Finally left the lovely Gippsland lakes on the morning of the 10th of April. Our plan was to aim for Eden possibly arriving after dark, maybe in the wee hours, which we were quite ok with. Having been there before we know the well charted and wide open harbour so would have been happy to go in at night. Plans changed along the way though and we decided to push on to Bermagui. It was a pretty uneventful journey, first heading east along the south coast of Victoria, Passing Point Hicks and Gabo Island before turning the corner at the VIC-NSW border. Once we got to Green Cape its pretty much due north and we arrived at Bermagui just after 9am, having motor sailed most of the way, with the emphasis on motoring...

Having spoken to both the marina (aka Fisherman's Coop), who wanted to put us on the fuel dock, and local Marina Rescue "yeah yachts go into the lagoon all the time..." we opted to anchor in the lagoon. Well that was interesting, it is indeed a very shallow anchorage and while we arrived at high tide and anchored in the deepest water we could find, just inside the entrance, it wasn't long before our freshly wiped bottoms were sitting on the bottom! In fact we sat motionless for 2 hours either side of high tide. It was fairly clean sand but still not a good look and it was going to restrict our departure time. We spent a couple of days here just chilling out and exploring. Keith had not been into Bermagui since the '98 Sydney to Hobart race, when Sienna was towed in with a busted engine and crew the worst for wear. They had stood by Offshore Stand Aside, who had rolled, lost the mast and cabin top and were totally disabled awaiting helicopter rescue. Alot has changed here in that time, hard to believe it was 27 years ago! We popped into Marine Rescue to say hi, sadly the folk who were around at that time had long since retired.

Meanwhile we enjoyed wandering around the lovely, and sleepy town of Bermagui. The rocky coastline is spectacular and the beaches are beautiful. There are some pretty good coffee shops and boutiques here too. We waited for a small-ish southerly front to pass through, and for winds and seas to ease. We eventually relented, went into the harbour and spent our last night on the Fuel Dock so we didn't have to wait for the high tide to depart! And off we went, spag bol at the ready, an overnight passage to Sydney town!​

After spending most of our first day resting and recovering from our passage, we welcomed a 35' mono onto the dock. They had just arrived after a 54hr passage from Triabunna on the east coast of Tassie, weary but elated. By the time they made it to the pub the forecast southerly, that we had both run from, had kicked in. Coupled with a big east coast low off southern NSW, lets just say conditions were pretty ordinary for the next couple of days. We stayed put on the Cunninghame "4 hour" dock over the weekend, doing a few odd jobs on board and a bit of shopping.

​The sun reappeared on Monday and we decided to head west and explore a little bit ahead of our lift out on Thursday. We pass by the channel of Lakes Entrance, where we came in on Friday. Even from a distance we can see big waves breaking across the channel. No wonder the fishing boats have been staying put!

First stop was not very far, a tiny little bay on the edge of the channel called Harpers Bight, where we had our first encounter with the public moorings. These are large, round, flat floats with a 50cm high post and ring on top, and a thick coating of hull-scraping mussels on the float and the anchor line. Unfortunately the post is not tall enough for my short arms to reach from the cross beam at the front of the boat and you can't lift the buoy out of the water either. This means Keith has to manoeuvre the boat so that the mooring buoy is adjacent to the transom, avoiding fouling our prop on the mooring anchor line, then I can reach it to pass a line through the ring.  Once that is done I have to walk the captive buoy forward while Keith reverses the boat. I can then take the buoy around to the front of the boat, lead the mooring line under the seagull striker and two sets of furling lines, and attach the line to the forward cleat. Simple! Keith can then lean far enough over the side to get a second line through the same ring to attached to the other side, so we have a bridle arrangement. Difficult to do in high winds and with a strong tide pushing you around, but not too bad in calm conditions. Particularly if no one is watching...​

From our lovely anchorage we do some exploring, with a "drive by" of Metung as well as Paynesville. There are lots of great facilities here, free docks and moorings but we head further west to an area called Duck Arm - who knew ducks had arms! Anyway its a lovely, protected nook and we do our thing with the mooring buoys and spend a very calm evening. It must be school holidays or last week of term, and there are quite a few school camps in the area. The high pitched voices of kids having fun! In the morning there are kayakers and dinghy sailors abuzz in the bay.

​We head over to a spot called Ocean Grove (or Steamers Landing) for a lunch stop. There are more free moorings here and the tidal effect makes the pick up "interesting" - only took 3 goes... We go for a walk ashore, across the spit to the surf beach which is still pumping! Quite a bit of ocean foam, a few bluebottles and loads of cuttlefish washed up on the beach. ​

The next day its back to Lakes Entrance in the afternoon as our haul out is tomorrow at 7:30am. By the time we get there its blowing 25+kts, and all the good spots on the docks are taken. Picking up the mooring buoy in those conditions was really challenging, Keith can't hear me yelling instructions at him... Still it only took 3 attempts to finally wrangle the buoy, and as a bonus we did not prop the boat on the mooring! I wonder if the people who design these things have actually ever used them!

We are up early and head straight across to the Bullock Island boatyard. Fortunately the strong winds have abated and its nice and calm. Keith carefully manoeuvres us into the lifting dock and the boys use some grapple hooks to help us line up. Very quickly the slings are slipped into place and we are ushered off ITIKI. She is carefully lifted out of the water and out onto dry land. The hull is not too dirty as its not long since the diver gave her a bum clean. Nevertheless the pressure wash is underway as we head off for a walk. Aldi is nearby and its been a while since we have had a trip down the centre aisle...

We couldn't stay on the boat so chose a motel in the town. Its quite a walk but that will do us some good as there has not been enough leg stretching lately! We did not have any major work to do, but it had been a while since we lifted out. One of the main reasons to lift out was to take a look at the keel repair that Keith did in Fiji, after we discovered an uncharted reef... Turns out it was pretty good so nothing to do there! Some other jobs we ticked of the list:

• Burnish the CopperCoat - a light sand with 400 grit to expose more of the copper and "re-activate" the anti-foul properties.
• Sika around the hull windows (for a 3rd time) to prevent the FP mascara runs (IYKYK)
• Open the port escape hatch, scrape out all of the salt from around the seal, clean it up, re-bed it and seal the escape hatch with Sika - hopefully it will stop leaking now!
• Finish Sika-ing (sealing) around the bimini skylight
• Drop the rusty anchor chain on the ground, inspect it and cut off 40m (!!!) of really, really, rusty anchor chain, leaving us with 60m of rusty anchor chain - we have ordered some new chain...
• Clean the rust stains from under the bridge deck around the rusty anchor chain drains holes
• Clean every single eeeny, weeny mollusc shell off the hull and keel
• Clean the props with a course sanding disc and scrape off all the molluscs from every nook and cranny; Replace the anodes
• Sand and clean the sail drives, re-prime and re-antifoul
• Paint regular anti-foul on the bottoms of the keels where there is no CopperCoat, touching up any scratches and scrapes here and there
• Clean the brown stains from around the waterline and give them a polish

We are back in the water before we know it, and pleasantly surprised when we got the bill! Yes I know you don't usually hear boat owners say that! The team at Bullock Island were a pleasure to work with. As a bonus, this is the first time ITIKI has been in a travel lift that could give us her weight! Guesses anyone? You know you should never ask a lady her age, or her weight...

