Seafaring

eedless to say, I was very happy to finally arrive at my hotel (Worldmark timeshare) and drop my bags so I could explore Chinatown in the early morning.

To be back on the ocean after months within Sydney harbor was liberating. As a bonus, it did not take long to hook up with some small bonito on the trolling lines. We barely made it near Broken Bay, just 20 miles up the coast when the wind faltered and rainy patches filled in.

We set off in our rental car to explore what we could of the beautiful subtropical North Island in a week’s time. Our BNB bach pad was four hours north from Auckland in the town of Mangonui, but the drive went fast despite the anxiety of keeping in the left lane on narrow, winding roads. After a good night's sleep, we set out exploring the next day, soaking in the rolling paddocks framed by wooded hills, epic vistas over the many bays, and in small towns as old as European history on the island.