I am in New Zealand getting ready to come home. I am getting used to the colder weather - it was real shock to the system. We have been out walking most days. Some beautiful countryside near here. We took Rita - Marion's daughter to Picton on Saturday and had a lovely drive through the counryside. We stoped and had a picnic near where they used to stay in the Marina in Picton. It was wonderful. Rita wanted to visit Nelson Market before she left so off we trotted early Saturday morning. It was great fun. There are lots of cottage [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Nelson yesterday after overnighting in Auckland. I didn't realise I could be so cold!! My friend Marion and her husband were at the airport to meet me. Marion had to work in the afternoon so I tagged along. She gives wine tasting tours of Nelson - I tasted the non-alcoholic drinks. It was also an opportunity to see Nelson. It was great fun but cold - The high was about 12C. Today Marion Rita and I went on a Tramp in Nelson National lakes. A tramp is long walk. There are huts dotted along these trails in the [View Full Entry]

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On Monday 24th August, Carl,Michael - the two men and I - left the Wyuna and decided to check into a hotel to get ourselves sorted out, cleaned and laundry cleaned etc. We all shared the one room. It is amazing how after spending 3 weeks together on a boat - how intimate one gets. You may be wondering who shared with who??? I will keep you guessing!! It was Sooooo…. Nice to get a bath and use as much water as we wanted with out hearing the captain say don’t waste water!!! I got my laundry cleaned so I had [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday, we have arrived back in Honiara and the adventure here in the Solomon Islands is coming to a close. We had 10 glorious days diving and swimming in the Russell islands (group in the Solomon’s Islands), Salvo Island and in Mboli passage between big and small ngaela Island. Most days, there was an afternoon dive followed by a night dive. Some of the dives were spectacular and other were totally different to what I had ever experienced but all with the aim of finding shells. My most impressive dive was a small cave dive which was on a sea-wall. The [View Full Entry]

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We have spent the past 5days in Honiara, not my favorite place in the world waiting for the rest of the guest to arrive - which they did today Sunday - we now have 6 onboard. The plan was to leave as soon as they arrived however, the dingy had a mishap yesterday and we have to get the outboard fixed before we head out. Fortunately, Brian’s father-in-law owns the Yamaha dealership and we will get preferential treatment tomorrow. So we are hoping to be off Monday afternoon. This weekend, Honiara was guest to the US navy and South Pacific Australia [View Full Entry]

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On Tuesday morning I walked with the children to school. What an adventure and again another insight to their culture. We started our walk to school about 6.20am as school at 7.30am. Madu called me at 6.15 to leave for school - we headed out over a well worn path. To set the scene - it is light but the sun is not up yet, three children 8, 9, 10, yrs head out on their own- no parental supervision. On our way there were a few streams which we crossed by walking on a 6” plank or a long log. To [View Full Entry]

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Early Friday morning we left Honiara for Avi-Avi Marina about 24 mile away on Ngelic Island. We arrived at 11.00am picking a mooring outside the Pamler’s house (friends of Brian). The boat was situated so that the dinghy could be used to go backwards and forwards to the house by a pulley system. The Palmer family is affluent by the standards of outer islands Solomon people. They have electricity for about 14hrs a day. The Marian has a generator producing electricity which they are able to tap into. Brian hooked us up to shore power and he was able to do [View Full Entry]

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We arrive in Honiara Monday evening after a 9 ½ hr journey from Marail - southern end of Guadalcanal. Again we were going down wind averaging 6.5 - 7k. It was a peaceful sunny with a few squalls very pleasant. Brian has mooring buoy about 50m off the Honiara Yacht Club. The plan was just to pick up the buoy and we would be set for the evening - We arrived just as it was getting dark at 6.30pm to find a catamaran had attached a sunken vessel next to Brian’s mooring which was no where in site. After a few [View Full Entry]

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We left Wallis island on 14th July at 3.00pm, however, not before I visited the dentist. All weekend and during the public holiday I had problems with my tooth. We decided to take the precaution and make sure everything was OK. It wasn’t. The dentist diagnosised a tooth abscess and gave me antibiotics for the trip. It worked a charm and felt a lot better, however it puts an end to the diving until it is repaired. So I will probably be home early. We went out the same narrow channel where we entered Wallis Island. Fortunately, the current was with [View Full Entry]

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We have been diving (night and days), snorkeling, touring the island with Ann and François - generally having a great time. The past two evening we have been doing night diving - 2 days after the full moon is the best time to find some of the shells Brian and Carl are looking for. It has been good to conquer my fear of the ocean at night. We did a fast drift dive thru a narrow passage from the outer reef inward where there was lots of current - scary exhilarating and fun all at the same time. The weather [View Full Entry]

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