The boat yard was closed on Sunday and so we had an enforced rest day. Its lovely weather so after a well deserved sleep in, we walk across the footbridge and across to 90 Mile Beach, the nearby ocean beach. The swell has backed off quite a bit by now. We follow the beach all the way along to the breakwater at the entrance and watch the seals frolicking in the swirling currents. On the way back you can take a walk through the trees, past the Flagstaff and jetty. We reward ourselves with a late lunch at a local cafe.

We have a few more days in the lakes before a weather window opens for our trip north so we decide to explore a little bit more. We spend a night on the Cunninghame public buoy in Lakes Entrance, making a meal out of picking it up in 27kts! ​​After a quick provisioning run in the morning we head west again, past the entrance and on to Paynesville. We need to get some water and fuel here so stop at the Paynesville fuel dock, dodging the chain ferry which crosses the channel to Raymond Island. After a stroll around town and along the shore we get invited to drinks with some fellow cruisers we have been crossing paths with. A couple of hours of tall tales at the Paynesville pub in great company.

In the morning we board the chain ferry and head across to Raymond Island for some wild Koala spotting. We had our doubts about this, however our first sighting was in a tree right by the ferry wharf! A small specimen who was of course asleep and oblivious - possibly a plant... Following the "Koala trail" around the streets with our necks craned upwards like we must have looked ridiculous, but I guess the locals were used to it. We found a couple more Koala's high up in the trees but it wasn't until we came to a small nature reserve that we found at least 6 of the little beasties, some in quite low branches, and one or two of them were actually awake! They really remind me of the sloths we saw in Columbia and Panama. 

After that exciting morning we motor around to Metung and avail ourselves of another "free" dock for the night. Although the pub has a great reputation we have been recommended an interesting sounding Cafe Chez Joe - combination of Egyptian and Malaysian food - Yum! It didn't disappoint! 

We have a weather window to head north. After a strong wind warning on Monday, Tuesday settles to lighter southerly winds so we will head to Eden, or maybe on to Bermagui. In the meantime we are back to (you guessed it) the 4 hour dock at Lakes Entrance (Cunninghame Wharf). We drop by to say hi to some fellow cruisers we have been crossing paths with and end up coming aboard for drinks. As we were sitting chatting, two other cats headed out of the bay, bound for Bermagui. When we get back to ITIKI we hear from an "old" Sydney friend that just happens to be in Lake's Entrance and has been stalking us. He joins us for dinner and we watch a beautiful sunset on our last evening in Lakes Entrance. Tomorrow's departure is set for 8am!

​

While many sailors are keen to get across Bass Strait as quickly as possible, there are good reasons to slow down and island hop your way across. If you have ever flown down to Hobart and looked out the window as you fly over Flinders Island, you will see some of the most spectacular cruising grounds in Tasmania. While it can be a challenging place to cruise and anchor, its well worth a visit. 

The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of these islands after leaving Adventure Bay in 1773 on his way to New Zealand to rejoin Captain James Cook. The largest island is Flinders which is about 62 kilometres from north to south, and 37 kilometres from east to west, with a total land area of 1,333 square kilometres.

​Mount Strzelecki in the south west is the island's highest peak at 782 metres, and dominates the vista as you approach the island from the south. About a third of the island is mountainous and rugged with ridges of granite running the length of the island, punctuated by grazing pastures. The coastal areas offer beautiful sandy beaches with granite boulders that look like they are spray painted orange. The temperatures are mild and the island is very dry, and of course exposed to the roaring 40s.

We are anchored at Lady Barron in the south of the island, its very well protected and a great place to explore from. We hired a car for 3 days which was dropped of by at the general store by the lovely Mick and Marianne. They briefed us on the highlights of the Island, a suggested itinerary, the "no go" areas and of course the obligation to wave at every oncoming car! More on that later...​

The suggestion to cover the far north of the island first was a good one, so we stopped first at Whitemark, the main town, which is on the west coast. The bakery had some home made sandwiches for a picnic lunch and we planned our tour over a cuppa before heading even further north. Narrow asphalt ribbons give way to gravel roads, which deteriorate further, becoming bone jarringly corrugated. Of course being Tasmania we sadly do see a fair bit of road kill, mainly wallabies and pademelons. We do also see some live fauna as well, including wombats and echidnas. 

And of course the Cape Barren Geese. These are large (75-100cm tall) grey birds that graze on the grass. For me they bring back painful memories of studying ornithology at Uni. Picture a field trip to majestic Maria Island for a catch, tag and release program for Cape Barren Geese. Try to imagine a bunch of scruffy and hungover university students running around after these poor animals, trying to catch them by leaping on top of them and tackling them to the ground rugby style. This technique unfortunately triggered a "fright" response leading to an explosive defecation of lice ridden $h1t all over aforementioned university students, much to the bemusement of the tutors, and possibly the geese...

​We head north crossing the 40th Parallel for the first time via on road! A few cows watch on... Palana Beach, is on the north coast of Flinders island. There are a some holiday homes here and not much else. We have our picnic lunch overlooking the Sisters Islands. The tide must be running very fast at the moment, creating what looks like "rapids" in the narrow channel between the shore and the islands. We take a walk along the beach, sinking our feet into the lovely soft sand. The water is quite mild by Tassie standards.

Further east we find the North East River, which looks a little like Hill Inlet on Whitsunday Island, with its meandering river with white shifting sands. Nothing much here but orange rocks, a small campground, a characterless lighthouse and fishermen try their luck. A very peaceful place.

Mount Killiekrankie dominates the landscape to the north. Its pink granite peak similar to Strzelecki and of course the famous Wineglass Bay. We opt  not to climb it today, but instead head to Killiekrankie Beach, on the western side of the island. Keith is impressed to find a large fleet of Hobie Cats on the beach, which according to a local are usually raced on a Sunday. Killiecrankie is famous for its Diamonds, which are actually a unique type of Topaz, only found in this area. Topaz is the birthstone for November and the gem for the 16th wedding anniversary. Legends have it that topaz has the power to protect the wearer from illness and accidents. We walk along the beach but sadly don't find any of them on our way, collecting a few nice shells instead. 

When we get back to the anchorage there is an interesting, "agricultural" smell, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of cattle mooing on the recently arrived supply ship. There also seems to have been a delivery of industrial strength fertiliser too. Something else seems to have come along for the ride and dispersed around the anchorage - ITIKI is covered in flies!! We fight our way through the throngs, put up the fly screens and light a mosquito coil, before hiding inside for the evening.

After cleaning lots of dead flies and salt off the deck in the morning we took off in the car, heading north again. We missed the turn off to Marshall Beach and Castle Rock yesterday so came back again this morning. So glad we did!. Castle Rock is a huge bolder just perched on the coastline beside a beautiful, small sandy beach. The rocks along the shoreline here are quite spectacular, granite boulders covered with bright orange lichen. Veins of limestone run through the granite, looking like a row of bricks. The long expanse of Marshall Beach stretches to the north. A couple of fishermen are fishing off the rocks and one of them lands at least 3 good sized flathead while we are watching. Gummy shark and flathead are the favoured local catches, I opted to buy some flathead from the IGA given our track record with fishing. 

