-         Nautical miles: almost 100

-         Number of pictures of the sunsets: almost 100

-         Number of accurate weather forecasts: 0

-         Number of vomits: 9

After a few lazy days in Nelson the seas were calling again. Grandma (cyclone OMA) was still threatening to terrorize the North Island, but in the Tasman area it looked just fine. We woke up at stupid o’clock (3AM) to catch a southerly wind that was supposed take us to Greville harbour at D’urville Island, the edge of the Marlborough Sounds. Unfortunately, the wind was having a lazy morning and didn’t show up, so we had to motor instead of sail. After 4 hours of that we had enough and decided to anchor in a nice little bay in Croisielle Harbour instead for the day. A very nice spot! We kayaked around and explored the deserted beaches. The guidebooks had indicated this was not a very good spot for overnight anchoring though and Marjon’s stomach confirmed this. It was not happy with the big swells that were rolling in during the evening and night in this unprotected place.

Time to move! The next morning we continued our mission to Greville Harbour. This time we could set sail, but beating in force 5 wind with a nasty swell on the bow made for a challenging trip. We arrived 20 miles and 5 hours later anyway, and were welcomed by an eery coastal landscape.

There are 2 things people have told us about Greville harbour.

1. Best to cross the boulder bank at high tide; and

2. It is very beautiful.

We definitely agree with both. There is a tricky boulder bank to cross to enter Greville harbour. We waited for slack low tide to cross to have the currents weak and in our favour, but the channel is very narrow and shallow (we probably didn’t go exactly through the deepest middle part… and the spring tide was not helping either!). It was frightening. We made it through though and were rewarded with a very impressive anchorage in Mills Arm, completely surrounded by native bush. It was worth the stress of getting there so we stayed for 2 nights to relax and explore.

We decided to make a move back to Nelson, because again there was a storm forecasted but again nothing happened except for a little rain on Sunday (which at least gives us some time to post stuff here). The seas were still a bit rough but were settling throughout the day. The winds did the same but then completely disappeared, so the motor was switched on again. At least we caught the attention of an albatross that was circling the boat a few times! Around sunset everything turned perfect. We had a nice wind and mild seas with current and waves in the back, and were speeding through at 7 knots while witnessing a very beautiful sunset. We made it to Nelson just after dark.

So here we are again!

We are planning to go back to Abel Tasman for a couple of days tomorrow and are contemplating the idea of just exploring more in the Marlborough Sounds instead of pursuing the trip up North as the timeframe to go North is getting quite short. We will keep you posted!