We left the protected inland waters of the Bay of Islands with its eclectic collection of yachts and headed south for Auckland.

We didn’t see much of the Bay of Islands, spending our days instead on deferred boat maintenance, visiting with long lost boaties, and taking care of laundry and compliance testing of our LPG bottle. But there was much to see from the anchorage, like huge great megayachts…

and cormorants with blue eyeliner and yellow beak bridges.

We left in convoy with our Lebanese friends Sara and Rolando on Malikalalou.  Though there was not much wind, it was a beautiful day for a boat ride

and Rolando was feeling the expanse of the scenery in his soul as we motored together towards Cape Brett.

 

We passed between the Cape Brett lighthouse and Bird Rock.

Malikalalou had a nice view of  Bint al Khamseen motoring past The Hole In the Wall.

The coastline was very rugged.

Offshore we were accosted by a customs interdiction airplane who called us on the VHF and asked K to spell out “Bravo India November Tango, Alpha Lima, Kilo Hotel Alpha Mike Sierra Echo Echo November.”  Then they buzzed off and asked Rolando to spell “Malikalalou.”

We spent the day in sight of the verdant coast cloaked with turf and forest, with a scattering of sheep. 

By nightfall we were creeping through some large breaking swells,

that were fighting their way into Tutukaka Bay.

The next morning at dawn we creeped back out, loosing sight of Malikalalou in the troughs.

The wind was up and down all day as we sailed, motorsailed and motored past the dramatic coast…

 

and the fog shrouded offshore islands.

The Hens and Chicks island cluster was full of seabirds.

Butterscotch-capped gannets sped past in pairs and plunged into the ocean like missiles when they found what they were searching for.

 

We shared a final anchorage with Malikalalou before parting ways for the southern summer. There was a pre-dinner swap of ingredients, and then a huge middle eastern feast. Sara and Rolando brought a full-on mezze with baba ganough, mjedrah, labne, sumac tomatoes and their special olives. K made lamb with eggplant rice and Arabic bread. 

Alert seagulls were in attendance on the bow pulpit.

The next day brought us to the southern terminus of our Pacific roundtrip.