MV Dirona travel digest for South Island and Wellington, New Zealand 2014

Position: -46°44.42'S, 168°25.49'E

The 46 meter-high light on Dog Island to our north can be seen from 19 miles away. We left Port William this morning before dawn and could clearly see the light flashing 17 miles away.

Position: -46°43.17'S, 168°46.29'E

We altered course to avoid the bulker Duncan Bay approaching from behind. In this overtaking situation we are the stand-on vessel, but the Duncan Bay showed no sign of respecting that.

Position: -46°39.49'S, 169°6.46'E

Definately a commentary on the anchorage when it is full of surfers. Conditions were reasonably calm and the swell was falling, so we opted to anchor in Porpoise Bay on our way to Dunedin. Boat motion was pretty severe at anchor though--even with the flopper-stopper out. But it wasn't intolerable, and we really wanted to visit.

Position: -46°39.49'S, 169°6.47'E

The Hector's dolphin grows to at most 1.5 meters and is among the world's smallest and rarest marine dolphin. Their population is only about 7,000 and only in New Zealand inshore waters. One of the reasons we stopped in Porpoise Bay was to possibly see one. We weren't disappointed--we sawy many. They were quite curious and frequently swam up to the boat. The dolphins also surfaced quite closely as we took the micro-tender ashore--very exciting although a little unnerving in that rather unstable craft.

Position: -46°39.68'S, 169°6.45'E

The seascape around the bay was dramatic. This is looking east over the reef along the southern part of Porpoise Bay as waves crash ashore.

Position: -46°39.79'S, 169°6.35'E

We'd come mostly for the wildlife and the fossillised forest in Curio Bay--the beautiful seascape was an unexpected bonus. We spent ages watching the ocean crash into shore.

Position: -46°39.71'S, 169°6.25'E

Looking west across Curio Bay, a prime spotting grounds for rare yellow-penguins. The birds leave their nests early in the morning to fish, returning late in the afternoon. We were there around 4pm, hoping for a sighting. But according to a DOC sign, the best time to see them was between 7pm and 9pm. We didn't want to wait that long, or launch and run the tender back in the dark.

Position: -46°39.71'S, 169°5.89'E

180 millions years ago, the coastal forest at Curio Bay was repeatedly buried in volcanic debris. Over time, the wood turned to rock and over the last 10,000 years the coastline has eroded, exposing the fossillised wood. Today it is one of the most extensive and least disturbed Jurassic forests in the world.

Position: -46°39.49'S, 169°6.46'E

The anchorage reminded us of Beveridge Reef: pretty "out there", and the wave protection changed with the tide as the reef become more or less exposed. And we were anchored in similarly shallow water. But here we could use the flopper-stopper with the new alternate shorter line we had made in Whangarei. We were planning to stay the night, but the run to Dunedin was about 14 hours and we'd have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to leave to avoid arriving in Dunedin after dark. So we decided to keep the line moving.

Position: -46°22.34'S, 170°1.45'E

We left the anchorage eight hours ago. Pitch has increased slightly, but roll has reduced notably over the anchorage. It's pretty unusual to have better roll conditions at sea than the anchorage. Conditions overall were wonderfully calm for the run to Dunedin. We experimented again with short-run watch schedules--this time we tried James on watch from 8pm to 12:30am, then again from 6:30 am to 8:00 am. That worked out well--we both got close to six hours sleep and weren't tired at all the following day.

Position: -45°44.96'S, 170°43.54'E

The last bit of the run, all through James' second watch, was through thick fog. We couldn't see this beacon in the entrance fairway until we were within 200 meters. Boat traffic was pretty heavy too, with a number of fish boats leaving Dunedin and heading right towards us.

Position: -45°45.09'S, 170°42.10'E

The entrance into Dunedin is quite narrow and with all traffic about, we didn't feel safe entering in such thick fog. And even the pilots weren't moving the big ships due to poor visiblity. Plus we wanted to enjoy the scenery on the way in. So we anchored off Heyward Point, had a nice breakfast on the back deck, and continued with the fog had cleared a couple of hours later. This was a beautiful place to stop, and the waters were quite calm.

