The car is gone and we're on our way...

We have sold our car and along with it our VIP status in NZ! It wasn't quick and we were getting worried about it. There seem to be more used cars than buyers and we were getting a bit worried about what we would do if we were stuck with a car. With our best used car marketing skills we posted large signs and a fluorescent streamer on the antenna, our Swedish friends Bo and Vivi loaned us a cell phone to field calls and this afternoon after a trip to the mechanic, the bank and the post office we are officially car-less!



The bow roller has taken form. It's been welded and Cliff finished the last fitting and welding on Friday afternoon. Our big projects are mostly done and the smaller items are being deferred until the next stop. We have enjoyed our stay at Riverside Drive Marina. There is a great sense of community, weekly barbecues, work areas, proximity to downtown, convenience of chandlery and hospitality of Ray and Karl has made our stay feel like guests. We feel very fortunate to have landed at such a perfect place for our stop in New Zealand. Of course, if we come back to NZ again we hope to see more by boat and do less work on the boat but when we do stop at a marina it will be here.



It feels a bit like the end of summer camp with boats leaving every day and new rounds of good-byes as they go. It's been a fantastic stay here in Whangarei. It's the longest stop we've had since leaving home and we have formed some lasting friendships with boats (from Sweden, England, France, Switzerland, South Africa, Canada, Germany,USA, NZ, and Netherlands) we will look for in our future travels.



With Peter there is always time for play and he has found many ways to entertain himself and our neighbors too.


As we write this we are preparing to head out to sea on a passage to New Caledonia. The boat is ready to go - all that remains is to get our sea legs (and stomach for Ginger) back!