Category Archives: world schooling

New Zealand: January 2020-February 2020 – 2 very epic months right before COVID lockdown.

As I started to go through pictures for this blog post that was intended to be for half of 2020, I realized a few things: First and foremost we have too many photos to share just for the first 2 months, because we did A LOT of epic things, therefore I needed to shorten the date range. And second, I am now grateful for my procrastination with writing about our time New Zealand. Writing this now, years later, has allowed me to revisit and reflect upon our adventures on a deeper level. Part of what takes me so long to get these up, even though I’m finally motivated and in a good place to write about it, is going through the photos. I love going through all of the photos and videos, so picking which ones to use can be a challenge. The memories they bring back takes me to such good places (mostly). I can now appreciate the time we spent there and the people we spent it with a lot more. I have to admit that for a while I felt like our time in New Zealand was a whirlwind of foggy, windy, cold days, scraping by financially, literally living pay check to pay check. Somehow we managed to do quite a bit of amazing things… I actually see and feel that now.

So here we go: January 2020 started with a lovely summer camping trip just around the corner at our friends farm for his annual birthday party. We set up camp along with other friends, bbq’d, played with the cows, and watched the kids roast marshmallows. What a blast! Thanks Rob Suisted ! He happens to be one of New Zealand’s top photographers! Check out his photography by clicking his name.

After visiting Mt. Holdsworth the past November, we had to make another visit, this time with our good friends Steve, Trudy and the kids.

We love the swing bridges in New Zealand.

Nina often spent part of her summers growing up going to visit Auntie Tara. The tradition continued, even traveling all the way from New Zealand! She loves getting spoiled by her auntie.

Fun times working in Wellington’s NICU!

Taj and our friend’s son, Liam. Originally from Sausalito, came to visit from Australia.

Now for the big adventure: The South Island camper trip. My mom and brother had planned to fly out for a visit, so we planned it to where Ellamae flew back with them. As their tour guide, I thought it best to have them start their visit on the South Island. Since we had the NZMCA discount for the ferry, we ended up taking both the camper and the car over from Wellington to Picton. With both vehicles there we had a place to sleep and a car to drive everyone around in once Mom, Phill and Ellamae arrived. They planned to fly into Nelson, so we planned to arrive a few days early to get a head start on exploring. I am sad to say that Nina was gone for this one too, as she was still having fun in the US visiting Auntie Tara and family.

Christian was really into mountain biking at the time, so we dropped him off to do the Old Ghost Road from South to North. Definitely worth clicking the link to read about the trail. In short “The Old Ghost Road is a Grade 4 (advanced) mountain biking trail”. But there is so much more to it than that. While Christian was grinding away over the hills and through the valleys, Taj and I drove around to the other side to pick him up, making scenic stops along the way. It was a long epic day! We also made other essential stops…camping at Mussel Rocks Hill, Lake Rotoroa, and Marble Hills Resort (campground) near Kaiteriteri’s MTB park, and up near Golden Bay at Takaka. Nelson’s skate park and MTB park was a must as well. For finding places to stay, we were mostly using an App called Rankers looking for Freedom Camp sites.

From there we went to Nelson to reunite with Ellamae. We were so grateful that she flew back accompanied by her grandma ( my mother ) Katie and uncle ( my brother) Phill. We played tour guides and tourists at the same time, starting in Nelson (the north end of the South Island). We first toured the Nelson and Golden Bay Area .

Taj “helping” uncle Phill with his backpack.

Then we drove down to Hanmer Springs, where we stayed over night and went to the spa and resort water park. Then on over to Arthur’s Pass where we stopped by Castle Hill Rocks (another Lord of the Rings and Narnia scene), Devils Punch Bowl Falls and lookouts with overly friendly Kea birds. From there we drove down the West Coast to Franz Josef Glacier, back up the West Coast through Greymouth, and Pancake Rocks and then up and over to Nelson. We even fit in a sailing trip with our friends on their Wharram catamaran out of Elaine Bay in the Marlborough Sounds. From Nelson we drove both car and Sharkie to Picton to hop on the ferry back over to the North Island.

The ferry ride home was a little bumpy, but it sure was beautiful heading out of Picton.

Power Nap on the ferry back to Wellington,

January 2020 was coming to an end, the kids were about to start school, but summer was still in full bloom. Our tour guide experience with Mom and Phill continued in and around the Wellington area. I showed them the Te Papa museum and other sights in town. We hiked the escarpment track, went to a local CrossFit workout , and visited the kid’s schools.

