On our continuing quest to see as much of New Zealand as possible, Matt and I flew to the Northland and the Bay of Islands, considered by many to be the most beautiful spot in New Zealand.
The further north you go in New Zealand the more tropical it becomes. It is warmer, sunnier, and has more of an island feel to it. Bay of Islands is just what its name suggests. Reminiscent of Caribbean island chains, Bay of Islands is dotted with small islets and bays, surrounded by calm blue waters that are home to many sail boats and the occasional dolphin pod. There are a few towns in the area, very tourist oriented, where sightseeing tours and fishing charters abound.
We signed up to go sailing around the Bay in a tall ship, the R. Tucker Thompson. I have never been on a tall ship and this looked like fun. They let us help to hoist the sails as we left and we were also offered the chance to take the helm. Good Lord, I had that boat zigzagging all over the place. They kept telling me the tiller took a while to respond so don’t over steer but I just kept turning that wheel like I was driving a car. I think the captain was relieved when I gave back the helm. I am no Mr. Sulu.
Two folks had the nerve to climb the rigging. To do this, you had to climb a a rat line. The rat line was made up of rope serving as “rungs” and the vertical structure. Ropes are called “lines” on a ship. I am not a sailor and they are ropes to me. It is attached to the tall mast on one end and at the railing on the other leaving it swinging in the wind on water side of the vessel. The ladder slowly tapers; so the higher you go, the less room for the rungs. You can see it in the photo.
One young man climbed slowly but surely nearly to the crow’s nest. To do so that he had to climb over one sail and maneuver onto the next higher. The higher he went the smaller the rope ladder became and the further apart were the rope “rungs.” Those rungs were pretty unstable. It was making me nervous just watching his feet teeter. The second person, an older woman, went up a bit but her feet were shaking a lot. She said that was nerves and the instability of the rope ladder. Hooray for her though. My reaction was: Hell, no. I’m too old for that shit. There was also the option to climb out onto the bowsprit, which is the long pole extending off the prow that serves as an anchor for some of the sails. That too involved rope serving as a walking path of sorts. If you look at the photo of the ship, you can see the bowsprit and the ropes hanging off it.
The day was fine and we sailed to a small bay where we did a wet landing (when you have to wade to shore from the zodiac) which we were not expecting. After we dried off and got our shoes back on, we made a short hike up to the lookout. What a view.
A Yank Among the Kiwis 