New Zealand goes to Sth Africa!!!

Just a quick note to say how incredibly proud I am of the All Whites for qualifying to the World Cup 2010 in South Africa!!! It's a huge achievement. Sad we won't be here to see them. GO WHITES!

Richards Bay

Only now I realized how long its been since I updated the blog and how long we've been here in Richards Bay! Well, can't say it has been the most productive times of our lives as we depend on parts to fix things on board, car to get anywhere around and generally the weather is pretty shocking but we are slowly ticking off things of our 2 page long list.

The highlight of our stay so far has been our 2 visits to the Hluhluwe(pronouced Shooshoolooe)-Imfolozi Park. Our first visit was a 3 day/two nights stay at the park where we saw pretty much all the animals there was to see (Rhinos, Giraffes, Zebras, Antelopes, Elephants, buffalos, etc). I was the only one to see a lion as I did a night safari with the local camp as you are not allowed to drive your car at night (normally you drive yourself around the park and animals). On our second visit we saw a Cheetah and that was just incredible. She/he was kind of stalking this group of antilopes that seemed oblivious to its presece. It was majestic.

I love the Giraffes, they are so elegant and clumsy at the same time, we got a great shot of one drinking water - what an undignified moment for such an elegant creature. But Russ is in love with the Dung beetles... yeah, typical Russ. He reckons that the Dung beetle is not part of the Big 5 but is a certain number 6. Really, I have to give to the little insect, what an incredible life: make a neat shit ball with the help of its female partner; roll it and the female (yes, she hops on the ball for the ride) with its hind legs wherever it needs to be rolled (invariably up hill); then bury it so the female can lay her eggs in it. They do it all day long. The roads are littered with them. I don't know exactly what you all believe in, but hey, I am working hard on my karma here as I really don't want to come back as one of these creatures. No, rolling shit is not my idea of a life surprisinly!

We then went to see the hyppos in St. Lucia, where they are scattered in an estuary, very close to the beach. From time to time the take to the street of the town at night, grassing. Just incredible. Crocs are around too. They are not as big as the Australian ones, but Gee do they have plenty of sharp teeth... However I learned that Hyppos are the biggest killers on humans in Africa. More than sharks or crocs. Knowing that, I was pretty shocked to see local people fishing right next to the hyppo spot and a hand full of paces from crocs! Seems a bit careless to say the least!

Back to the boat reality we are now just waiting for our inner cutter stay and wind gear to come from Durban to get going west. Not much of a hurry but it would be nice to have a change. At least here we don't pay marinas as we are attached to a public dock, but I don't think one can stay here forever. Everyone says that once out of here it can only get better - so we hope as this is a pretty bleak place. I am not quite sure what we had in mind when we got there, but certainly it wasn't this. The weather is improving, summer is coming, but it still blows 25 - 40 knots either from the SW or NE and we don't want to get out of here in these conditions that's for sure. Another sad fact is that there are hardly any anchorages on this coast until you get to Simonstown (just south of Cape Town) meaning you have to stay in marinas. They are so expensive it's crazy really. After we heard as well that after a recent blow 5 boats sank at a nearby marina we decided that this is not a place we want to keep our boat during the winter.

So that means we will not be staying in South Africa for the coming winter and Soccer World Cup as planned initially. We will be heading to Brazil next year, late January/early February. Needless to say I am so happy about that! We will be heading straight to Rio and working our way further south from there. So excited, can't wait!

SOUTH AFRICA

We are here! 4 and a half days of plenty of wind and a good smacking as we approached the coast that saw us beating into 45 knots of wind... Moonwalker didn't like it at all and she sustained a bit of damage but crew is safe and sound and loving all the civilized facilities! Soon a good update with photos and plenty stories will come. Meanwhile we are just stoked to be here: WE ARE IN AFRICA!

Weather Gods

And another joke from the weather Gods on us: unable to shake off the sea breeze/land breeze effect from the Madagascar coast we have missed the weather window we wanted. However we have now noticed it was to our advantage as winds where variable on the middle of the channell. So we have been heading south and are now approaching the town of Bello Sur Mer. Apparently this is where all the big sailing coastal trades vessels are build so we are really looking forward to check it out. No sign of a weather window for another 3 days so we might as well make the most of it. We have visited the Barren Islands which are very barren indeed and have been able to do some real good sailing in the afternoons with 80 miles days covered without too much hassle.