Another Kiwi Guardian at the botanical gardens in Wellington.

So windy!!!

While mom had a few days rest, Phill and Christian took a quick drive up to Mt. Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe to climb the “Tongariro crossing” to the top of both. It was Christian’s birthday, so he was excited for this epic hike. Phill, who has climbed a lot of peaks, was also so excited to climb one of the iconic peaks in New Zealand. For those of you who are “Lord of the Rings” fans, you may recognize this peak as “Mount Doom”.. You can see the “Facts Sheet” here.

Phill glissading down “Mount Doom” !

First Day at Te Ra Waldorf School!

From there just Taj and I, Mom and Phill continued the tour on up to Auckland, where they would fly back to the US. Along the way I had to show them Flat Hills Cafe and tourist stop and Lake Taupo. We rented an Airbnb called the “Fat Pigeon” aka Pukeko at a small lake near Rotorua called Tarawera. What a lovely place to swim and go out on the house owner’s boat to see the local birds and take another dip.

Flat Hills smoothie and Kunekune Pig viewing.

Swinging at “The Barn House” airbnb near Piha.

We then went up just past Auckland and stayed at “the Barn” near Piha, a lovely little beach town. Again, we had some great little walks to take in the beautiful country.

A venture up the 60-storey Sky Tower in Auckland!

The last day there before their overnight flight home, we fit in a trip to another museum in Auckland, the Papakura. Definitely worth the time if you’re ever there.

What a way to finish off Mom and Phill’s stay. We just got wind of a possible pandemic starting. Thankfully they had no troubles getting on the plane, but they did need to get their temperatures taken prior to boarding. As much as we would have loved them to be “stuck in New Zealand” we were super glad they made it home before lockdown. Phew, that was close.

On the way back to Wellington Taj and I had one last adventure by making a stop by Lake Taupo to camp at Taupo DeBretts Spa and Resort for some hot springs and waterslides. The natural mineral pools felt amazing. It was a perfect way to wind down and end the summer.

Taj and Ellamae learned how to take the train and shuttle to school. Is was a 20 min drive each way, so we were very grateful they had this option and that the New Zealand is safe enough to let them do that. There were other school kids on the train as well, so the kids had travel buddies to look forward to seeing .

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Taj and Ellamae’s first solo train ride to school!

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Taj started “free running”.

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Ellamae started CrossFit Teens class at WOF Porirua.

Taj’s class camping trip.

The kids loved showing their new friends the “home” scene at Mana Marina.

Then March came, and so did COVID….

Arrival to New Zealand: two years ago (October 20, 2018 – Jan 1 2019)

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S/V Shawnigan arrived into New Zealand late October 2018, 3 years and 2 months from leaving San Francisco. The passage from Tonga was fairly uneventful. Our friend Nic flew out from the United States and hopped aboard in Tonga to help while I (Josie) was away at work as a travel nurse in the United States. Ellamae was also away in the States to spend time with her Papa. The passage details have mostly been forgotten, as I was normally the one recording them in the log, and in my absence that seemed to fall off the daily routine. What I can report is that it took 8 days to sail 1189 miles from Nuku’alofa. The seas were relatively mellow compared to reports of how it can be, but with the swell and wind on the beam, it caused quite a bit (understatement) of water to splash up onto the deck and into the dodger. The wind seemed manageable, and 8 days for Shawnigan is quite good (6.2 knot average)!. Nic was amazing to have on board and I was at ease knowing he was with my husband and kids.

Nota Bene: some of the pictures I used are screen shots from Christian’s Facebook and Instagram pages as a way to capture his thoughts during the time, but also because those pictures were not saved anywhere else that I know of.

Not being aboard our boat and with my family as they arrived to New Zealand was surreal. I had been away for a few travel assignments, but never during a big crossing and one in which felt more monumental. New Zealand had been on the plans (loosely) as a place to sail to and work, place the kids in school, and live life situated in one place for a while. This was a big deal for our family. As Shawnigan made passage, I followed her tracks on our predictwind tracker and received the occasional satellite phone text from Christian with our iridiumGo. At 48 hours prior to arrival, Christian sent our required notice to NZ that we would be making port in Opua in approximately 2 days. I received notice as well. The excitement flooded my soul. Soon our new home would be New Zealand and my family would be “home safe”. When the text came through that they made landfall, I was just getting off a night shift and remember feeling extremely emotional. Tears of joy, a bit of sadness of missing out (admittedly I had FOMO), and a bit of uncertainty, “what will it be like for us there?” and “was this the right move?”.