From here we head towards Settlement Point, also on the west coast, stopping first at Old Jetty beach where I decide to have a swim. Flinders Island is reputed to have a Mediterranean climate and it is a beautiful, warm sunny day. The water is refreshing, and nowhere near as cold as down south. 
We continue stopping to take a look at Wybalenna Church and Cemetery. This place has a very sad history, as during the Black Wars, many Aboriginal people relocated here against their will. Many died due to starvation and disease. 
We continue on to Settlement point, also known Port Davies or Emita. There are quite a few boats anchored here and it looks like a great anchorage, well protected from the south, which is good as there is a nasty southerly front on its way! Again its a stunning beach with some pretty interesting rock formations, including some mushroom shaped ones. 

We head inland next and find a steep and sandy road up into the hills to Walker's lookout. From here we can see both sides of Flinders island. We wont be able to go down the east coast because the roads are no good, and there is not much there anyway apart from farms. We can see Badger island, Prime Seal Island and some other smaller islands off the west coast. 
Back to the coast we stop at Trouser Point. On the south side is a lovely anchorage with Mt Strzelecki for a dramatic backdrop. The group of boats we last saw at Eddystone Point are all here for the night. From this beach we can walk north over the headland, on the Trouser Point Track, and along the coast to the other side, a beach called Fotheringate Beach. Also a lovely anchorage, but very shallow. Nobody here though. The coastline is spectacular, with the granite boulders, orange rocks and limestone outcrops. We spot a couple of wallabies and Pademelons hanging around the campground. Heading back to the main road we stop briefly at the start of the walk to Strzelecki. Its a tough one and we know we are not "match fit" for such a walk. Anyway I can still pose for a photo at the start of the track and pretend...

After a couple of big days on the road hitting all the major sights we feel its time to chill. We head up to Whitemark for morning tea at The Tuck Shop, wander around this sleepy little town, and stretch our legs with a walk along the beach. What better way to finish our stay at Flinders than to have a long, lazy, late lunch in the vineyards. The only winery on the island, Unavale Wines, is owned and managed by Cassie and Ben, who moved here from the Clare Valley in SA. They have four different wines, and the riesling and rose were excellent. We opt for a riesling with lunch and with our picnic basket in hand set out to our assigned table amongst the vines. Cassie arrives a few minutes later with our grazing plate and freshly baked sourdough. What more could you want? Well the basket included a small bluetooth speaker so we could enjoy some lovely music as well! What a great afternoon and (spoiler alert!) end to our time on Flinders Island.

A final word about the Flinders Island wave. We were told that it was standard practice to wave at every oncoming car as you pass. A bit like boaties always wave to each other. Fortunately its not Military Road (that wave is a bit different anyway..) and you see so few other cars you tend to forget to wave. Anyway by the time we dropped off the car I had it sorted. The wave can involve lifting one finger off the steering wheel, maybe two, occasionally four. The tourists (in white MG SUVs) mostly forget to wave, or wave their full hand and grin stupidly. You also have to get the timing right. Too early and your hand is down by the time the oncoming car sees you, too late and they might miss your wave as they whizz past. Need to find that Goldilocks moment. I opted for the one finger wave and eventually got the timing perfect! 

Deal Island, the largest island of the Kent Group, is a 1,576-hectare (3,890-acre) granite island, located in northern Bass Strait. It lies between the Furneaux Group and Wilsons Promontory. Deal Island, and adjacent Erith Island, are 80km off the coast of Victoria, and 80 kilometres north west of Flinders Island. It really is stuck out their on its own.

By all accounts it is a wild and beautiful place and well worth a visit, not least to shorten the Bass Strait crossing. As much as we wanted to visit this island, we always have one eye on the long range forecast. A very strong Southerly is on its way for the weekend, and an East Coast Low is predicted for The Mainland. We have great looking Easterly weather window for Thursday that will get us into Lakes Entrance early Friday morning, on a beam reach. Sadly this time its No Deal!

We had been warned about the channel from Lady Barron out to the east, its called The Pot Boil. Its a large area of shoals stretching several miles offshore and with wind over tide can generate fearsome standing waves. Our forecast was for very light winds from the east (5kts) and we would be heading out on slack tide. How bad could it be?!! Well you guessed it, wind was actually 18kts and by the time we got to the nasty zone, the tide was already incoming! So we got hammered for about an hour on some big, bouncy, nasty waves, with breakers either side of us, before we crossed the shoals and could finally, safely turn north and get onto our course. Lesson learned! Thats why everyone heads up the West Coast, even though its quite a bit longer. 

Pleased to say that after that traumatic start we had a great reaching breeze with 15-20kts from east, gusting a little higher at times. We had one reef in the main and the full genoa initially, reefing that later as the winds built. Although the waves were relatively small, and from the NE, they were a little short and irregular at times so it was a bumpy ride, more annoying and uncomfortable than anything, but by Bass Strait standards a pretty good crossing! We also had 2.5 to 3.5kts of current coming from the NE, which didn't help our boat speed. Still we were making good time and sailing! The pre-cooked spag. bol. was well received. We crossed the busy, commercial shipping lane, just south of the oil rigs off the coast of Victoria, close to midnight. It was a very dark night, with no moon at all. At one stage we had three big cargo ships approaching from our port side, (the first to within one nautical mile!) and two more from our starboard side. Keith called the nearest boat on the radio to inform him of our presence and intention to cross in front of him, but sadly he could not see us on AIS - our signal is not great! To make sure we would get across Keith put both engines on full throttle. Thank goodness for AIS and big engines! It was a relief to see his port light as we made it across his path. ​

From there we come through two distinct rows of oil rigs. These are well lit and charted and at least they don't move! As we approached the coast the pre-dawn light revealed a misty coastline. The wind was dropping as we got closer and so was our speed, so on come the Volvos. We were able to check the web cams for Lakes Entrance Bar and it looked pretty good. We could also follow a fishing boat in, radioing to announce our presence in case someone was coming out. Its a beautiful sunny day but all we want to do is sleep. After anchoring in the wrong place and getting the evil eye from the fishermen, we move on and find the (free) Cunninghame Dock where we can rest our heads, and wait out the crappy weather. ​

Our first week back on board has really flown by. I thought it would take longer to adjust to life back on board, but its been surprisingly easy. I still have a niggling feeling that there is an unpacked bag somewhere of all the things I meant to bring, or was sure that I had packed, that mysteriously hasn't appeared yet... Keith did most of the unpacking, and he really did a great job finding a spot for everything, I just wish I knew where he hid the citrus reamer! My brother reminded me of his share-house experience of buying a lamb roast, transporting the groceries home in the back of the car and then a couple of months later, alerted by a nasty smell, finding the purifying flesh his boot, it having fallen out of the shopping bag and not been missed! 

Anyway, after a very ordinary weekend weather-wise we were lucky that our first few days on board have just been stunningly beautiful, warm and sunny. Having left our mooring on Tuesday morning we made our way down the Huon River and into the d'Entrecaseaux channel, then up around the top of Bruny Island and across to the NW tip of the Tasman Peninsula, a full 45nm to a beautiful anchorage called Lime Bay. We stopped here on our way in, and its a great place to stage from for our transit of the Denison Canal. We take the RIB ashore and walk along the lovely beach. There is a fair bit of seaweed ashore, it would make great compost, but its starting to get a bit smelly (I think of the lamb roast...) Its much calmer here than on our mooring and we both sleep really well.

