Author Archives: Mark
Minerva Reef
We finally escaped the clutches of New Zealand weather. We staged the boat at Marsden Cove Marina just down the river from Whangarei, our home for the past few months. After waiting for 3 weeks, we finally had what appeared to be a decent window to head northward. Not a great window, but doable. At […]
Now What?
After our trip to the South Island, we hauled Cream Puff at a local boatyard for routine maintenance. Well, it was a little bit more than routine stuff. We decided to have all the old antifoul paint removed and start over with a fresh coat. In addition, we had a long list of other items […]
New Zealand – South Island – Part IV
Our next adventure is Picton at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. From Christchurch to Picton, we took the coastal scenic train. Like before, we upgraded to first class so to include drinks and food. We almost had the entire car to ourselves. It was just us and one other couple. The train […]
New Zealand – South Island – Part III
I think it is fair to say, the further south we moved the friendlier the people became. When was the last time you filled your car with fuel and the person behind the counter started a friendly conversation? This happened not just once. At lunchtime, we entered the smallish town of Ashburton, Canterbury and Googled […]
New Zealand – South Island – Part II
When we left off from the last post, we’d taken the train from Christchurch to Greymouth and began exploring the really cool little beach town of Hokitika. We needed to head south as our plan is to go walkabout on top of a mountain. More specifically, a walk on a glacier. Heading southward, we drove […]
New Zealand – South Island – Part I
Going to New Zealand’s South Island for 4 weeks put our planning skills to the test. We had to line up or figure out airplanes, Ubers, multiple trains, a helicopter, rental cars, a ferry, buses, places and places to stay. During this trip we saw 84 towns, used one taxi and five Ubers. We rode […]
Another Road Trip – Part II
Continued from Part I The second time I was in awe this week was during a visit to Hobbiton, located in Matamata, New Zealand. Matamata was about a 40 minute drive from our AirBnB condo in Hamilton and is a world-renowned tourist destination that brings the enchanting realm of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth to life. As […]
Another Road Trip – Part I
Here’s something funny; in French Polynesia and Fiji, we fell in love with a brand of New Zealand made ice cream called Deep South. In French Polynesia like all things there, it was expensive and we splurged only once in a while for a tub. In Fiji, it was a regular treat as a store […]
Happy Cream Puff Day
Happy New Year. And, Happy Cream Puff Day. Yes, it is such a thing. January 2nd in the USA is Cream Puff Day – Google it if you don’t believe me. Amel boats are French as are Cream Puffs. French chef Antonin Carême was the first to add cream to puffs in the early 19th […]
First Thoughts on New Zealand
It’s nice to be back in a populated first-world country. We can tell we are because of the eggs. I’ll explain my theory. In small nations or unpopulated areas of the world whenever we need eggs, we go to the store and stand in front of the shelf of eggs. In these smaller islands […]
Cream Puff is in New Zealand
I keep telling Cindy that I hope the hassle of New Zealand is worth it. I’ll explain. Sailing from Fiji to New Zealand is tricky. The trip takes about 7-9 days depending on winds. However, about every 5 days a nasty weather system will move across northern New Zealand from Southern Australia and […]
Final Thoughts About Fiji
We both agree Fiji has super-friendly people. I know I have said this before when writing about Fiji, but it warrants mentioning again. Cindy and I both tend to say hello to strangers. When passing someone on the street, getting on a bus, or the person sitting next to us on a plane will all […]
Suva – Part 2
I’ve been really looking forward to writing part 2 of this because some funny stuff happened in Suva. Here we go. In part 1, you learned our hotel didn’t have bedbugs. The real downside was it was up a hill (pun intended). At the end of the day spent walking up and down the […]
Suva – Part 1
We decided to go to Suva, the capital city of Fiji. Over the weekend, we talked to a couple of local people and mentioned we are heading to Suva. Our hope was they’d share some insight about what to see and do there. We both were a little surprised when we announced our intentions […]
Malolo Islands and Musket Cove
We recently visited the Malolo islands, specifically a place called Musket Cove. It felt a little bit strange actually sailing the Puffster without looking ahead to an overnight passage. Most of the places we’ve visited in the South Pacific require an overnight sail or longer. We can actually see the Malolo Islands as soon as […]
