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Den on the loose
NZ Day Thirty-Nine
Woke up to a very rainy day and continued that way up until I left for my boat cruise around the Bay of Islands, in the morning to keep ourselves busy we played a game of Scrabble followed by Monopoly in both games I lost.
Cast off was at 4pm and as we approached my boat I was surprised to see how simple it looked as it bobbled up and down on the water it seemed like a something out of a Huckleberry Finn story you know one of those old steamboats on the bayou.
My fear of the boat sinking was short lived as I stepped on the boat and was quickly introduced to the captain and his crew. The crew members on the boat consisted of Dave, Dean, Chloe, Kat and Craig and they were all backpackers just working on the boat for the minimum of 7 months which was part of their contracts. The whole crew was so friendly and helpful that it made the trip that much better and relaxing.
On the way to Robinson Bay which was where we would be anchored for the night, Dan (a guy I met on the boat who was also on the KIWI Bus) and I played a game of pool which was hilarious as every time one of us would take a shot the balls would move all over the table.
After our game we joined everyone at the back of the boat for target shooting and the prize for shooting the Sprite bottle which was tied to a rope at the back of the rope was a bottle of white wine. I had two close shots near the bottle but it wasn't good enough.
In the early evening we all took part in fishing and I was there for quite some time standing in the rain but my patience paid off in the end as I caught a baby snapper and a mackerel which was later put on the BBQ.
For dinner we had steak, fish, potatoes, salad and pasta which was really tasty considering I had eaten so many packets of noodles over the course of 3-4 weeks and after dinner I played a competitive round of pick up sticks with Dave, Chloe and Kat.
After that tense and nerve racking game of pick up sticks I went night kayaking from the boat and the water was so calm and relaxing it was the perfect exercise to a big meal. As we paddled across the phosphorescent waters a bright blue & green light would sparkle from below which was due to the water emitting phosphorescent organisms. It was amazing to see the water beneath you sparkle as you paddle across the waters under the cover of the black starry night. The best way to describe it is kayaking in space, as you move across the water bright little clusters of phosphorescent stars open up around you.
In the morning we went mussel diving and I've got to say it was extremely hard work as we had to swim near this huge rock protruding out the water covered in barnacles and the odd mussel. In order for us to get the mussels we had to dive 5-7metres and then twist the beards of the mussels to free them and then drop it in a bag. It didn't help with swells around us making the 'vis' (visibility) really poor regardless we kept going and in the end we collected a large bag of mussels.
Jumping back on board the boat I was absolutely shivering my behind off as I sat inside next to a table with a cup of tea in my hands, Chloe was kind enough of to fetch me my Waterboy hoodie which was very sweet of her.
In the afternoon we all went onto land on Robinson Bay and in the afternoon we bathed in the sun and some of us went snorkelling around the bay whilst the crew went diving not far from us and even managed to catch a sea trout.
On the way back to Pahia the sea trout that was caught earlier was man handled by the captain and clubbed over the head with a big wooden club in front of our eyes and shazam, sushi was served and it tasted really good.
I had a really good time on the boat and did many activities whilst I was out on the boat and I would recommend the trip to everyone who goes out to New Zealand.
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