It's an early start the following morning to transit the Denison Canal before low tide. We make contact with the Canal attendant on our way to the leads but have to do a bit of circle-work to wait for a fishing boat to come through ahead of us. He is a bit faster than us and clearly on a timeline. We get through without incident and wave to the cheer squad on shore (no idea who they are, but we seem to be the day's entertainment). Its a good hour across to the lagoon to the Marion Narrows and out into Marion Bay. We found a sandbar on our way in so we are keen to avoid that on the way out. I have downloaded the .gpx track, helpfully provided by MAST and we can follow along on the iPad as well as the chartplotter. Nailed it this time, hugging the south shore as we cross the bar, leaving the 6 inch high waves to our port side. Its a straight line to Maria Island and as a Nor'Easter is expected we head for Chinaman's anchorage in the north of the bay. Only 25nm today so after lunch we head ashore for a walk along the beach, again lots of seaweed and a few scallops washed ashore, hmmm that smell again... Its lovely and warm and the water is crystal clear but we might save that first swim until we get to Wineglass Bay.

Woke a little later than usual, after a very calm night. We put engines on straight away and have breakfast on the go. We head up the west coast of Maria, past Ile des Phoques, which gives off a very strong, fishy smell, carried to us on the NE breeze! A sure sign that seals are in residence. Its rolly as we pass the gap between Maria and Schouten Island, as the ocean swell comes through the passage. We round the top of Schouten Island just after lunch and then punch into it for a couple of hours. The NE waves of 2-3m​ are pretty nasty, bouncing off the cliffs to our left, and coming back at us again. It makes for a pretty uncomfortable ride as we fall off the back of one wave and T-bone the next. We pass a mono that is having as much fun as we are, and just as we turn west to head into Wineglass Bay,  the westerly kicks in. Catabatics make their way down the steep cliffs of The Hazards into the bay and we see 30+kts gusts.

There are a few boats here, including one that we last saw in The San Blas Islands, Panama. In fact we saw them at very close quarters, when they came between us and the shore in a shallow anchorage, ran aground, lost control and were about to hit us amidships! We had to fend them off! Sadly their English was not good enough to muster an apology, and fortunately they probably could not understand our descriptions of their seamanship.... They give us a friendly wave as we anchor, oblivious to their reputation.

We tuck into the South East corner of the bay, as close in as we can, to get some protection from the swell which finds its way around the corner. The westerly blows through fairly quickly and its quite calm by bedtime, which is not that late these days. The southerly kicks in around 11pm but the anchor resets and we hold well. After gusting well into the 30's for a bit it finally calms down and we have a very still night, which is only fair given we have had wind coming at us from just about every direction today!

We decide to stay put on Friday and relax. The weather is cool and its quite overcast but we head ashore and walk along the beach. Otherwise a relaxing day doing a little cleaning and passage planning but not much else. Its a lovely calm and peaceful day in a beautiful bay. Later in the day I go ashore again on the SUP, still not quite brave enough for a swim though...

Had a very early start (6am) on Saturday morning to make some progress northwards with some southerly breeze. Sadly the winds were too light to sail so we ended up motoring most of the way once again. Still the seas were flat and we had a glorious sunny day. Progress was so good we decided to continue on past Binalong Bay (St Helens) and made it all the way to Eddystone Point. A front came through about an hour south of the point bringing gusty winds from the west, but seas remain flat. Eddystone Lighthouse looms large over the point but not much of a view of it through the salt-spray covered helm "clears". As the wind is due to turn south we opt to anchor on the northern side of Eddystone. There are already quite a few boats here, we saw them leave from St Helens in the afternoon. The bay gives reasonable shelter from the westerly but as the wind drops out it leaves is with the residual rolling ocean swell from the NE and it makes for a creaky night. 

Another 6am start the next day as we plan to make it all the way to Lady Barron Bay on Flinders island. Whilst Bass Strait has a fearsome reputation, and rightly so, we first have to transit Banks Strait. This stretch of water also has a bit of a reputation as both tidal currents and southern ocean currents funnel through this relatively narrow area. As we were initially planning our departure from further south we would have hit Banks Strait just on low tide, with a southerly breeze and flood tide then carrying us through. Perfect! However the start from further north meant we arrived mid-ebb tide and had 3kts of current pushing against us most of the way across. Although it was wind over tide, which you are supposed to avoid in this area, it actually wasn't that bad. A little bit lumpy but with a full main and headsail and a little Volvo assistance we were able to push through. We passed Clarke Island and Cape Barren Island on our starboard side and the majestic sight of the Strzelecki Peaks comes into view ahead of us. Its still some distance to get into Lady Barron though, navigating carefully around the many rocks and shoals in this nicely protected area. We anchor in a Lady Barron Bay  just to the east of the Town Quay and head ashore.  I feel like we should be hoisting the Q flag and going to check in with the local officials, but no we are still in Tasmania! So instead, we don our best flannelette shirts and head off to the Furneaux Tavern for a very fine meal, (schnitty and fish & chips of course). We have organised a rental car for a few days so we can see the island the easy and fast way!

With only days to go before we set out on our Aussie adventures in ITIKI, we are checking and rechecking our preparations list. Its not the first time we have taken a break from cruising, having left ITIKI in Tunisia, Greece and Grenada for extended breaks. In the past we have packed up ITIKI and stepped off with just a suitcase of mostly unsuitable clothing for a short-ish break back in Australia (well except in the case of the infamous 2019/2020/2021 Covid-19 "interlude"). Getting back on board and setting off again used to mean reversing the "winterising" process, putting sails back on etc, getting the cocktail deck cushions out, provisioning and just taking off, leaving a port and often a country, never to return. This time is a little different. We stripped pretty much everything off ITIKI when set up our land home, so all of that needs to be dinghied back out again. At least it is not too far!

Well everyone knows what the 5 (or 6) Ps stand for**, and of course we prioritised the important stuff, which is kind of a good thing. We organised farewell drinks on ITIKI for a Friday night, planning to come alongside our neighbours dock for a couple of hours at high tide. As I waddled down the dock from the car, with seat cushions under each arm and a back pack full of cheese and crackers I got a call from Keith, who was already on ITIKI, telling me that neither engine would start! Both starter batteries were completely flat with readings of 6V! OK so this had been on the list of boat jobs, these batteries were really past their use by date, being originals from 2018, but so far we had been getting away with it. Our farewell drinks venue was quickly changed to our dining room ashore, and the next day a trip to Hobart to purchase 2 new batteries. Lets just go over that preparation checklist again...

Needless to say that removing the old batteries and installing the new ones was not a 5 minute job... Basically the boat was constructed around the batteries! 

In the lead up to our departure there have been numerous trips out to ITIKI in our $10 FB marketplace dinghy, which handles the shallow, pebble and oyster strewn beach much better than the RIB. Its hard to know what clothes to pack as even though we are heading north, we are heading into winter and still have a long way to go before we get to warmer climes. Best to include a bit of everything and hope for the best! At least we are heading towards civilisation, we may soon be able to treat ourselves to a trip down the centre aisle of an Aldi. Hopefully it wont take us too long to get back into good habits, following our practical and safety boat procedures on board. Of course its always important to ensure the RIB is firmly tied to the vessel before letting go of the boat to retrieve something you dropped in the water. Yes Keith did have an impromptu swim in the chilly Huon River, fortunately the RIB was drifting towards the near shore outside our neighbours place and not the opposite direction!