Many photos came through from Christian as soon as he found wifi and bought a local phone sim card. Everything looked magical. The kids were so happy to make landfall, reportedly cold (relative to tropical zone), but happily chilled. The Customs process was fairly painless. They did have some black beans that needed to be tossed, but otherwise they ate what needed to get eaten and tossed what they knew wasn’t allowed before arrival. After a celebratory pizza dinner and restock on food, they explored and hiked and met new friends around Opua and Paihia.

A few days were spent in and around Opua. Many other cruisers had arrived or were arriving every day around that time so they stuck around to spend Halloween with the other boat kids. Afterwards, they quickly left the docks again to explore the islands and land around the Bay of Islands.

Over the course of 2 months, Christian made his way down the east coast of New Zealand as a solo captain. With multiple explorations along the way, visiting friends from the U.S. (Allison T.) and Lin Pardey (sailing icon), there was no shortage of fun. Arriving into Auckland was an exciting moment for the three onboard, “Big Lights, Big City”. It had been since Panama City that they had seen such a scene. Nina was aboard until Auckland, at which point she flew back to the states to visit family.

Nina and Taj counting sheep. Welcome to Ewe Zealand

While in Auckland, Christian and Taj participated in the ” Auckland Rum Race” with Josh Tucker (Sailor and Sail maker who we met in Tonga with his family).

From Auckland on down to Wellington, Shawnigan was home to only Christian and Taj. The voyage was mostly day hops and manageable, and beautiful with plenty of exploring of various places off the Coromandel, Tauranga, Gisborne and Napier.

Once they got down to Napier however, Christian had to strategically plan his sail down and around and up from Wellington to Mana Marina. This stretch of coast is known for foul weather, gusty winds, rough waters, and potential fog. During his short stay at the ridiculously over-priced marina, he got wind of a potentially a no wind window (whoa, that’s a lot of “winds”). After a short nap, he left at midnight with Taj asleep down below. The window was a good one, but still gusty and foggy around the south point of the north island. He flew shortened sails with the engine running due to the extreme in wind changes. The wind died completely by the evening, and he motored overnight with only short bits of sleep. “Super dad and captain” about sums it up. Once around the point, the current sped Shawnigan up the coast to Mana as if she were on a conveyor belt! As they passed Wellington Bay, Orcas greeted their arrival. Shawnigan arrived safely to her new home at Mana Marina on January 1st, 2019. What a way to bring in the new year.

Taj and I being silly on a video call thousands of miles apart.

Ellamae and I on a video call while she was in Florida and I was in California.

Ellamae flew out to California for a visit while I was there.

A little video of our home for Shawnigan and A Family Afloat.

Ellamae and I arrived by plane into Auckland on Jan 7th. We were picked up by the car dealership taxi that they hired. I had pre-arranged to go look at 2 specific imported Japanese used cars from Goldex Cars and they agreed to arrange a ride from the airport. After the long overnight flight to Auckland, I test drove a few cars, keep in mind that I also had to drive on the opposite side of the street, picked one out, paid for it and started the journey to Wellington.

We stopped at another sailing family’s house in Hamilton a few hours just south of Auckland. This lovely family offered to house Ellamae and I overnight and we had only met them online. New Zealand was proving to be very friendly! After a night’s rest, Ellamae and I drove the remaining way to Mana Marina, just north of Wellington. We almost got lost along the way. We quickly discovered that cell service was patchy in New Zealand when google maps stopped uploading directions. Oops, should have downloaded offline maps. We also discovered that NZ doesn’t do sushi or bubble tea very well, it makes up for it in beauty though.

It was hard to not want to stop at all the beautiful spots along the way, but we were anxious to get to our new home and be reunited with family. We briefly stopped at some hot-springs, called thermal pools here in New Zealand, and one more stop just off of New Zealand’s oldest National Park, the Tongariro crossing.

We were welcomed to our new home at Mana Marina with a lovely BBQ in the communal grass area with fellow live-aboards and marina manager. I finally got to meet the lovely Sara Dawn Johnson , author of a few books including co-author of Voyaging with Kids. Our new life in New Zealand started with a warm welcome of new friends and a summer in the southern hemisphere in January.

