Matauwhi Bay and Russell Photo Log

December 23-28, 2014

Matauwhi Bay is not the main harbor for Russell, but it has more room for anchoring, and it’s under a one km walk to town.

Logbook – Tuesday December 23, 2014 (Opua to Matauwhi Bay)

Passage Log

1555 Engines on
1720 Arrive Russell (1)

Daily Notes

(1) by way of fuel dock – filled water tank
Dinner @ Hone’s Pizzeria in Russell. Cute town. Mulberry trees and community veggie garden. Bathroom combo C1492

Logbook – Wednesday December 24, 2014 (Matauwhi Bay)

Daily Notes

Xmas eve – hike cancelled due to gloomy weather. Game day & lunch on s/v Field Trip. Lots of fun.
Walk aroun dtown.
Pizzas and ice cream sundaes

Game day on s/v Field Trip on Christmas Eve day.

A look back at the Russell Boating Club from shore

Finished off the evening with ice cream sundaes

Email to family and friends dated December 24, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Merry Xmas Eve

We’ve moved a few miles to the town of Russell, and yesterday evening we went ashore and had a great dinner in this cute little town. At the dinghy dock we met a local guy who gave us the combo to the showers at the “Russell Boating Club” and who pointed us to the mulberry bush and the community garden nearby, and the boys had a lot of fun picking and eating mulberries on the way into town. Russell seems smaller and less in your face touristy than Paihia, and they call their malecon “The Strand” so I love that I get to go running on The Strand again. We had planned a day of hiking today with our friends on another kid boat called Field Trip, but it’s gray and drizzly, so we may pass on that and just play games or something. We will be missing all of you fiercely this Christmas season.
-D.

Logbook – Thursday December 25, 2014 (Matauwhi Bay)

Daily Notes

Merry xmas! Presents, breakfast crepes, on shore playing soccer & paddle board with Field Trip
D – run on strand
NZ Monopoly w/ Field Trip kids
Ham, Mashed potatoes, green beans for xmas dinner

Brenden was awake first on Christmas morning

Logbook – Friday December 26, 2014 (Matauwhi Bay)

Daily Notes

Heritage Trail #2 – Flagstaff & Tapeka
Dinner on Exodus with Filed Trip. Trivial Pursuit

We went on a family hike, and first stop was Maiki Hill and the Flagstaff. No flag flying that day.

A view of Kororareka Bay (the main Russell Harbor) and Matauwhi Bay is in the background

Second stop, a beach on the Tapeka Peninsula. Lots of Kiwis out having a nice family day at the beach

While the boys stayed at the beach, Tim and I went up Tapeka Track. The sign says it’s a 1 hr hike but we nailed it in 7 minutes up and 6 minutes down.

A view of the beach where we left the boys

Almost back to Russell, a view of the wharf

Email to family and friends dated December 26, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Merry Christmas

We are still in Russell and we had a nice, relaxed, low key Christmas yesterday. The boys are too old to wake up super early to see what Santa brought them so at about 9:00 they rolled out of bed and joined me in the salon. We opened a few presents (seriously, only a few, we keep Christmas light these days. You don’t need a lot of stuff when you live on a boat.) Then we had dessert crepes for breakfast and just lounged around. It was a gray and dreary day, but we still made it to shore in the afternoon and I went for a run on the strand and the boys played soccer and paddle board with the s/v Field Trip gang. Then all the kids came back to Exodus to play some New Zealand Monopoly. We had ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans for our Christmas dinner, and it was my first ham, so we were all relieved it turned out well. I know today is Christmas for most of you, so I hope you are having a wonderful day, and we miss you all.
Love,
-D.

Logbook – Saturday December 27, 2014 (Matauwhi Bay)

Daily Notes