And so the day has arrived, we have our weather window and the first week is laid out before us. We decide to spend the the night before departure on board so its only a quick trip ashore when we realise we have forgotten something critical. Lucky we did, and fortunate that it was only after one glass of wine that Keith remembered his coffee percolator was still at home! He took the SUP, this time without incident, to retrieve this critical item.

Its the first time we slept aboard on our mooring and with the wind blowing down the river, it was a noisy and rolly night. I would give it 2 stars in that respect. We wake early and have our breakfast and as our trusty house-sitters, Michelle and Ocea, wave us farewell from the shore, we slip off our mooring and head east. Farewell Surges Bay, we will miss our new home, but our next big adventure awaits.

** Prior Planning Prevents (Piss) Poor Performance

Well things have been a little quiet here since we moved into our forever land home down in SE Tasmania. We have been busy getting our new place sorted but now things are under control it is time to turn out thoughts, and our bowsprit, northwards. The Tasmanian winter is fast approaching and yes we have chickened out and decided to escape to warmer climes. So while many of our Sydney cruising buddies are packing up to head to the Med, we are kind of doing something similar. Team ITIKI will be re-launching in a couple of weeks and we will make our way up the east Coast of Tasmania and into the Furneaux group (which apparently has a Mediterranean climate...), before crossing Bass Strait, checking out the Gippsland Lakes and then continuing northwards. While we plan to make it as far as The Whitsundays, it’s a really long way with the prevailing NE winds and EAC against us, and with lots of opportunity to get side tracked. So we will go where and when the winds take us. If you would like to follow along, we will be sharing our journey.
 
In a sign of the times, we would like to avoid providing free content for billionaire social media owners to exploit. So how can you follow us? Well we are planning on doing more frequent mini-blogs via this website, which we own. You can sign up to get a link in your inbox whenever news is shared. Yes I know email is kind of old fashioned but… This way you don’t have to trawl through ads and AI generated crap on FB, hoping that their algorithm throws up something as interesting as ITIKI’s adventures. Yes that does mean the extra commitment of signing up and then clicking on a link, but the upside is you can read (or not) at your leisure, no spam or advertising, no political or religious discourse, no spookily targeted advertising (how the @#%$ do they know I need a facial hair plucker?!), no endless DIY/Thrift shopping/makeover/weight loss miracle/clickbait reels and no cat videos… (oh wait, there may be cat videos but not that kind!)
 
So if you are cool with that and would like to follow the old fashioned way, send me a message with your preferred email address and I will add you to the mailing list. For those who are nervous about letting go of FB, I will continue to post reminders/links for a limited time, until you get used to the new world order. Counting the sleeps until we drop the mooring lines, and head out to sea! Check out our planned route in the video below

​So with ITIKI anchored in Surges Bay, about half a nm from Bruce’s place we carefully manoeuvred the bimini frame into the dinghy and took it around to the small floating dock in front of his property. It was tricky carrying it up the steep embankment, through the gate and up to “the shed” but we took it slowly and managed without mishap. We masked up the frame and placed it on chocks so that the top part of the frame is roughly level. 

​Work begins with placing the first layer of Gurit Corecell board on top of the frame, drilling it and fitting it to the frame with cable ties. The first layer is trimmed to size, including the skylight and access hatch for the cocktail deck. Then the second layer goes on, being fitted in similar fashion, with a layer of 2-part adhesive holding them together. Once the glue has cured, the cable ties can be removed as we had now locked in the shape. The rest of the work could be done with the hard top resting on a moveable workshop bench, rather than still on the wobbly bimini frame.

​With a combination of rollers and brushes, and starting with the underside again, the paint layers start to go on, with a light sand between coats. Initially we were hoping that one coat would be enough for the underside at least (it wasn’t) and by this stage we are happy to admit we are completely over it. Our hosts have returned and we have moved back on to ITIKI so we come in by dinghy each day, do a coat and head back to the boat, leaving the paint to dry and cure. When we come to the final coat, it looks like the levels of hardener are on the low side and sadly we run out of paint mid-way! We decide to declare victory anyway – it actually looks pretty damned impressive – and we can always finish the final coat when we return after the winter break.

​We really enjoyed our time cruising around The Channel (the d’Entrecasteaux Channel), Bruny Island and the Huon River. It is a beautiful and peaceful part of the world, very sheltered waters but with easy access to some lovely bays and cruising grounds. In fact we liked it so much we bought a property just down the road from Bruce & Mon’s place! It’s a waterfront block with plenty of space out front for a mooring for ITIKI. Time to put down some roots and swap the dinghy for a ride on lawnmower!

​Woke the next morning to an empty and very rolly anchorage, with the smell of bushfires in the air.  It was time to find some protection from the strong westerlies which had arrived a little earlier than forecast, we headed south past Schouten Island copping gusts in the high 30s so dropped the main unceremoniously and motored into Shelly Beach near Orford. Here we picked up one of the free MAST moorings, which are rated to 40kts! We kept our heads down for the rest of the day and it thankfully blew through overnight. We dinghied into “town” down the narrow river channel and picked up a couple of essentials at the IGA before heading across to Maria Island.

We visited Tonga in August 2023 on our way home. It was only a brief stay as we were starting to run out of time, but what a beautiful country, and great place for cruising.

Vavaʻu is an island group in Tonga, consisting of one large island (‘Utu Vava’u) and 40 smaller ones. According to Polynesian folklore the islands were created by the god Maui, who reached into the bottom of the sea with his magic hook, caught something on it, and pulled it up to the sea surface - that became the islands of Vava’u.
 
Vava’u rises a whopping 204m above sea level at Mount Talau! The capital is Neiafu, situated at the Port of Refuge, in a long and very well protected bay which is looking very attractive after the open coast-line of Niue. The Vava’u island group is spread out across an area that measures about 21km from east to west and 25km from north to south. The north coast of ’Utu Vava’u island is a raised platform of coral cliffs. The southern coastline is low and irregular, and opens out into a network of channels, bays, and islets, forming one of the best-protected natural harbours in the Pacific, not to mention fantastic anchorages and cruising grounds.

After a week of stormy & rainy weather in Niue’s open roadstead mooring field, we were looking forward to the protected bays of Tonga, and hoping for some sunshine. Keith did routine engine checks in the afternoon of our departure and found some water in the starboard engine gearbox oil. Oh no! A quick consultation with our friendly mechanic Ollie from MaiTai (who helped us through the Panama Canal) confirmed our initial fears. Sail Drive seals will need replacing! That means sourcing the parts and getting them to Tonga (or somewhere else) as well as hauling ITIKI out of the water. We will need to use the starboard engine sparingly until then.

We left Niue around 7pm which was not a great decision as it was pitch black. Started to pull out the genoa thinking to goosewing the two headsails but the angle was not quite right so we had to cancel all that, go head to wind and put up the main. Bit of a pfaff as we went to first reef and then had to try and get the second reef line sorted out as it had wrapped around to boom, all in the dark of course. Finally unfurled the gennaker and off we went. There was quite an exodus of boats today so at least we will have some company, although we overtook one very early on. Wind direction SSE, so we were broad reaching with the gennaker and main.

