Mahurangi Pleasures

The 15th of January saw us heading over to Algies Bay for a taste of the high life of Snells Beach. Walking over the hill from Algies Bay was very pleasant, with some beautiful houses and lovely views. Snells Beach was a little bit of a disappointment, the shops weren't great and they were up on the hill, no where near the beach, no view of the beach nada. We had a nice lunch in a cafe with a lovely cold Cider, then back home to Kabuki. We spent the night at Algies very quietly. The next morning we upped anchor and had a lovely sail around Kawau Bay, checking out all the little bays and Sandspit. We headed back to Kawau and Bon Accord Harbour.
Thursday night and Friday 17th were a really lumpy affair, another wind system came through, we had 40 knots from the West then Sou-west. Bon Accord Harbour does not give a great deal of protection from either of those directions. Saturday dawned a corker, the wind had died over night, a perfect day for doing some chores, Ho Hum. We went for a row in the morning and ascertained we could get water from the Kawau Yacht Club. So Paul set to collecting water and topping up the tanks, and I set to doing a load of washing. We had showers in the arvo and spruced ourselves up for dinner at the Kawau Yacht Club, what a high day.
19th we headed away from Kawau heading for Mahurangi Harbour, we stopped in at Motorekareka Island for lunch on the way. The forecast for the next few days is for an ex-tropical cyclone to grace us with its presence, oh joy. We anchored up the Mahurangi Harbour trying to find a place that was sheltered from the NE and then SW.  The 20th and 21st are the type of days you hope to forget, we had wind up to 55knots, made worse by the strong tide in the harbour. The 22nd saw us moving over to Mita Bay a lovely spot in the Mahurangi Regional Park, this was a great place to enjoy some of the walks in the Park. The 24th we motored back up the Mahurangi Harbour and then ventured forth in Fatima (Dinghy) for an expedition up to Warkworth, civilisation, shopping, cold ciders ensued and shock of shock's, Gluten Free Fish and Chips for lunch, Yum Oh. We staggered back to Fatima with our booty, then hightailed it back to Kabuki.
Saturday and Sunday was the Classic Yacht Regatta, Paul spent the day with his eyes glued to the binoculars, He was in his element, I have never seen him so happy. We headed back to Mita Bay for a walk to Te Muri bay, but the wind came up again from the SW. So the 28th saw us heading to Great Barrier Island, we have had enough of Mahurangi and it SW winds, and dodgy shelter. We had a romping sail across the Hauraki Gulf, hitting 7.5 knots at times (pretty good for us) but with this good breeze came a rather awkward sea, so it was pretty rough, I realised as Kabuki was again being lifted up on a wave and then dumped down the other side, that it was like being on a ride at the show. Some people really love those rides, they thrive on them, do them every year. I have done one once, when I was 14 years old I went to the Townsville show with some friends, the first thing we did when we go to the show was go on the Octopus ride, I was sick for hours after that and it spoiled my whole day. But here I am back doing it again, at least the getting there makes it all worthwhile. Great Barrier is as beautiful as we remember it, roll on some great walks and some peaceful nights.