day 182: eat it!
Naomi here Today was our mayor island day, Jamie started it off by taking off very early to spearfish and came home with his surface fish containment unit loaded down with butterfish. After a very solid meal of fish and chips, thank you Miriam, we got together the armada and went to shore. A very nice walk up the hill which reminded me of just how atrophied my leg muscles have gotten during these months at sea, I may need a wheelchair to be able to get around the orchard when I get home. We saw korimako, tui, piwakawaka, Toutouwai, kaka and whitehead which was very cool, loads of big pohutukawa and rewa rewa, lots of cool ferns, some massively leafed kawakawa, and some woodear mushrooms which we are having for tea tonight :) A very cool mission round parts of the island, topped off by putting Jamie then Miriam up the mast, Jamie was very brave and didn’t sob too loudly altho he did think he was plenty high enough only 3/4 of the way up there. Tomorrow maybe to see if there’s a fix for our mainsail in Tauranga ? Otherwise perhaps heading down towards Wellington ….
Jamie here, Back to tuhua, great place. Beautiful weather today. I got up early and went for a dive in amongst the jellyfish. So many bloody jellyfish! I got stung on the lip within 5 minutes and jumped on my fish flotation device to keep my face away from those nasty jellys and kicked my way out to the point. Amazing visibility and fish life I had such a blast. So much going on, fish everywhere and cool seaweed. I settled on a big flock of butterfish darting around a surgy weed shelf. So cool to see them moving with the current in and out of towering bull kelp. I spent a good amount of time hunting them, missing plenty but ended up with 4 nice butters. One i shot and it flopped around a bit and as I was killing it a beautiful kingfish came up to check me out. I quickly reloaded my gun but had gone. Another chance gone! Saw a few snapper, blue moki, plenty of damselfish, demoiselles, red moki, perch, wrasse. Epic morning. Navigated back to faithful bluebird dodging the jellyfish. Mim and I shared the filleting and she crumbed the butterfish (great way to eat butterfish as it’s quite mild taste). And roasted some chips. So yummy! I almost fell asleep but rallied for a walk amongst the pohutukawa and tui, we saw a white head which was amazing! Got a cool view of the island from a high point at about 330m elevation. I returned to the boat alone as I wanted to go diving again. Went to a different spot but too many jellyfish and less fish around. Glad I made the most of it in the morning. Then I went up the mast, Mim and Naomi cranking my biomass to the top. Really special to have some alone time with bluebird up the top and chaff my thighs on her mast. WOD today came from our creativity while walking today in the ngahere WOD- posterity. Posterity - those who come after you for the future. Used in a senny:look at that person hunched at their desk, such bad posterity
Miriam here, What a beautiful day this has been. I woke to scary but gorgeous clouds of pastel jellyfish undulating in the water and a clear blue sky. I jumped at the chance to practice my filleting on Jamie’s catch with a some helpful pointers from him and the fish and chips that ensued filled us for our adventuring. This forest is so special, lush and fragrant, the Pohutukawa tipped with the light fuzzy green of Spring growth with a few starting to burst into crimson flowering. It’s so fun for me to learn a new bioregion and pepper Naomi and Jamie with questions that they mostly answer. Tutaretare trig was the high point Jamie and Nao and I climbed to (Matt walked much faster and made it much further than us) and it was incredible to look out over the island into the crater of the interior now filled with a lake and wetlands and dense forest and out to the harbour and far off Mt. Maunganui on the horizon. There was a spicy sweet smelling tiny white orchid blooming on the summit and I was captivated by the shifting species as we gained elevation, kanuka and astelia replacing towering Pohutukawa, rewa rewa blooming on exposed slopes being feasted upon by bell birds.
Naomi and I continued on the loop, making our way down steep hills along unclear tracks occasionally obstructed by downed trees. We collected a pile of Wood Ear mushrooms that were deliciously crunchy in the stir fry I just made and Kawa kawa leaves now steeping for tea, filling the cabin with their unique spice. A couple more close encounters with Kaka happened and Nao and I came across a couple of seal lounging and napping on the beach adjacent to where we left the armada. Dried Bluebottle jellies like thin blue, well, bottles, as well as clear and pink and lavender round jellies were scattered across the high tide line and we dipped down to splash in some tide pools amongst the seaweeds too. We managed the math problem of how to leave a boat for Matt and get everyone else back (hint: several trips). I loved going up the mast, it was much more secure and fun in the boatswain’s chair than when I climbed our friend Magnus’ mast steps, and I was able to relax and enjoy the sway of the wind and the stellar view: obsidian glinting in the sun, sea caves and arches visible only from that vantage, looking down on swooping gulls. I’m so glad we got to return and explore more of this magical island. Thank you, Tahua!