6 weeks in Tonga: Part 2 – The Ha’apai group and Tongatapu September-October 2018

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Okay okay I’m officially way over a year behind on my posts. Since leaving Tonga to do a travel nursing assignment and then moving to New Zealand to work full time and have the kids in school, I have to be honest, blogging hasn’t been at the top of my to do list. And to be honest, the ease of using Instagram for posting current photos has taken over my usual blogging effort. That being said, I do understand that not everyone is on Instagram and I usually don’t write as much there either. My apologies. But I persist none the less, so here it is, over a year later, the second part of our Tonga sailing adventures. This one isn’t going to be too juicy, as I feel like we really didn’t do that much after leaving the Vava’u Group of Tonga.

Tonga: Part 2.

Nothing like a little last minute, fly by the seat of your pants plan making… Nursing job in NZ offered, travel assignment in California accepted, confirmation from our friend Nic to fly out and help Christian sail… all to leading us to plan our sailing in Tonga to arrive in Tongatapu by Oct 10th in order for me (Josie) to fly out and Nic to fly in.

From the Vava’u group, we headed south to the next group of islands called the Ha’apai Group. This group of islands are less inhabited and more pristine. Supposedly there are more whales here as well, but while we were there the wind was steadily 20+kts , making the whale watching not so happening. We found ourselves anchored in front of a a cruiser friendly “resort” called “Sea Change Eco Retreat” off of the Uoleva Island. They have a great beach bar with nice cold drinks, local Tongan beer and good french press coffee. What more could you ask for on a remote island in Tonga. Apparently, this was the area where the mutiny on the Bounty started. We didn’t get any bad vibes from this place, even with that history. And honestly, I think this Uoleva was one of the highlights of Tonga despite the constant wind and probably the one place we would want to go back to if we sail back there. I think we would have to learn to kite surf to really have a blast there.

Time was closing in and groups of cruisers started to part ways as each one’s timeline for heading to New Zealand started to differ. We had a few “last” dinners with the last of the cruisers around us ( SV Caramor, Counting Stars, Blue Zulu, Dol Selene), taking turns having each boat over for dinner on our boat or us on theirs. This starting feeling like the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

Taj, you have a friend on your shoulder.Took a sail to town aboard S/V Blue Zulu. Always nice to sail on another boat once in a while. Kid crew from SV Counting Stars, Blue Zulu and Shawnigan on our visit to town.

S/V Counting Stars heading out just after us… also catching the whale sighting.

On our way out of Uoleva to the southern end of the Ha’apai group, we spotted some whales! What a lovely departure gift. That day we sailed down to Lolofutu where we anchored for a night and met the caretaker aboard the catamaran Wildlife, a whale watching charter adventure boat . Not only were they cool, like minded people, but they happen to have kids eager to meet our kids. Always love a new “kid boat”. They were planning to head to Tongatapu soon as well, so our parting farewell was easy knowing we would meet again soon.

After a great passage down to Tongatapu, we found anchor room in front of Big Mama’s Yacht Club, a well known facility among the cruisers. It use to be a hopping spot, but after a hurricane a few years back that wiped it out, it hasn’t quite recovered, but its getting there.

We spent a few days wondering around the main part of the city. A large part of one morning was spent trying to find the immigration/port captain to check out of the country. We walked and walked which felt great. There were many churches, local schools, clinics, restaurants. There was little to be desired as far as finding good food in Tongatapu though. We found it safest to stick with our own meals on the boat. However, there was one pizza place though that was pretty good, thanks to S/V Wildlife crew’s recommendation. The most important thing though…, we found coffee and wifi. A cruisers dream.

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Tonga probably has as many churches as they have house… well, not really, but there are an aweful lot. Here’s an old one that was just abandoned and fenced off. So beautiful. Its too bad they dont renovate it and keep it in use or make it into a museum of sorts. Another church…Tongans really hold high value on the deceased… especially the Royal Family. Nina getting her hair cut before heading down to New Zealand. October 9th, 2018: The Family taking me to the airport… a dinghy ride to shore, a taxi to the Nukualofa Airport. I’ll be away for 3 months, working as a Travel Nurse in California, without seeing them again until I fly to New Zealand with Ellamae in tow.