Position: -45°45.08'S, 170°42.09'E

Spirit of Shangahi leaving Dunedin. We definately didn't want to be navigating around ships like this in tight quarters with 200-meter visibility.

Position: -45°45.94'S, 170°43.37'E

The light on Taiaroa Head as we enter the fairway.

Position: -45°46.20'S, 170°43.33'E

Otaga Harbour control perched way up on the hill with excellent visibility to approaching traffic. They'd radiod us on James' second watch as we approached in the fog asking about conditions and visibility--they couldn't see anything through any of their cameras.

Position: -45°46.62'S, 170°43.25'E

Ruins of Fort Taiaroa, built in the 1880s.

Position: -45°47.55'S, 170°40.75'E

The run through Otago Harbour was beautiful, with rolling green hills on both sides.

Position: -45°48.48'S, 170°37.86'E

Cranes at the Port of Otago. It appears to be a fairly substantial port.

Position: -45°48.71'S, 170°37.86'E

Rows and rows of wood were alongshore, ready for transport.

Position: -45°52.45'S, 170°31.88'E

The Duncan Bay, that had passed us yesterday morning, ended up arriving only shortly before we did. The ship was anchored not too far from we were at Heyward Point, waiting for a pilot when the fog lifted.

Position: -45°52.62'S, 170°31.14'E

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Position: -45°52.85'S, 170°30.41'E

Moored in the tiny Town Basin, at the extreme head of Otaga Harbour. We were lucky to get a spot--the marina has only seven berths. The only other option would have been at Port Chalmers, about six miles out of town. We're moored to a fixed wharf with long spring lines to handle the tidal exchange. And we're using our fender boards for the first time. We'd built them in Honolulu using schedule 80 PVC pipe according to the design here. That site also had a good discussion of rigging spring lines for a fixed dock.

Position: -45°52.55'S, 170°30.49'E

Crossing over the tracks at the Dunedin train station. The train visible runs the Taieri Gorge tour that we'll be taking tomorrow.

Position: -45°52.51'S, 170°30.39'E

Celebrating our arrival into Dunedin with pints at the Jury Room. Jennifer is trying a Speights Distinction Ale--it was excellent.

Position: -45°52.46'S, 170°30.26'E

We continued up the street and popped out at the Octagan near the center of town, where at least a dozen restaurants and cafes, all with outdoor seating, ring the road. We had been so long without any choices we were practically running into each other trying to take it all in.

Position: -45°52.46'S, 170°30.22'E

We settled on dinner at The Craic Irish pub. The food was excellent, as were the pints of Kilkenney.

Position: -45°52.79'S, 170°30.38'E

Photographer Paul Le Comte was out taking evening shots and we chatted with him when he was on the wharf beside Dirona. He later sent us some amazing photographs he took that night of the Steamer Basin, as the area at the head of the habour is known. More of his excellent work is here.

Position: -45°52.79'S, 170°30.38'E

Another beautiful Paul Le Comte photograph, this one towards the Town Basin. Dirona's blue lights are visible in the distance.

Position: -45°52.52'S, 170°30.55'E

At the station, ready for our train trip through the Taieri Gorge in a restored train car. The first 13km section of the run will be through the Main Trunk Line for the southern island, then we'll switch over to an historic railway for the remaining 45km.

Position: -45°43.19'S, 170°21.15'E

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Position: -45°43.03'S, 170°20.78'E

At Hindon, the train stopped so we could all disembark and walk across the bridge to watch the train cross.

Position: -45°40.16'S, 170°17.52'E

Passing through four deep gulleys collectively called the Notches.

Position: -45°39.98'S, 170°17.36'E

We crossed a number of bridges and viaducts en route, including earlier on the trip the 197-meter Wingatui Viaduct. At 34 meters above sea level the Wingatui Viaduct is one of the largest wrought iron structures in the southern hemisphere.

Position: -45°39.95'S, 170°17.21'E

We passed through a number of tunnels. The train barely had space to pass--you had to be careful to keep your hands inside.

