New Zealand Summer 2009 -2010

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……..

Melaka, Malaysia - November 2009

Local Transport

Two full day sails and we have arrived at Melaka. The marina is brand new, in fact, not even open yet but we are welcome. I think this is somewhere we are going to enjoy. It is a 15 minute walk to town or Chinatown. The place reeks of history and is a mixture of both old and new architecture. It also has a mixture of culture, each distinctly separate but seemingly in harmony. I find talking to taxi drivers a great way to gain insights into the culture and politics of an area.

Sadly we say goodbye to Dave who needs to get back to Australia where new job opportunities await his attention. We hope he and Anne will come and join us again next year.

While here we have time to start researching for a good haulout facility. We find that the one on the top of the list, while having impressive pamphlets doesn’t actually exist yet!!! Friends at another yard are not getting the service they were promised. And our other option is Langkawi, which is rumoured to be full. So it looks like we can’t haul out until next year.

With that decision made we relax and enjoy the opportunity to slow down a bit. Daryl decides to get some long overdue dentistry done. With bridging involved we know we will be here for a few weeks. I am happy to begin the Christmas shopping and the big air conditioned malls are soooo comfortable.

We took a bus to Kuala Lumpur, two hours drive away, for all of $4 each staying a couple of nights at a nice hotel in the centre of town. On the way I asked Daryl what he was looking forward to – watching TY – poor deprived man. We’ve become right yuppies, taking the laptop along, so we don’t miss out on any internet opportunities.

Water Islands........................................ Leaving Melacca

Time soon passes filled with café lunches, wandering the night markets, high teas, museums, mosques and churches and $1 DVDS to watch. By now it is the wet season and Melaka seems to be in a storm belt. Outings are planned around dodging the thunder and lightening storms with some inevitable cancellations.

Daryl is very pleased with the dentistry results and gone is his toothless grin. The cost was also a fraction of the cost in NZ. Prescription glasses are something else that seems very cheap. I got some single vision prescription lenses and a frame of my choice for $40.

We decided that the safest option for leaving the boat was to sail back to Puteri Harbour. This was done simply enough and we are currently securely tied up in a berth that will be ours for the next three months.

The marina boat is taking us to Danga Bay in Johor Baru on Saturday. It travels at 24 knots so the 5 miles is covered in less than 15 minutes. It beats taking our dinghy!!!

On Monday we are going to pop back to Singapore for the night as we have heard that the Christmas lights in Orchard Rd are a sight to be seen.

There’s only one more week of sight seeing, shopping and boat preparation before we wing our way back to NZ on Dec. 10th.

Johore Baru, Malaysia - November 2009

It is great to be in Malaysia – the end of one adventure and the beginning of another. We have joined the Sail Malaysia rally but we’re not sure how far we will follow it for. So, on a rally means more…….. free tee-shirts, souvenirs, dinners, shows, tours and socializing. The first week was a whirlwind of organised and voluntary activities. Fantastic to be able to visit a mall with a well stocked supermarket. And the shopping….. I’m going to love this place. In general things are so cheap.


New Govt. office at Puteri................................... Some people like local food ????



Danga Bay welcome dinner .................................I do not know her


Some of the local dancers that entertained us.


Puteri Marina is luxury living at a budget price. Air conditioning, a hose at our doorstep, plug in power and wifi internet - all luxuries we no longer take for granted. The only down side to this marina is that it is in a very new development and is quite isolated by its distance from shops, restaurants etc. The staff however bend over backwards to bridge this gap. We have been amazed at their willingness to shuttle folk to wherever they need to be.



Puteri Marina.............................................. Yes We think Cool Bananas suits this marina


Home for Cool Bananas....................................... Time to relax after the checkin

A group of us got a bus over to Singapore for a night. Wow, an hour down the road and we’re in another country. High on Daryl list of ‘must do’s was Lim Sim Square, seven floors of wall to wall electronics. It’s not often Daryl is keener than me to go shopping!!!! The coffee time discussion was lively and well over my head most of the time. Under the table were bags bulging with boxes of various sizes and shapes. The group then split, some heading for the marine stores while others of us devised our own cultural tour – Raffles, museums and general wandering to enjoy the architecture.

Singapore -Highrise garden


Merlion protecting Singapore harbour (I think they will have to move it again)


The famous Raffles Hotel .........................When in Singapore You must have a Singapore sling

We took a cruise up the river and wandered Little India and Chinatown. We were planning to go to the night safari but we were so tired we opted for a local bar and a complimentary Singapore sling instead.

City life is great but we were ready to sail back down the waterway, under the causeway and head up the west coast of Malaysia. First stop Melaka.