Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Finally – a GREAT passage! We had fantastic weather for the 1,200 nm run from Tonga, arriving into the Bay of Islands at 1230 local, just as a cold front arrived, this of course meaning 30 kts on the nose and pouring rain. But we were in the shelter of the bay by then, dropping our main, and making our way toward the Quarantine dock for clearance in, happy to have the salt cleansed from our decks. Not much to report on this passage, lots of sun shine, about four days of light to no wind, during which we motored in order to make arrival prior to the forecast cold front. Just under 8 days under way, and so happy to have made this notoriously challenging passage without challenges.
And then there is the strange story of how a toad delayed our clearance into New Zealand by 24 hours. Why, if not reptiles, then amphibians are challenging us? A few hours after tying up to the Q dock the customs and immigration folks were aboard, and once all that officialdom was completed we were informed that we were not yet cleared in as there would be a delay in the arrival of the biosecurity personnel for at least 24 hours. As such we were to remain on the Q dock for the evening, and await further instructions in the morning. Hmmm. Now, normally, NZ is quite keen to get yachts off the Q dock as quickly as possible, so we were intrigued. Was it something we said? Was it something they saw aboard?
The next day, a duo of biosecurity officials boarded Kailani, and we were told about the toad … Apparently an incoming container’s inspection turned up a live toad. As such, the container had to be locked down, sealed and its temperature dropped below freezing in order to kill the toad, at which time he was “bagged and tagged” by the biosecurity team, who then forwarded him on to a lab for further inspection. Wow.
We were relieved, for once, that it was not Kailani with another stowaway tale to tell! Although, truth be known we did find a small lizard on passage (another small sacrifice to Neptune) and prior to departing Tonga, yes, you got it, a coral banded sea snake tried to board! Luckily we were there on the stern of Kailani when he came along and we properly deterred his boarding. From pythons to sea snakes to lizards to toads … what a season!
35 18.8 S 174 07.3 E
Opua Marina, Bay of Islands
Opua, New Zealand
Sounds like a lot of fun and adventure, looking forward to seeing you both this winter.
So great to follow along as always! Congrats on a great passage!
Great news guys. You’re legends.. another SW Pacific passage on Kailani. It would take more than an errant toad to delay you too long! Enjoy the Kiwi hospitality. Rub some noses 👃 😊👍.