Position: -45°38.11'S, 170°13.34'E

The view across the Taieri River to the Rock and Pillar Range.

Position: -45°38.08'S, 170°12.73'E

The end of the trip at Pukerangi, 250 meters above sea level.

Position: -45°38.08'S, 170°12.73'E

The locomotive switched ends here for the return trip.

Position: -45°42.71'S, 170°20.40'E

We stopped briefly in Hindon on the return trip. This statue is dedicated to Susan, a Collie Sheep Dog

Position: -45°52.49'S, 170°30.50'E

The Dunedin Station, opened in 1906, is one of New Zealand's most photographed buildings.

Position: -45°38.08'S, 170°12.73'E

Here is video footage of various parts of the trip. We had such a good time that we've booked a trip for the coastal run in a few days.

Position: -45°52.44'S, 170°30.26'E

A delicious pizza lunch with Dunedin-brewed Emerson's Bookbinder ale.

Position: -45°52.60'S, 170°30.00'E

That evening, we went on a tour of the Speight's Brewery, on the original site where it was founded in the late 1800s.

Position: -45°52.60'S, 170°30.00'E

Hops give beer its essential bitterness and aroma--the flavour is quite apparent when you taste it. Speight' uses hops grown in Nelson.

Position: -45°52.60'S, 170°30.00'E

Old kettles in use until quite recently.

Position: -45°52.60'S, 170°30.00'E

Malt after it has been crushed to a powder in the background machines.

Position: -45°52.60'S, 170°30.00'E

The brewery just recently completed a multi-million-dollar upgrade. This new stainless-steel equipment came online in the past few weeks.

Position: -45°52.60'S, 170°30.00'E

The tour ends in the tasting room, where we could sample as much as we liked.

Position: -45°52.47'S, 170°30.25'E

Evening pints on the Octagon at Mac's, whose brewpub we'd visited in Wellington.

Position: -45°52.85'S, 170°30.41'E

To plug into shore in Dunedin, we need one more adapter. We picked up a 20-amp end at Corys, a nearby electrical store, and built a new adapter with it.

Position: -45°51.03'S, 170°32.15'E

Baldwin Street is in the Guiness Book of World record's as steepest street in the world. The gradient at the steepest section is 1 in 2.86, with an average grade from top to bottom of 1 in 3.41. We rode our bikes to the bottom, but didn't even consider trying to ride up.

Position: -45°51.01'S, 170°32.21'E

Baldwin Street is a big tourist draw--perhaps fifty people were there in the half-hour or so we visited.

Position: -45°51.03'S, 170°32.15'E

We took this picture at an angle so that the road was parallel to the horizon.

Position: -45°52.61'S, 170°30.02'E

Lunch at Speight's Ale House back in downtown Dunedin. Our bike ride to Baldwin Street was through the Otago University campus and district, but surprisingly we didn't find an appealing lunch stop there.

Position: -45°52.85'S, 170°30.41'E

Taking on a load of diesel from RD Petroleum. We were down to only 250 gallons after the big run through Fiordland and Stewart Island.

Position: -45°54.20'S, 170°31.94'E

View to the Pacific from the top of Tahuna Road west to Black Head. We'd set out on a bicycle trip, eventually to Tunnel Beach, along the Pacific shore.

Position: -45°54.74'S, 170°29.33'E

The promenade at St. Clair beach was popular on this sunny day.

Position: -45°54.70'S, 170°29.41'E

Several restaurants are alongshore here. We snagged a corner table with great beach views.

Position: -45°54.75'S, 170°28.92'E

The road up from St. Clair to Tunnel Beach was so steep we had to walk the bikes up. But that steepness came with a reward of an amazing view back across the beach we just were on.

Position: -45°54.63'S, 170°28.97'E

View to Otago Harbour from the hill.

Position: -45°55.24'S, 170°27.27'E

We had a little more elevation gain, then the rest of the ride was pretty easy to the trail head, where a 1km track leads down to Tunnel Beach. The scenery was quite dramatic--this it the view partway down the track to an arch on the point below.

