Mahinepau and Whangaihe Bays

We didn’t have to go far to find our new “home” for a couple days. Just 4 miles across open water brought us back to the main land, and to Mahinepau Bay. It wasn’t the most scenic of anchorages or anything, but it was well protected for the current weather, and had a trail that Kerri must hike. She will hike a trail just because it exists, while I demand a reason to hike it such as a waterfall or an old homestead. Nevertheless, we hiked.

Knee breakers!

One thing that I learned early on in our sailing life, and re-learn pretty much every week, is that when you live your life at sea-level, EVERYTHING is up hill. One has to walk up 4 steps just to get out of the boat even. This hike’s few hundred foot climb was no different than a dozen others we have done in recent months, but for one minor change; stairs. The trail makers gave us stairs for the inclines on this trail, which means two things; 1) The trail makers didn’t care about angle of incline at all, straight up will do, and 2) my knees would pay the price on the way back down.

Once atop the hill, the trail leveled out before dropping back down where another set of stairs offered a straight up climb again. This would repeat a few times but eventually we were able to hike out to the end of the trail. Here, a viewpoint of the waters we just sailed was our ultimate reward before turning around and repeating all those stairs in reverse, which is so much worse. Even Kerri felt it afterwards. More than me for a change. Kerri is just passing the age in which we both met, and slowly but surely she is coming to recognize how a body sneaks up and slights you one day without warning. The slighting will only get worse from here I keep telling her.

Across the water you can see our last anchorage

Mahinepau Bay

After a day of recouping, we pulled up anchor and moved a short hop around the point and to the next bay; Whangaihe Bay. It is a small anchorage with great protection from all but a single direction that would be inconsequential. We were hoping to have the place to ourselves for a couple days but as we rounded the corner to start our entry into the bay a catamaran appeared already anchored. Well, okay then. No parties into the late night hours for us. (I’m trying to remember the last time we even stayed up past 9pm)

As we passed by said catamaran Kerri noticed the name on it’s side and exclaimed, “hey that’s Brizo!” Apparently, there was the exact opposite reaction on the other boat at the same time, “hey, that’s Meriwether”. Brizo is yet another boat that we closely shadowed across the Pacific Ocean, and whom Kerri spoke with online numerous times. Finally we would be in the same anchorage as Brizo and her crew so we were sure to setup an evening to hang out and get to know each other a bit. They picked up anchor and left the following day (we didn’t scare them off, that was always the plan) leaving us all alone in the anchorage until we did the same a couple days later. We never did set foot on land, as there was signage on the beaches exclaiming that it was private property. Instead, one morning, we took a dinghy tour of the bay, and its point just outside.

We stumble on to Brizo

Cattle tracks on the hillside make an interesting view

It’s noticeably cooling into Fall here in Northland New Zealand. And When dusk falls in this anchorage, the drops of sea breeze in the air carry over the overwhelming scent of the neighboring pine, and it’s filling my soul. I’ve always known how much smell was such an important sense to my psyche, but the absence of certain smells, and the void they leave, don’t really hit me until I have them again. Tropical beaches are cool and all, but day after day of just coconuts palms and mangroves don’t fill my senses. Seasons, trees. They’re what I need. – Kerri

Kerri and I plan to continue north along the mainland of the north island as best we can – weather permitting. However, soon, we will be forced to turn around and start South to our final destination of this sailing season. A haul-out is already scheduled and flights are booked to go back to the USA for the summer months there. Already just by having dates booked, the stress is beginning to pile on.