​In the wee hours as the wind clocked NNE we gybed the main and goose winged the sails. Much better angle to the swell now. Wind speed has been up and down like a bride’s nightie, 6-19kts, but no squalls and no rain so far, despite being surrounded by dark clouds. Eventually we lost the breeze completely though, and ended up motored the rest of the way on port engine.
 
The next day a funny thing happened. Actually the next day turned into the day after, as we crossed the International Dateline and lost the 8th of August entirely. Hmmm, I guess that was a day we gained when we flew back to Grenada in October 2023….

At 15nm out from Tonga we started to see land, even though the island is low. We were still motoring as the wind has not gotten above 10kts. Although we are approaching from the east we have to go all the way around the north of the island and then into Neiafu (the capital) on the western side of the island group. A pod of humpback whales greeted us at the entrance to the atoll, sadly the poor things are being relentlessly pursued by high speed tourist boats.

We tie up at the fisherman’s dock behind Intrepid Kiwi, who help us with our lines. I go ashore and speak to the port authority who tell me in no uncertain terms to go back to the boat and await the arrival of the customs folk.
 
After lunch the skipper from another yacht comes by. They are waiting to refuel so need a spot on the dock. He drops by Customs and apparently they know nothing about us, so he grabbed some forms for us and dropped them over. It seems I went to the wrong place initially and nobody thought to either mention this to me, or let customs know we were waiting. I should have gone downstairs to the empty garage. We fill out the forms and I go back to let them know we are ready. Two guys and gal finally come on board, all wearing skirts! Not very practical for stepping onto a yacht! Lots of paperwork, a few questions (no pets, yes we have plants but promise not to take them ashore), an invoice to be paid once we are released to roam free – we are officially stamped in!

I go ashore and get some cash to pay our arrival fees, and drop by the markets on the way back. So nice to see such a lot of fresh produce, even though it is the end of the day. We finally leave the dock and motor down to the mooring field and pick up a buoy. Time for some rest.

Went ashore to the markets as well as doing the usual rounds of the supermarket. Although food is imported here (via the Chinese owned ports) it seems plentiful and reasonably priced. Went to Tropicana for morning tea and said hi to Greg who is a Kiwi and font of all knowledge here. Team Voila, who we met in Niue, come over for afternoon tea. It turns into wine o’clock and then their friends from Perigree are looking for them so they join us as well. They give us lots of tips on their favourite anchorages here in Va’vau and invite us over to Kraken Pub for trivia night. Quite a mix of questions, including riddles and music ones which we did well on and movie and general ones which we did not. What a treat to have snitty and salad!

Went ashore and I got a haircut at the only place in town. A Chinese guy's place with no English. I was a little dubious looking at all of the pictures of young, male K-Pop stars on the wall but it’s not the worst cut I have ever had (that was in Columbia…). There is an old dude here waiting and he is carrying on that I look so much younger and it’s his birthday and he wants something… I wish him happy birthday and shake his hand.

Not sure whether it was the snitty or being in a crowded pub with infected people, but we both came down with a really nasty gastro bug. Keith led the way, and I succumbed a day and a half later. As it’s rare for us to mingle in big crowds so our immune systems don’t get much of a challenge these days. I will spare you the details, but just to say I have rarely felt so bad in my life.

​We head east down to the uninhabited  Kenutu island, which is on the eastern border of the Vava’u group. The forecast was for light easterlies, but it is blowing 20kts so we motor into it. We are well protected from swell inside the Vava’u group though. We have to wind our way around some shallow patches and bommies, passing a few whales crossing our path, and tuck into one of two deeper “pools” the west of the Kenutu island. There is no one else here. After lunch we head ashore and walk along the beach. Its lovely but the weather is not so great so it’s hard to appreciate. We didn’t bring our shoes so decided not to walk across to the lookout today. There are black clouds gathering so we head back to the boat. Through the afternoon and evening we have strong gusts up to 30kts and lots of rain.

​After a night of gusting and jerking around as well as a lot of rainsqualls we were both feeling pretty ragged and well, over the awful weather and in need of a good night’s sleep. Although we had some protection here, the wind swings south and wraps around the island, pushing us this way and that. After breakfast we lifted anchor and navigated our way back out through the bommies. At least the 25kts is behind us now. We saw some whales in a similar place to when we came in, but they are making sounds like elephants and sound distressed. We come around the bottom of Tapana motu and the first anchor spot looks really lovely, but not well protected. The second part, Tapana North,  is a wide bay with a cape in the middle. There are 3 boats here on moorings that look somewhat permanent. We anchor along the eastern side towards just south of the beach. It is well protected which is such a relief and it’s not a bad looking place either. Voila arrive just as we are having lunch and we go over and say hi before heading ashore. We walk into a village seeing cows and pigs along the way. The village is a bit grotty and there is a lot of garbage beside the road. At least we have stretched our legs.

Very calm and still overnight and we wake to the most blissfully still morning. The water is so clear we can see the starfish on the bottom. Went for a SUP to the small beach, and a short walk up the hill, its very muddy. Paddled further around the bay but Keith’s paddle broke – the bottom just fell off, fortunately in very shallow water so he could retrieve it.

Lovely weather this morning but at some stage a front is going to come in from the east. We were really keen to visit the eastern anchorage of Taunga island, which we heard is just stunning. It’s a wide shallow bay with a beautiful, white sandy beach. We anchored in 3m and immediately put the drone up to capture the stunning vista, before paddling ashore. We can already see the cloud front coming so we wont have long! Walked across the narrow spit to the other side of the island which also looks lovely and also well protected (at this stage). By the time we came back to the beach that the easterly had kicked in and was blowing 20+ kts. It was a really tough paddle back to the boat but fortunately it was not too far. Upped anchor and headed west in search of another spot.

​Lape was just a tiny, one boat anchorage with not enough protection. We crossed to anchorage #15 (which doesn’t seem to have a name), but it was so rocky it was impossible to find enough sand to drop the pick. Ended up at the popular Vaka Eitu anchorage, with Dappere Dodo, Second Sun and a couple of other cruisers. They are going to the Tongan feast on the beach but we are not fully recovered from our bout of gastro, so we give it a miss.
 
There is a wrecked yacht on the beach, apparently from the Tsunami a couple of years ago, and it still has a sail up. Keith wants to take it down! It is well protected here and so good to see the sun!

Tried to go for a snorkel along at the Coral Garden but its high tide and the waves are crashing over us. Felt like we were getting sucked out to sea as well so gave up. In the afternoon we went for a SUP to the beach. Had the dogs barking at us until we got closer to the wrecked yacht and then they backed off. There is still a solar panel and all of the deck fittings attached. The sail is not much chop though! Much easier to paddle back to the boat than yesterday.

​Motored around to the Blue Lagoon anchorage and in through the shallow channel. Voila have arrived not long before us. This is a really stunning anchorage, best so far in Tonga. Keith puts the drone up. Voila drops by and suggests sundowners. Second Sun comes out of the Huanga lagoon for a picnic on the beach. Their StarLink has died after only 3 weeks!
 
In the afternoon we go for an explore in the dinghy. Its low tide so not able to get through the Huanga channel to the lagoon. There are some interesting mushroom rocks around the shoreline, with trees growing in nothing. We go ashore to the long beach take a walk. There is a cave and a rope swing at the eastern end. The small beach in front of us looks nice too but will lose the sun earlier. There is a “luxury” resort on the small motu in the SE of the lagoon which doesn’t actually look all that luxurious. Another boat came in, Fortaleza, a Kiwi/English couple. And with team Voila we all had drinks on the beach at sunset.