Position: -45°55.22'S, 170°27.50'E

A group were perched on the cliff just west of the arch.

Position: -45°55.27'S, 170°27.53'E

Mist-filled Tunnel Beach. If you look closely in the higher-resolution image, you can see two people perched on the rocks beachside.

Position: -45°55.26'S, 170°27.52'E

A tunnel through the cliffs leads down to the beach. The local story is that one of Dunedin's 19th-century gold barons built the tunnel to give his sweetheart a private place to sunbathe.

Position: -45°55.25'S, 170°27.53'E

Looking out to sea from the beach. The seascape was beautiful here--what a wild place.

Position: -45°54.20'S, 170°31.94'E

View to the Pacific from the top of Tahuna Road west to Black Head. We'd set out on a bicycle trip, eventually to Tunnel Beach, along the Pacific shore.

Position: -45°54.74'S, 170°29.33'E

The promenade at St. Clair beach was popular on this sunny day.

Position: -45°54.70'S, 170°29.41'E

Several restaurants are alongshore here. We snagged a corner table with great beach views.

Position: -45°54.75'S, 170°28.92'E

The road up from St. Clair to Tunnel Beach was so steep we had to walk the bikes up. But that steepness came with a reward of an amazing view back across the beach we just were on.

Position: -45°54.63'S, 170°28.97'E

View to Otago Harbour from the hill.

Position: -45°55.24'S, 170°27.27'E

We had a little more elevation gain, then the rest of the ride was pretty easy to the trail head, where a 1km track leads down to Tunnel Beach. The scenery was quite dramatic--this it the view partway down the track to an arch on the point below.

Position: -45°55.22'S, 170°27.50'E

A group were perched on the cliff just west of the arch.

Position: -45°55.27'S, 170°27.53'E

Mist-filled Tunnel Beach. If you look closely in the higher-resolution image, you can see two people perched on the rocks beachside.

Position: -45°55.26'S, 170°27.52'E

A tunnel through the cliffs leads down to the beach. The local story is that one of Dunedin's 19th-century gold barons built the tunnel to give his sweetheart a private place to sunbathe.

Position: -45°55.25'S, 170°27.53'E

Looking out to sea from the beach. The seascape was beautiful here--what a wild place.

Position: -45°52.53'S, 170°30.52'E

We're back at Dunedin Station for another train ride--this one up the Pacific coast. The station interior is more impressive than the exterior, with Royal Doulton mosaic tile floors and stained glass windows.

Position: -45°48.36'S, 170°37.25'E

View across Careys Bay at Port Chalmers to ship heading out to sea. Port Chalmers is one of New Zealand's busiest ports, and also is a cruise ship terminal.

Position: -45°44.81'S, 170°34.67'E

Crossing a small bridge along the edge of Blueskin Bay.

Position: -45°37.45'S, 170°38.63'E

The Waikouaiti River estuary. We'd unfortunately had pretty thick fog through most of the ocean views, but we still got some nice views close-up.

Position: -45°29.16'S, 170°42.89'E

The train stopped in Palmerston for about forty minutes, and we took a walk around. This display commemorates Palmerston's gold-rush days.

Position: -45°30.31'S, 170°42.01'E

The fog lifted and we returned the entire way outside at the very back of the train.

Position: -45°36.28'S, 170°39.97'E

Looking back on the tracks as we speed along.

Position: -45°46.51'S, 170°37.22'E

Inside the Mihiwaka Tunnel, New Zealand's 10th largest at 1323 meters.

Position: -45°47.83'S, 170°37.12'E

The view down to Deborah Bay, just north of Port Chalmers. We again missed the ocean views in thick fog, but still very much enjoyed the trip.

Position: -45°52.50'S, 170°29.90'E

After returning from the train ride, we walked up into the hills west of the Octagon. This is the view looking from Bishop Place looking across the Speight's Brewery to the harbour.

Position: -45°52.54'S, 170°29.80'E

Young school girls in pinafores at St. Joseph's Cathedral School.

