The boys white water rafting at Okere Falls.... Daryl's sexy legs
Holiday with Mum in Orewa
How quickly the summer passed in New Zealand.
We arrived back to the usual flurry of festivities. I managed to cop a head cold followed by injuring my back which forced a low profile for me in the lead up to Christmas. Daryl on the other hand threw on a shirt and trousers and leapt straight back into office life selling real estate and advising on property investment. What a great combination when your work is also a passion!! With Daryl happy I could turn my attentions to supporting Amanda and Matt in organising and preparing for their wedding. Out came the sewing machine and the creative juices running. Did you know a bride usually spends an average of 250 hrs planning her wedding? Amanda would have definitely been in excess of that and it was lovely to be home and a part of it. And what great satisfaction there is for a job well done. We all had a great weekend, the venue was superb and we were proud parents indeed.
Amanda's hen party at Raglan...............................................Kelly pampering the bride to be
The proud parents..........
Waiuku on West Coast NZ.........................Bishop Brown officiating
The family
Our two gorgeous girls..................................Happily married
We were pleased to be home for Daryl’s Mum’s 85th birthday and enjoy a lovely day with family in sunny Opotiki. In some ways I think travelling and having time away from family merely highlights just how important they are to you. It also gives me great pleasure in seeing the next generation maturing and parenting with such commitment, energy and enthusiasm.
Courtney ,the youngest of the bunch..... Jenny and Brooke
Ashlee and Liam.........................Grandad Selby
So all the formal wear and business wear are back in storage, swimwear has been updated, the accounts are all in order and the travellers are off again. We had a lovely, albeit wet, few days in Mooloolaba catching up with cruising friends from ‘Oz Magic’ before returning to Puteri Marina. Tension mounted as we got closer to the boat and then relief in finding the boat in great shape. Chris and Fi on ‘Three Ships’ weren’t so lucky – they found a rodent had taken up residence aboard and had caused some havoc - but nothing a few days cleaning (in 30++ temperatures) wouldn’t fix!!
Networking is an important (and fun) part of cruising. We have been getting in touch with yachts that are up ahead of us to see how they have been getting on with hauling out and having work done on their boats, where the best places are to stop, good places to eat and sights not to be missed. Only last night we had maps out and a cruiser was showing the hazards of entering Port Klang. We have recorded important things like where we can buy Australian cheese and the Chinese man’s shop where you need to wait until all the Muslim people have excited the shop, before asking for some bacon. He then scuttles upstairs and returns with a plain packaged parcel which he discreetly passes over. Sounds more like a drug deal to me than a mere bacon purchase – I’ll keep you posted.
In contrast, we know boats who are preparing for the Indonesian rally that we did last year and we are giving them info. on what we think might be useful to them – a great system of sharing.
Since getting back Daryl has sewn a sun cover (to see if can shade the windows from the unrelenting sun) and we’ve had a day trip to Singapore to get some marine supplies. Daryl insists he wants to get into the rancid looking water surrounding the boat to inspect and clean the hull before we set off. Yuck!! We have been reprovisioning and getting organized for sailing back up the west coast of Malaysia to find somewhere suitable to haul out.
Bus stop at Gelang Patah, Malaysia.......... Toshia and Syuri on crowded Causeway bus
Lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Singapore
Shopping for boat bits
Chinatown, Singapore.....................Maybe ....not
Chinatown......................................................................A blend of modern and old
This year we intend to travel more slowly than last year, ‘stop and smell the roses’, so to speak. We aren’t having formal crew aboard but lots of friends and family coming and going to share the time with. After the haul out we will head up in Thailand, if time permits. Then sail back down, around Singapore and up the east coast of Malaysia. In June we will join the Malaysia West rally that will sail across to Borneo visiting Brunei, Sarawak and Sabah. We’ll return to the mainland in November and after that is anyone’s guess……..