Beautiful, sunny morning so we took the dingy into the Huanga Lagoon. The entrance was still pretty shallow but we managed to find a way through, frightened some very shy rays and a few turtles along the way. Once inside we skirted around the shore and the went out through the western cut, to the ocean side. Again some really spectacular rock formations. The cut is narrow and reasonably deep but some bommies on the north side just as you come in. Second Sun are anchored in the NE corner of the lagoon near the village. It looks quite rocky and deep. We stopped by for coffee as team Fortaleza were already there. Got back to the anchorage and the clouds are gathering to the south. Wind is increasing and rain is likely so we decided to move back to Port Maurelle again.

​We went through the narrow gap between the two islands near the mariner’s cave (why not?) Mehalah are here anchored exactly in our spot from last time. We try to anchor but end up with our chain over a big bommie, so we take the mooring buoy. Mehalah invite us for drinks on the beach and dinner on their boat but it ends up being inclement so we invite the whole anchorage over to ours. We had 10 people on board, quite a lively night and a delicious meal. A lovely way to say our farewells and end our time in Tonga.

​Niue's land area is about 260 square kms (about 5 x the size of Sydney harbour) and its population is around 1,600. It is one of the world's largest coral islands and has two distinct levels. The “higher” level (a whopping 60 metres above sea level) is made up of a limestone cliff circling the coast, with a plateau in the centre of the island. The lower level is a coastal terrace approximately 0.5 km wide and about 25–27 metres high, which slopes down and meets the sea. This area is awash at low tide, and forms a unique feature of Niue, it’s so called “sea tracks”, that you can walk along and explore for some distance around the island. There is a small break in the coral reef which surrounds the island on the central western coast, close to the capital, Alofi, where the yacht mooring area is situated.

Beveridge anyone?
The journey from Aitutaki to Niue is 601nm but we were hoping to make a stop along the way. Beveridge Reef is legendary amongst cruisers, it is a tiny uninhabited reef, submerged at high tide, which is home to some rich and unique coral and sea life. The only way to visit is by yacht and we have had it on our “must visit” list for some time, knowing it can be challenging to get into, and to anchor, even in good conditions. It would be nice to break the journey as well as it is just over halfway.

In the photo on the left you can see a small gap on the western side of the reef which is the entrance to the atoll.

We left Aitutaki around lunch time, heading out through the pass dodging the incoming barge (the cargo ship was unloading) and had 3kts of current spitting us out of the pass and into the ocean. We had waited much longer for a weather window to leave Aitutaki than we really wanted to, and the window we had certainly wasn’t ideal, but it was do-able. We expect at least one southerly front to pass over us, but we are ready for what-ever the wind gods throw at us. In the dead calm of Aitutaki harbour we were able to raise and lower the main, check, untangle and mark all the reef lines and halyards. It will make for quick and easy reefing in the shite conditions that we were to encounter.

​We had light winds to start with, motor sailing with the main up before we were able to unfurl the gennaker later in the afternoon. Changed to the Genoa as winds built to low 20s with dark skies all around us and seas whipping up to be fairly rough. Overnight the breeze lightened and clocked east, then slightly north so we could goosewing the sails and shake out reefs. It’s slow progress as we wait for the front to come through. We have rainy conditions and the wind continues to shift north. It’s not long into our journey that we realise the conditions we are getting mean a tough decision to skip Beveridge Reef and go directly to Niue (DO NOT pass Go or collect $200…).

The sea-state is too rough and conditions so unpredictable that we could not guarantee a safe entry to the reef. And even if we could get in, it would probably not be much fun, as there is no protection from the elements, and we may get stuck inside! There are several shipwrecks dotted around the reef… We are disappointed but quickly refocus on our revised destination of Niue. In particular we now have less time to figure out where we have “hidden” the courtesy flag! Damned if we could find it before we left Aitutaki….

After re-routing ourselves slightly more north to aim for Niue, we lost the wind again as we came into a trough. We passed under a long and ugly looking dark cloud band, dodging a particularly nasty black section. It barely raised the wind speed but we avoided a patch of heavy rain. On the other side the wind turned westerly, light at first but increasing for a time before dropping off again. With all of these changes of wind direction the seas are now pretty confused, a bit like us! Finally at midnight the wind shifts south, light initially but it soon fills in and we get sailing again.

Overnight we had some great reaching conditions in southerly winds before it turned easterly and we had some excellent running with a main and Genoa goose winged. It peaked early morning and we had to slow ourselves down with 20kts up the duck! It then died of course and we motored for a bit before wind came back from the north. This flipping back and forth in wind direction is just crazy. It’s hard to trust the forecast when it’s all over the shop. It’s been up and down all day but after lunch another ugly black cloud and the wind has turned south. Not too strong but we are expecting squally conditions from now on. In between we have had a few rays of sunshine and even got some washing done.

Niue is a low island, only 60m elevation so on a dark night in heavy seas it was not easy to see. We flick the radar on and have set a course to stay at least 2nm from land, as shown on the charts. The radar validates the charts as the overlay picks up the island exactly where the chart shows it. In the darkness we scan carefully along the horizon and finally just make out the edges of the island on the southern coastline. We gybe to come around the SW corner and start to get some protection from the winds. Conditions continue to ease as we get closer to Alofi and we can see a few anchor lights! What a relief! Now we just need to find a buoy.

We drop the sails and I set up the mooring lines to pick up a buoy. It’s just before 6am but still pretty dark. We have the big torch to scan the water but can’t see anything. The buoys have reflective tape but maybe they are all taken, or the tape has blown off! Then, remarkably, out of the darkness there is a dinghy heading towards us! It’s the crew from SV Auryn (who we met in French Polynesia). They had been ashore to the markets early this morning and now kindly guide us to a free mooring buoy. What a wonderful welcome from fellow cruisers! After a sleepless 12 hours, taking a beating from the wind and waves, it was so good to be safely moored that I burst into tears of relief. We had a hot chocolate (with a little fortification of course) and hit the hay for a few hours.

The waters close to the coast of Niue are quite deep so anchoring here is not possible. There is no natural harbour on Niue and no marina. On the west coast, close to the main town of Alofi, the Government has installed a number of yacht moorings, secured to the sea floor with massive concrete blocks and chains - they are known to be well maintained and very safe. The mooring field is reasonably protected from the prevailing trade winds - although frankly they haven’t been doing much prevailing lately - but exposed to anything from due south through west to due north. The swell is ever-present, some days worse than others.

In most places we have visited we are able to take our dinghy ashore, tie it to a floating dock in a protected port or marina, or even pull it up onto a beach. But not in Niue. The infamous dinghy dock is basically a concrete pier open to the sea and if you left your dinghy in the water tied to the dock, it would quickly be smashed to pieces by the relentless swell that batters the coastline. Instead you must come alongside the concrete wall in the dinghy, lift it out of the water with a crane (!) and  lower it onto the concrete pier where it is stored while you go ashore, reversing the whole procedure when you head back to your boat.

