10 October 2024 –Niue
Before I start I have another need. Someone now cannot make the New Zealand to Sydney leg in early January 2025 so I need ideally a sixth person. You would have to be in Auckland, New Zealand by about 3/4 January 2025 with a view to us leaving for Sydney, weather permitting, by about 7 January 2025. We should get to Sydney by about 14-16 January 2025. If anyone is interested please email me at hine.nick9@gmail.com Thanks.
We all slept well as it was nice and calm and I did not wake until 7.45am which is unusual. I had a quick breakfast and went ashore with Sean and the gas cylinders to meet Keith (the Commodore of the Niue Yacht Club) who kindly then took us to where they fill gas. He showed us around a bit more and we went to the supermarket and got a few things. We then went back to Stormbird and had agreed to communicate with Keith about the gas which he would collect about 3.00pm.
Joyce made flapjacks and we had some more fruit and then we all went ashore hauling up the dinghy each time. The ladies went off to the internet café and to collect the washing. Sean, Keith and I walked along through Alofi and came to a craft beer brewery and a man called Avi who ran a Japanese/Pizza restaurant. We tried the Niue Honey Beer, Mango Pale Ale and the Stout and they were all good with some Chicken Katsu rolls. He was an interesting character and was an Israeli Jew who had come here 35 years ago to fish (although he said he was escaping from Mossad!) and met his wife and now lives here with his 4 children. In addition to the restaurant, he has a brewery and a small hotel apartment. The ladies came and found us after we had tried the beers and then had one themselves.
We then headed off to the Niue Yacht Club for lunch which had a nice terrace overlooking the bay and we had some fresh fish. Keith, the Commodore, joined us and we had a good chat about Niue and our planned tour for tomorrow. The people here are very friendly and everyone says hello to everyone which is nice.
We returned to Stormbird and rested and swam and saw dolphins and a turtle as the sun went down. We did not feel that hungry and so we had a drink and then decided to have some cheese and bread etc. We then played the game of who am I – which was fun.
We have our tour of the island tomorrow which should be interesting. The picture of the day is us in the craft beer place.
Opportunity Year Two
In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.
If there is any interest do email me at hine.nick9@gmail.com
The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com