Position: -45°52.69'S, 170°30.20'E

We've walked past the Duke of Wellington a half-dozen times, and finally stopped in for a drink. The pub likely was once a bank and has been beautifully restored with chandeliers and complex gilding.

Position: -45°52.53'S, 170°30.52'E

All week, workers have been setting up for the iD Dunedin Fashion Week. The catwalk, running the length of the Dunedin Station platform, is among the longest in the world. As we returned home from dinner, one of the security guards invited us to "have a wee look" at the show in progress.

Position: -45°30.43'S, 170°7.17'E

At Middlemarch with our bikes en route to Waipiata on the Otago Central Rail Trail. Catch-A-Bus picked us up from the boat this morning. We'll cycle the 50km from Waipiata to Middlemarch, and they'll drive us back home from there. The total cost was less than NZ$200--a great deal. You also can rent bikes in Middlemarch.

Position: -45°11.03'S, 170°9.65'E

Ready to start our ride. Rain is pouring today, but we don't mind--we've done our share of rain biking when commuting in Seattle, so we're well-prepared.

Position: -45°11.03'S, 170°9.66'E

Whimsical metal art, built from railroad parts, were common along the route.

Position: -45°11.31'S, 170°10.67'E

Crossing the Taieri River.

Position: -45°12.57'S, 170°15.15'E

Ganger's shed at Kokonga, 10.5km from Waipiata. Information panels and displays are all along the trail, detailing the areas history, geology and geography.

Position: -45°16.45'S, 170°16.45'E

At 91m long and 32m high, this was one of the larger bridges we crossed.

Position: -45°16.76'S, 170°16.75'E

Entering the 151m Prices Creek (Hyde) Tunnel, one of three tunnels on the trail, but the only one we passed though.

Position: -45°16.76'S, 170°16.75'E

The tunnel walls were hand-build with brick and stone.

Position: -45°17.90'S, 170°15.44'E

We stopped for a quick beer and fries at Hyde, 24km from Waipiata.

Position: -45°19.73'S, 170°14.60'E

Rain continued to fall and the trail was quite muddy--Jennifer had a big mud streak all the way up her back. But we were having a great time.

Position: -45°20.96'S, 170°14.19'E

This area of the trail was through dramatic rock-studded gorges.

Position: -45°24.09'S, 170°11.53'E

Only 15km left to reach Middlemarch. And the rain finally has let up.

Position: -45°27.35'S, 170°9.24'E

6.2km from Middlemarch. We enjoyed all of the ride, but it definately was a lot nicer now that conditions had improved.

Position: -45°30.17'S, 170°7.56'E

End of the road at Middlemarch, 50km and 6 hours from Waipiata.

Position: -45°30.41'S, 170°7.40'E

A large motorbike rally was taking place over the weekend. We'd actually seen quite a few groups on the trail, but nowhere close to the number of motorcycles we saw in Middlemarch.

Position: -45°30.39'S, 170°7.40'E

Beer and warmth at Quench Cafe and Bar.

Position: -45°48.43'S, 170°37.90'E

We contacted Otago Harbour Control to notify them of our intentions to leave. They said the Curio Bay was inbound, but there was room to pass. We radioed the Curio Bay for passing instructions as we left the dock and they said "pass port to port" and then changed it to "do not enter the channel -- you can wait for us to pass at the LNG terminal." They later said "I can see you now and you are pretty small so com'on through port to port." Neither the Corio Bay nor Harbor Control thought the pass was unusual or notable. But it was closer than we were expecting, mostly because they were leaving room for their tug escort on their starboard side. It was actually three boats wide with the forward tractor tug escort, the Corio Bay, and us in a fairly narrow channel.

Position: -45°48.43'S, 170°37.90'E

Jacques Vuye noticed this picture posted to MarineTraffic.com of Dirona passing the Corio Bay. Jennifer is visible just outside the pilothouse door shooting the pictures for the video.

