Short of provisions we hired a car from the marina for the day. At NZ$20 plus fuel it’s not a bad deal.
Our first stop was Bunnings on the outside of town where we picked up some anti damp stuff which we’ll leave in the boat when she’s left on the hard.
Next stop was Norsand boat yard where we firmed up our haul out date – now set for November 17th. High tide is about 1pm on that day and that sets the approximate time of our haul. Finer tuning nearer the time. We also made clear our need to be placed somewhere we we can have crane access to the back of the boat for when we have the work done late Feb/March.
Next we parked in town near the Town Basin Marina. There we changed our booking to next week as we’re not in a rush to head up the river. We checked mail just in case and there was none. We then wondered around town for a while and packed in a fast food lunch which ended up less satisfying than hoped for.
Finally it was back in the car to visit a few vodafone stores to pick up a wireless dongle (done) and then visit the mall with The Warehouse in and the Countdown for food shopping. Being in the Warehouse took me right back to how we were feeling in April on our last day here in Whangarei before sailing north to prepare/wait for departure to Fiji. Where has the time gone?
Heading back the Marsden Cove Marina the drizzle that had been dropping all day turned into cold rain. Someone had not returned the marina trolley so we couldn’t get all our food to the boat in one go. We left that which we could in the boot (trunk) of the car and will fetch it when we return the keys this morning.
Overall it was pretty strange coming back to somewhere we actually know. We’ve not done this before to this extent. We did revisit a few places in the Caribbean but this is quite different. It almost feels like ‘home’ but only in some ways.
Today I will put some attention to the water maker and replace the end cap. We’ll be leaving the marina today or tomorrow. To be decided later.
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