When we first stared this adventure, I was surprised to learn that in the boater/cruising community it is common to call people by their boat name. We are no longer Mark and Cindy. We are collectively called “Cream Puff”.  When we lived on land our friends knew our personalities were divergent.  I find in the cruising world often what one says can be taken as the beliefs of both. When giving our blog link to others I often say, in a joking sort of way, “The views and opinions on the blog do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the entire crew.” A good example is our recent visit to New Zealand for cyclone season.

We have received a few comments in private emails and on social media asking why ‘we’ did not enjoy New Zealand. For the record, I loved New Zealand. Mark was not as enamored. 🙂 Mark writes the blog posts. I take pictures. I tend to like being in the background.

As the person on Cream Puff who does the paperwork and meets with officials, I will agree that New Zealand was one of the more difficult countries to enter for people arriving by private boat. The degree of difficulty in entry to countries has increased as we move west. There are a lot of places to visit in this big world. Some are more welcoming than others. Some are easier to enter than others. Some have a lot of rules that pertain only to private boats visiting. It is just part of the lifestyle. I strongly believe that in each country we are guests and as such, should show respect. Their country, their rules, as I say. We have the choice to visit or not if we disagree. It is a pretty cool lifestyle to have so many choices.

Just one of the many beautiful stops on our journey

There are a lot of wonderful aspects of New Zealand. New Zealand is rather self sufficient. We were in New Zealand during their summer. The variety of produce was more than anywhere we have been in many, many years. Farm to table is the norm in New Zealand. It was nice to have so many choices again.

New Zealanders/Kiwis are very proud of their country. They prefer New Zealand based companies and products. I like that attitude. Support for the homeland means jobs and money that stays in the country. The words “New Zealand made” and “New Zealand owned” are proudly displayed everywhere. The most popular name for about anything is “Kiwi”. There is a strong sense of culture in New Zealand as well.

I loved the openness of New Zealand. The countryside is vast and full of sheep, cows, llamas and deer. The rolling green hills of the North Island with occasional ocean views are spectacular. The two islands are very different in terrain with beautiful mountain to the south. There is something for everyone when it comes to nature. It is not hard to get away from the big city life to be in peace and tranquility.

The scenery changes to mountains on the South Island

(In my opinion) The people of New Zealand are reserved on meeting but they warm with conversation. They tend to be honest, trusting people. Most follow the rules and expect others to do so as well. Life balance with family over work seem to be important. There was a sense of safety and security in New Zealand. I would often see people leave valuables unattended for a short time without worry. I made many friends in New Zealand who were happy to teach me about the country, culture and way of life. For me, New Zealand will go in my top 10 places we have visited in our travels.

Lastly, it was nice to have seasons again. I enjoyed the break from either hot or hotter seasons we have had during our travels. My legs were unsure why they were confined by fabric again but I got used to it. It was nice to see fall colors after so many years away. To watch the seasons change with obvious differences was a treat. For me, New Zealand will always be the land of rainbows. We have never seen so many rainbows and double rainbows anywhere.

Double Rainbow near the Boatyard

I lost count of how many we saw

I think over our 7 months in New Zealand we saw and did most of the things on our list. I would happily return to finish the list some day.

Below I have added pictures from our voyage from Minerva Reef to Fiji.  It was a fast and great trip. Some of the best sailing we’ve had in awhile. More to come in a blog post by Mark in the near future.

One of the many beautiful sunsets while on watch

The moon came up an hour before sunrise. When the sun came up it added to the colors. One of the pleasures of voyages.

Thank you for reading along. 🙂