We had another great day in the Bay of Islands. We were going to try a hike but it seemed quite far to get to the trailhead and then we got an invitation to join some other boats for a BBQ on a beach nearby. So that’s what we did.
We spent the morning baking brownies and marinating chicken thighs to cook (other boats were providing the grills) and then packed everything up to go.
Shortly after arriving, I realized we hadn’t closed our hatches. Since the rain seems to arrive without warning here, I thought we should go back and close them. Cobin was happy to go back to Charm as well to retrieve the machete I bought him in Tonga. He and Joe made a sheath for it and fashioned a belt out of some rope we got in Tonga so now he can wear it around.
He quickly put it to use on the island, opening coconuts by request. The kids also played soccer and Joe and Richard from Tintin managed to play a little baseball with some hard fruit/nut objects and a piece of wood they found on the beach. Cobin and Tully climbed some trees and Tully and Marin did some gymnastics, dance and fighting moves and I wandered around, watching and spotting and photographing. Joe cooked our teriyaki chicken which we had for lunch, dinner, and will use again tomorrow in quesadillas. As I mentioned, we are down to the dregs and have to stretch all the protein we have. Although we still have a bag of frozen chicken breasts so I think we could have made it a couple more days at least.
When the picnic was winding down, I asked one of the other boats to drop me off at a section of coral that I was eager to snorkel. The coral was fantastic – very similar to the area we snorkeled yesterday. There is a tremendous variety of coral here and it is very healthy. It’s delightful to find these places where, at least so far, climate change is not having a significant impact.
When Joe and the kids went by, I still wasn’t ready so asked if Cobin would come back and get me. He and Eva came back just as I was starting to get very chilled (the water isn’t cold but does get chilly after a while, especially with today’s overcast skies) and we cruised around in the dinghy, exploring some of the mini islands. We all climbed up on one and the kids jumped off into the water while I got the dinghy and picked them up.
The kids played on the paddleboard while I did a workout on the boat (I use DVDs I brought with me) and Joe took the dinghy to do some climbing on the limestone islands. I wish now that I had gone too but I was chilled when I got back from snorkeling and didn’t relish the idea of going on a windy dinghy ride.
We are leaving at 1:30 am tonight to go to Somosomo on the island of Taveuni. We will stick with Aurora B to make sure their engine troubles don’t recur so will be traveling slower than normal. All of us are looking forward to Somosomo – we should be able to ride out the heavier winds, reprovision, and find the natural water slide, as well as the jewel in the crown of any location – internet!
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