Position: -44°59.40'S, 171°39.37'E

James setup a test system and resolved two issue with the aquastat, both involving the low-limit switch. When the boiler is below the low-limit setting, the boiler comes on even when heat is not called for. This is to maintain a minimum boiler temp and prevent corrosion in the boiler. This is nice, but it prevents efficient use of the furnace for very low temp freeze protection. We want to be able to leave the furnace on when the boat is unoccupied and have the boiler only come on if the temp drops below the min thermostat setting of 41F. The second issue is the aquastat only brings on the circulation pump if the boiler is above the low limit. The logic here is "why circulate if the water is cold?". This doesn't work for our application, however, because we may be heating the water using the engine with the boiler shut down.

Position: -44°52.40'S, 171°47.93'E

We had wonderfully calm conditions on the run to Akaroa. The winds were less than ten knots, with minimal pitch and roll.

Position: -43°53.43'S, 172°57.70'E

Arch and light at Akaroa Head. Dramatic sheer cliffs line both sides of the Akaroa Harbour entry channel.

Position: -43°48.56'S, 172°57.95'E

View to the anchorage in Akaroa Harbour from Stanley Park. It was nice to just motor in, drop the hook and be settled right away.

Position: -43°48.76'S, 172°57.40'E

The old Akaroa Head Lighthouse was moved here after an automated light replaced it.

Position: -43°48.55'S, 172°57.63'E

We're using the Anchor Buddy to moor the dinghy frequently now, since first doing so at Oban.

Position: -43°48.54'S, 172°57.74'E

We had a great lunch at L'Hotel. The restaurant had a heated deck with a full harbor view. Akaroa has French heritage, with street names such as Rue Benoit. Several excellent restaurants are there, many along the water. We had another good meal yesterday at Bully Hayes.

Position: -43°48.38'S, 172°57.58'E

The Akaroa evening lights. The harbour is wonderfully calm and sheltered.

Position: -43°30.90'S, 173°21.13'E

We passed a huge pod of several dozen Dolphins, leaping and splashing as the chased our bow.

Position: -42°37.15'S, 173°58.83'E

The conditions have been extremely calm, but the winds have started to pick up. The forecast is for 30-knot winds in Cook Strait today, but the wind and swell will be with us, so we don't expect the sea to be very rough.

Position: -41°36.52'S, 174°40.71'E

The winds continued to climb and were gusting into the 40s as we crossed Cook Strait. The waves were about 12 feet on about 6-8 seconds, but they were behind us, so boat motion generally wasn't too bad.

Position: -41°21.60'S, 174°50.35'E

Substantial waves were in the channel of Pencarrow Head. We radioed Wellington Harbour Control to notify them of our arrival and they reported that conditions in Cook Strait were moderate. We'd not like to see rough conditions if those were moderate.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

Walking one of the deck tanks to a local petrol station for a gasoline fill. We're berthed once again at Chaffer's Marina, right downtown.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

Time to replace the Nordhavn pennant we've been flying since Seattle. They are strong, but the trip into Wellington was the end of it. The flag is ribboned, the 3mm rope holding it failed and the snap clips were almost worn through.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

We shipped spares and supplies from Seattle to Wellington via sea freight. A forklift operator working at a nearby contruction site saw we had a pallet to move and sprung into action to help.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

A boater's Christmas: 28 cubic feet of spares and supplies, weighing a total of 330 pounds, arrived for Dirona.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

Some of the pallet contents after we'd upacked the boxes. The shipment included an upgraded heat-exchanger for the hydruaulics system, a spare 190-amp main engine alternator, a replacement Furuno SC30 satellite compass, a flywheel puller, Maretron parts, and various other supplies consumed over the last eight months. We also shipped several product or brands unattainable in New Zealand or Australia: Goof-off, varnish, cat litter and a 120-volt, 60Hz electric kettle. We have some work ahead of us getting all this stowed.

Position: -41°17.37'S, 174°46.95'E

Rain fell all day yesterday and today, but cleared by evening. This is looking across the harbour towards downtown.

Position: -41°17.54'S, 174°46.75'E

Watching the Super Rugby match at Molley Malone's Irish pub.

