After spending 8 days in tight quarters sailing through the Bay of Islands with our good friends Claire and Jonny, we decided to splurge on a roomy airbnb for a few days.
We relaxed, watched movies, cooked in an actual kitchen, had glasses of wine on the porch, and truly rested after 8 amazing but active days at sea. Having had enough of doing nothing much we decided to head back to the coast for more diving.
Our aim was to camp with access to Goat Island and to do more free diving, and stay at our beloved Goat Island Campers and Backpackers site, but the morning we had packed up we got a warning sent to our phone about large earthquakes just off shore and to avoid the coast.
We spent the day figuring out next moves and decided to stay put. It was lucky that this happened during one of the rare times we stayed inland. We unpacked and went for a local hike to shake the news and nerves and found some water to get into.
Spending the day hiking and out of cell service was such a blessing. At the house we were watching the news and waiting for potential catastrophe, mapping out all the what if’s like what if the road gets too damaged and we can’t get to where we need to. Living out of a rooftop tent and a van, the if list was long and the stress was high.
Turns out everything was completely fine and we were able to head to the coast the next day. The earthquakes were big and close enough to cause some extra choppy ocean conditions, but the tsunami never came.
The surf was big so we decided to go play and boogie board for our last night with our Irish framily. We surfed and met a lovely local man who gave us some of his honey comb, which we cherished and savored for a few weeks.
Joli Clan had spent every moment together for the last 6 weeks, including small quarters on a sail boat, so saying goodbye, even if just for a bit was sad. We had plans to meet up down the line in Mount Maunganui for a Saint Patties night on the town. For now it was see you later and Oli and I headed to Auckland for a canyoning trip and fancy dinner nights.
Wandering Wild 