Thursday morning, dead calm in Lonely Bay, Cooks Cove near Whitianga. Sunny. Yep, a different day to yesterday. Today we have dawdled our way over to Mayor Island, reaching across a light South Easterly breeze. Chynna made chocolate cake. We saw a minke whale, common dolphins and then orca, again! Albatross, of course.
We found Mayor Island, Tuhua, late in the afternoon, anchored in Crater Bay in 30 metres. The island is a wildlife sanctuary; a mantle of pohutukawa over spectacularly sculptured volcanic rock. There are lava pillars, caves glittering crusts of salt, and strata of gleaming black obsidian. The water is clear and the bottom a seaweed rock garden. We saw seals here.
A lovely way to end this leg.
