Tomkinsons holiday & NYE aboard Camomile
Boxing day was a sobering day so I rounded up ‘the troops’ for a brisk walk around Motuihe island – walking is great for hang overs. After a bit of persuasion we managed a full house. Motuihe is owned by the Department of Conservation and there are several well kept paths around the island. We had a great time with different views of the surrounding islands around each corner. Part of the walk went across a beach so it gave everyone a chance for some beachcombing.
We continued on to the next island of Waiheke and anchored off of Blackpool beach! Everyone was landed on the beach and we all walked over the hill to the village of Oneroa. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t very kind to us so we made our way back to Westhaven marina for New Years Eve. All day we kept watching the Sky tower going in and out of the clouds. After dinner we joined Norman and Sara on Norsa for fizz and fireworks but sadly it wasn’t to be.
We had our bubblely ready but at midnight all we saw were coloured clouds. The photos aren’t very good but maybe someone was a bit p***ed by the time it came to take them!
The weather improved and we went back out to Waiheke Island but went to Man of War bay on the other side of the island. We all set off for another walk (route march) this time to Stony Batter the site of the WWII gun sites. It took us about an hour to walk the 6kms to the entrance. We were given some torches and a guide leaflet and set off into the darkness. The tunnels seemed to go on for miles and there were lots of steps. It was fascinating to read about how they planned to defend Auckland from the Japenese, fortunately the guns weren’t used in anger. The site is derelict now but there’s a conservation programme under way to try and restore it.
After the tunnels we climbed out onto one of three gun enplacements although the guns were long gone.
Posted on January 6, 2012, in Port posts. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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