguard to assist in the event of problems. In the Med there is little observance of collision regulations or much use of common-sense with regard to dangerously high speeds in proximity to other vessels. The typical NZ cruiser is far more aware of these issues.
,,, and you can surf at one of the Barrier's several famed beaches, here Medlands
Consort is an outstanding example of a 12 metre planing cruiser, and kept us safe and comfortable for six superb weeks. Now though, we’re accustomed to the more sedate cruising style of our passagemaker and have not been converted away from that.
All too soon our sojourn enjoying Consort and the unique character of the Barrier came to a close, but at least we had April to November cruising aboard Envoy back in the Med to look forward to.
GETTING THERE
The Barrier can be reached by scheduled flights or ferry from Auckland, but by far the best option to fully indulge in what the Barrier has to offer is to visit by boat.
I was pretty impressed with these words, nicely summing up why Diane and I are cruising at this stage of our lives. Of course it doesn’t have to be living on a boat, just living your dream, whatever that is.
Diane and I get back to Lefkas marina next Weds 27 March, and regular Envoy blogging starts again. For the blog last year we mostly worked on more and better quality photos integrated into the text. This year we’re going to work on including some video clips too. Interesting subjects coming up are visiting Montenegro and Croatia and reports on using marine iPad apps.
Meanwhile here is the completion of our cruise to Auckland’s Great Barrier Island aboard Consort.
Returning to Consort after a great late afternoon ashore smoking freshly caught snapper we found a pod of dolphins leaping playfully from the surrounding waters. We donned our wetsuits to join the dolphins, who seemed to enjoy our presence and approached us almost close enough to touch, providing a magical and memorable experience.
Like much of NZ the Barrier has some thermal activity, and we met some shore-based friends and walked about 90 minutes to the Kaitoke Hot Springs to soak ourselves in a hot water stream surrounded by dense forest.
Diane relaxing in the Kaitoke natural hot water springs surrounded by forest
To visit the springs you anchor in idyllic Whangapapara
The minerals contained in the natural spring are said to have healing qualities and we certainly felt calmed and relaxed in a scene that was totally tranquil except for the calls of native birds. Here in the wilderness we were thankful that NZ has no snakes or poisonous insects.
One day we visited artist and potter Sarah Harrison’s rustic studio in Tryphena Harbour, and had plenty of time to admire her work, chat and meet her family. Sarah makes unique pottery mugs with wide bases providing ideal stability for use on boats, and we ordered some to take back to our own boat in Greece.
Local artist Sarah Harrison with her children in their fascinating studio
Laurie outside Sarah's rustic studio set in the bush by Tryphena's waters-edge
After four years cruising the eastern Med we found it interesting to compare that experience with this. The Med is a very large area with quite diverse areas but here are some observations:
- Summer weather – Auckland’s climate is based on constant ridges and fronts moving in from the sea. Med summers are longer, warmer, generally more stable and less windy. NZ’s air is cleaner and therefore clearer, providing a more distant visible horizon and more beautiful sunsets
- Cleanliness – although we find the Med’s seas largely litter-free, sadly this is not the case ashore, whereas it’s very unusual to find much litter in NZ either on beaches or generally. The waters of the Med though are considerably clearer than we found around the Barrier.
- Points of interest – although the Barrier has fantastic natural scenery, so do many parts of the Med, while at the Barrier and generally in NZ there is little of real historical interest to see (the oldest building in NZ dates from 1840). In the Med we are fascinated by still-standing buildings centuries old and ruins dating thousands of years.
- Sea life – here there is no comparison and the Barrier wins hands-down with its variety and quantity of life. Snorkeling in the Med you rarely see any but the tiniest of fish whereas at the Barrier you see many species of good size and quantity. The NZ fishing is excellent whereas it’s poor in the Med (most fish being caught with nets).
- Anchorages – are excellent at the Barrier and also in most parts of the eastern Med. We find it more “atmospheric” anchoring in the Med, and surprisingly anchorages there are generally less crowded (although this would not be the case in the western Med)
- Support and safety – is much better in NZ with weather now-casting, VHF marine radio trip reports and the availability of Coastguard to assist in the event of problems. In the Med there is little observance of collision regulations or much use of common-sense with regard to dangerously high speeds in proximity to other vessels. The typical NZ cruiser is far more aware of these issues.
,,, and you can surf at one of the Barrier's several famed beaches, here Medlands
Consort is an outstanding example of a 12 metre planing cruiser, and kept us safe and comfortable for six superb weeks. Now though, we’re accustomed to the more sedate cruising style of our passagemaker and have not been converted away from that.
All too soon our sojourn enjoying Consort and the unique character of the Barrier came to a close, but at least we had April to November cruising aboard Envoy back in the Med to look forward to.
GETTING THERE
The Barrier can be reached by scheduled flights or ferry from Auckland, but by far the best option to fully indulge in what the Barrier has to offer is to visit by boat.
1 comment:
A beautiful spot and an answer to one of my cruising problems. The Med's summer is the same as ours at home and no one really wants to waste a summer season.
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