Leaving Madagascar

We are by Bally Bay north of the Cape St. Andre and got notice of a good weather window to go across the channel so have decided to take the chance. Leaving this evening. A bit unfortunate as we wanted to check further south but the anchorages with this weather are not so good and Paul is real keen to get to Sth Africa to enjoy a bit of it before he returns. Its just so hard to leave places we really enjoy! We will keep following the coast south for a few days just in case the weather window (or our minds) changes and then hop across. Its around 900 miles cross to Richards Bay but if a front comes through as we approach the coast of Africa we will hide behind an island off Maputo Bay in Mozambique called Inhaca till we can carry on south. This crossing although short in comparison to our latest ones is very tricky as it involves lots of currents and weather systems that blow through the channel very quickly leaving very few, if any, options of protection so caution and a good weather window are vital. Will keep you posted but should take up to a week to get there we believe. Glad the tsunami didnt get to New Zealand!

Down the coast of Madagascar

After stocking up in Hellville, which was quite the adventure on itself, and picking up Paul Nissen our mate from New Zealand we started slowly moving down the west coast of Madagascar. When I mean slow I mean real slow as there are so many places to visit! The sailing has been superb: as I write we are sailing up wind at 7 knots taking photos of some amazing local trading vessells. This place just so unreal! The boys from the local boat have just challenged us to a race by pulling their trousers down and shaking their butts at us! Its a laugh I tell you! Chances are they will beat us too! Anyhow just using this rare opportunity where the internet network actually works to let all know we are alive and loving it! We are planning to anchor in Moramba Bay just north of a big town called Mahajunga where we will stay for a few days before doing the big hop around Cape St Andre. We plan to stay on this coast for another 2 weeks before crossing the Mozambique Channel. We have seen plenty humpback whales, turtles and dolphins. Unfortunately no more whale sharks but the hope is still with us. Fishing isnt very good (that is for us, other boats are having more luck) but we have eaten quite a few mud crabs that we trade with locals for caps, plastic or glass containers, even nail polish! We visited an infamous island for its maximum security prison (in 1993 some inmates escaped boarded a cruising boat, killed everyone onboard and sailed away) called Nose Lava. The prison is not abandoned and only 3 convicts live there with their families. Samuel was our guide. He was arrested when he was 23 for murder. He is still doing his time by looking after the remains of the prison. He is 51 now. He showed us the prison, the solitaire cells and the administration building. After he took us to the lighthouse on the island and the fresh water stream. We donated food to the families as they have no support and very little means to buy much supplies. They were very grateful and friendly towards us. Tough life. We learn a new reality of life everyday in this place. Unforgettable moments all around.

Ce la vie!

Well you all know our French is pretty shit but we are trying with different degrees of success. Unlike the French the Madagascar people find our attempts very entertaining and even try to help us along, bless them! We are now doing a bit of a tour around the area around Nose Be and mainland Madagascar. We visited the island of Sakatia, Russian Bay and Iranja where we had the most amazing time. We arrived early morning before the SW winds start picking up and while having a cup of coffee onboard of Nero, with Bob and Glenda, Russell say something very big floating by the boat. We had heard about whale sharks in the area but were unsure about what it was as it looked and moved like a shark. Russ jumped in the water straight away, Glenda and I scrambled onto the dinghy to catch up and oh my God it was a 6 meter whale shark! We jumped in the water and swam with this gentle giant for about 10 minutes. It turned around a few times to break up out and once it had satisfied its curiosity it left us there catching our breaths and laughing like kids, it was awesome! The day after we where in the water snorkelling when we spotted 2 massive turtles, probably 1.5 meters long (from head to the massive thick tail it has) by a meter wide. John from the boat Dancyn, who is a marine biologist, said they where Loggerhead turtles. He rode one of them for a while even! Just another one of those magic moments we will cherish forever! Now we are in a very calm and flat anchorage just across from Nose Be on the mainland after a 20 miles kite sail. Just lovely. Russ is fixing the back of the port rudder that broke during our Chagos to Madagascar crossing while i clean some of my latest additions to the forever growing shell collection. Loving it! It's life alright!