Position: -41°17.60'S, 174°46.89'E

The sidewalk seating at the bars along Courtney Place was packed as we walked home after the game. Wellington really hops on a Friday night.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

James up the mast replacing the Furuno SC30 satellite compass with the replacement we just received.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

Amazon Fresh in New Zealand. Well, not really, but we do love the dozens of bright green Amazon Fresh grocery bags they left with us from our weekly Seattle deliveries. The bags are big and strong--we use them for shopping and for stowing all manner of goods and parts.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

The dash apart to install a Maretron IPG100 internet protocol gateway that came in our shipment. We also made some improvements to our on-board Wifi system and fixed some USB port issues.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

Strait Shipping's Santa Regina towers over the marina as it exits the harbour.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

We put covers over the engine vents to keep the engine room warmer, and nicer to work in, if the engine or generator hasn't run for a while. This is the first time we've used the covers since Seattle.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.14'E

Spitfire, chattering and flicking his tail, watches seagulls landing on the piling just off the port bow.

Position: -41°17.15'S, 174°46.76'E

Looking towards the marina from Queens Wharf.

Position: -41°17.06'S, 174°46.70'E

Ice skating rink at Queens Wharf.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.13'E

Panoramic view from our berth at Chaffer's marina.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.13'E

After a three-month circumnavigation of New Zealand's South Island, we're back in Wellington. We first visited here in January, after spending a few weeks in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. On our first visit ... Read more.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.13'E

Panoramic view from our berth at Chaffer's marina.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.13'E

We replaced the destroyed Nordhavn pennant with one that arrived with our shipment.

Position: -41°17.41'S, 174°47.13'E

In Whangarei we'd had stainless steel brackets made to replace the rusting ones for our outdoor LED lights. We'd already replaced those on the stack, here James is doing the forward spotlights.

Position: -41°17.55'S, 174°48.16'E

The day was sunny and warm, so we set off on a bike ride around the harbour shore. Many homes in Wellington are built up steep cliffs with no road access, so the owners build personal tramways to transfer between garage and house. We'd seen this one in a video of Wellington's tramways at the cable car museum.

Position: -41°18.47'S, 174°47.90'E

This massive sculpture is a working wind vane, one of many wonderful wind-based creations along the Meridian Wind Sculpture Walkway.

Position: -41°18.91'S, 174°48.62'E

Wellington nickname is "Windy Welly" due to the frequency of gale-force winds that barrel through. Wellington's windiest year saw 233 days with winds over gale-force. The average wind speed at the Wellington airport is 29km/h, compared with Chicago, also a city with a reputation for big winds, at a mere 18km/h. And the highest wind speed recorded in Wellington was 248km/h. The "Wellington Blown Away" sign celebrates that reputation.

Position: -41°17.05'S, 174°49.56'E

Light on the tip of Point Halswell. The walkway there is barely walkable with the waves splashing over in relatively calm conditions. It wouldn't take much bigger waves to making reaching the light impossible without risking getting soaked or swept away.

Position: -41°17.05'S, 174°49.56'E

View back to Wellington from Point Halswell.

Position: -41°17.80'S, 174°50.10'E

The sand beach at Scorching Bay was popular on this Good Friday holiday.

Position: -41°18.96'S, 174°49.66'E

This windsurfer frequently worked right up to shore, with the kite way inland over the beach.

Position: -41°19.76'S, 174°49.99'E

We climbed to the top of Benoit Trail for excellent view. This is looking southeast across Breaker Bay and the entrance channel to Wellington Harbour.

Position: -41°19.76'S, 174°50.00'E

Looking southwest across Chaffers Passage to Palmer Head.

Position: -41°18.25'S, 174°47.49'E

Entering Mount Victoria Tunnel to return back to downtown Wellington.

Position: -41°18.21'S, 174°47.36'E

We're glad there was a bicycle track inside Mount Victoria Tunnel--there's no room on the road below.

Position: -41°17.63'S, 174°46.55'E

After the 20-mile ride, well-earned pints at Duke Carvell's.