We didn’t feel so sorry for them! This majestic, untouched marine reserve offered the most spectacular rock formations of walls and arches, impressive sea caves, and a myriad of friendly sea life. The Rikoriko (see our Instagram photos!) Cave is one of the largest sea caves in the world. Several of the subtropical fish living in this marine reserve aren’t found anywhere else in New Zealand!

It was a 6.5 hour sail to the Poor Knights. We read, vacuumed, cooked, played cards, gave each other foot massages, and read some more. Dalton has been drawing frequently and is especially enjoying drawing celebrities and fashion wear. Solitaire has become a minor obsession while underway and early in the mornings. We caught up on laundry, of course, as the sun was out and the weather was perfect for line drying.

Upon our arrival, Hall enjoyed the swarm of fish off the stern as he fed them hotdogs, a treat recommended by the locals. We settled into a beautiful, secure anchorage before heading out to snorkel and explore the caves. The sunset was, of course, remarkable.

The weather front came in sooner than expected, so upon waking to rain and wind in the Poor Knights, we decided to head up to the Bay of Islands, prematurely. We had a 4 hour rainy cruise up to Urupukapuka island in the Bay of Islands. There are a few other boats here, mostly locals, also finding shelter from the incoming weather. Dalton and Hall windsurfed and swam in the rain- always beneficial to take advantage of moving our bodies when in such a small space! We have a couple of days worth of decent meals remaining, and then we’ll need a store! Russell is about a 30 minute dinghy ride away, so Dalton and John have planned a provisioning outing on Saturday or Sunday. We also need to dump our “rubbish,” which is apparently a very scarce operation, and can only happen on Sunday afternoon in special green bags that we can only purchase from the grocery store in Russell. So, that’ll be our activity for the day! We plan to be here for a few days to wait out the front, and it seems like a fantastic location to settle. Hoping for a dry window to head on land and take a hike at some point- it’s beyond inviting…

Quinoa surprise (+ bacon) for dinner. I’m sure you can guess which one everyone is excited about, and it’s quite nice not to have too many options.

We’re all learning to be more and more flexible,

s/v Nogal

Photos on Instagram!