There is nothing else remotely like the Niue Dinghy Dock that we have ever encountered anywhere, and no matter how much you read or research in advance, nothing prepares you for your first encounter. You just have to do it! All boats have to dock and launch this way, including the dive boats and whale watching boats that operate commercially. It’s an impressive sight! Some days it can be too rough to launch or go ashore, and we have heard stories of cruisers who could not get back to their boat for the evening when the weather got up, having to take a hotel room in Alofi…

Before heading to the dock we need to prepare our dinghy for the experience. Our buddies from Dappere Dodo have dropped by to kindly demonstrate their set-up, which helped enormously. Normally when we lift our dinghy out of the water onto the back of the boat we use 2 lifting points, one forward and one aft. This keeps the dinghy horizontal as we lift it. The Niue crane only requires one lifting point, so we have to rig up some lines to a single, central point in such a way that ensures the dinghy stays horizontal as we lift it – otherwise the contents could fall out, not a good look! It’s not easy to figure out where the centre of gravity is on the dinghy because we have a heavy motor on one end, and 2 fuel tanks on the other. Needless to say it took a few iterations to get this right.

​Checking in was super easy (compared to the dinghy dock!), very friendly officials. Immigration was not there but it’s no problem! They will stamp us in and out on departure. We went in search of the tourist office and had roti for lunch at a little café. There are few rental cars on the island and all are taken, but lucky for us our buddy’s on Dappere Dodo have one, and (as they kindly did in Aitutaki) are happy to share! Alofi is tiny, there are a few shops and cafes, a bank and a post office combined. We are told there is a supermarket out towards the airport, but you need a car to get there, and they probably don’t have anything fresh. Fortunately we are still well provisioned from Aitutaki.

Between June and October, humpback whales migrate to Niue's warm waters for breeding and calving. The waters around the island are deep enough for them to come in very close to the island and we are just amazed to see them cruising through the anchorage each day. We see what looks like a family of 3, possibly a mother an adolescent and a youngster. Such a treat to see them breaching and tail-slapping a few meters from the boat! After dark we are stunned to hear some whale-blows really close by, and with the torch we spot a big humpback surfacing just a few meters away! Whoa! Not sure what their eyesight is like, but we hope they don’t accidentally come up between the hulls.

We join with Team Dodo & Second Sun, who have both managed to organise rental cars, and have invited us to come exploring with them. With the kids and adults there are 11 of us distributed between 2 cars - a noisy and somewhat chaotic drive up to Avaiki cave ensues. It’s a short walk down a forest track and then across some rocks to the cave that you can swim in. The water is crystal clear and cold, fresh water on top of salt water and beautiful to swim in. The turquoise water contrasts with the purple crystalline coral growing on the waterline. Outside the cave, along the shore is a rock shelf and with the tide out it is a shallow coral garden that you can walk around. Some amazing coral and seaweeds in the shallows. Something that is quite unique to Niue. There are “sea tracks” like this all along the coast, which appear at low tide and you can walk along and explore the coral gardens and rock pools.

Next stop is on to Matapa Chasm, again a short walk from the road through lush forest to reach this long, narrow and high-walled chasm which runs down towards the sea. It is almost enclosed, but for the s-bend in the end and we can just see through a small gap to the ocean. Again we see the beautiful purple hue covering the rocks, a kind of crystalline coral algae. It forms a line around the tidal zone, and looks amazing against the turquoise waters. The water is deep and again, fresh and cold on top with a distinct layer.

Team Dodo have kindly given us the car keys so we spend the morning on a short drive around the south side of the island. Out of curiosity we dropped into Swansons supermarket (ok we can’t help ourselves!), and verified that there was no fresh produce, and definitely no eggs! The weekly flight delivers limited supplies and no doubt they are gone within minutes!

​Drove to Washaway bay in the SE corner of the island. It is beautiful and wild, with high cliffs around and a small beach and dock. There is a dinghy lifting crane here too, although we wouldn’t be too keen to use it! It looks even crazier than the one in Alofi!
 
Next it was on to the eastern side of the island and we took the path towards Togo Chasm. The walk through the forest was beautiful, very green and lots of lava rocks scattered about. Very like “Lord of the Rings”. We emerged from the forest to a lookout over a rocky shore and down towards the ocean. The track continued about a kilometre or more to the sea and the chasm but the wind was howling and rain getting heavier so we couldn’t continue down.

We treated ourselves to lunch at the Matevai resort, with their balcony overlooking the sea, although sadly the experience was underwhelming and not so much of a treat. We headed north in the afternoon and stopped at Palaha cave - a huge & spectacular limestone cave opening onto out onto the coast. It’s wet & incredibly slippery and we both take a bit of a dive!
 
Next stop was Limu Pools, a short walk from the road but quite spectacular so I raced back to the car to get my swimmers and went for a swim. These are tidal pools surrounded by limestone rock formations, with water so crystal clear, but deceptively deep. There are some fish and coral here as well, and fresh water mixing with sea water.

Around 6pm we went ashore again and hoisted the dinghy - we are getting really good at this! Met Dodo and Second Sun ashore and we all drove around the top of the island to the NE corner to meet Tony, who took us Uga hunting. It was pitch black by the time we started, with Tony leading us along a very rough path. I begin to think I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs, as we are so focussed on looking for Uga (coconut crabs) that we get disoriented. The kids are a little over-excited and the Ugas can probably hear us coming a mile off! As we all quiet down we start to spot quite a few crabs hiding in the lava rocks. Some up quite high. They feed on the coconuts that either fall from the trees or are scattered around by the locals who like to hunt them too. Tony found three edible-sized crabs for us and deftly tied them up with some vine that he finds in the forest. The really big ones are well past the eating stage and after being passed around for a biology lesson, they are released to continue their evening’s coconut-grazing. Likewise smaller ones are left alone. The middle sized ones are fair game though and the kids carry our tethered trophies back to the car. We finish the evening with fresh coconut water before heading back to the pier to launch the dinghies in the dark!

​The Uga spent their final night in captivity aboard Second Sun and Dappere Dodo and the Uga hunters re-united the following day to consume our quarry and celebrate Cassie’s Birthday with lunch on Dappere Dodo. We heard how Paul had to get up in the middle of the night to tie a rope around their Uga who was desperately trying to make good its escape!
 
It was very amusing to watch Paul try and untie his Uga without getting bitten – those claws are pretty nasty. Finally all the ties were gone but the Uga clung on to the bucket for dear life! Paul finally decided to take the bucket with the Uga attached and insert it into the boiling water, quickly putting the lid on! Problem solved! They sure put up a tough fight – both Paul and the Uga!
 
Like lobster the Uga turn orange when cooked and were delicious! Even better than mud crabs. Dappere Dodo was dressed overall for Cassie’s birthday looking very dapper indeed. I thought long and hard about what to offer as a birthday gift and I have to say it is the first time (and probably the last) that I have given someone a half-carton of eggs for their birthday. Cassie was absolutely delighted! She had been out of eggs for a week now and there were none to be had on Niue! Now she could treat everyone to Dutch Pancakes. Of the many things we take for granted, eggs has been one thing that I never expected would be hard to get. Particularly when chickens seem to be roaming wild! Only cruisers will understand the significance of this gift… If you know, you know!
 
It was a lovely way to finish our time in Niue. The sheltered bays of Tonga are calling us after a week of being buffeted by the rain, wind and waves of Niue, and we are craving some sunshine. We left in the evening with several other boats, hoping for a kinder passage to Tonga. Oh and yes we did finally manage to find the Niue flag before we left!