Speedwell of Hong Kong

Bay of Islands

Author: Shirlz

January, 2020

Soon after arriving I found a nicely sheltered anchorage within reasonable rowing distance of the small town of Russell. The Russell Boating Club generously allows visiting dinghies to tie to their dock from where it is a short walk to the centre of town. It was quite a culture shock to suddenly find myself in a first-world tourist town. Nothing ramshackle here. Proper pedestrian pavements, no feral pigs and dogs. Real supermarkets. I restocked with as much as I could carry back to the dinghy and picked up some information about walks in the area. After a few weeks at sea I was keen to get some exercise.

 

 

There is a great variety of well-maintained footpaths to choose from. My first short walk was a path leading up from a nearby beach to the road. Not very exciting you may think, but it was quite magnificent. My first taste of the wonderful tree ferns that seem to be everywhere. Also my first sighting of the delightful fantail bird. It was steep and I was aware of how unfit I had become. I made an instant decision to make these walks a regular thing.

 

 

A more ambitious walk, the ‘Bay of Islands Coastal Walkway’ took more than the advertised 5 hours to complete. Starting from the ferry dock at Russell for the crossing to the bigger town of Pahia on the opposite shore. The path follows very close to the water’s edge and unfortunately I hadn’t done my homework and the state of the tide put the path underwater. But the overland alternative was interesting enough and soon rejoined the coastal trail. The Pahia beachfront was busy with holiday-makers but I seemed to be the only one doing the walk.

 

 

There were beautiful views across the bay, although, what I really enjoyed the most was when the trail entered deeply wooded areas. Usually with steep ups and downs. The dense tree-ferns creating a wonderful green lacy groin vault cathedral ceiling. Birdsong was everywhere, but I found it very difficult to spot them in the dense greenery. I was thrilled to see my first tui, which is a fairly big honey-eater, easily identified by two white tufts of feathers under its chin. They are wonderful songbirds and create an amazing variety of sounds. The one that I kept hearing, before eventually spotting, it made a loud screeching double-squawk followed by two most beautifully liquid notes.

 

 

Once clear of the trees the path came out at the head of a shallow bay and I could see Speedwell anchored not all that far off. A long boardwalk takes you over the muddy mangrove swamps. At low tide the mud seems to stretch for miles and the farmed oyster beds are exposed. If you stop for a while mud crabs emerge cautiously from their holes.

By the time I arrived back at my starting point, which was the dinghy dock at the boat club, I was pretty tired, hot and thirsty. Luckily for me it was a Friday, one of the 3 days of the week that the club bar is open. That icy cold beer was wonderful. After a 17km walk I felt I’d earned it.

 

 

Of course, I have also found myself in one of the most beautiful sailing grounds one could possibly hope for. At first I was quite content to stay comfortably anchored and just relax after the long passage from Tonga, but soon enough I felt compelled to see what lay around the corner. I started sailing about, exploring a few of the other anchorages, always with a possible shoreside walk in mind. Distances between the various small islands and bays are short making it possible to easily move to better protection if the wind should suddenly change.

 

 

There were plenty of other boats around enjoying the holidays but it always seemed possible to find a less crowded spot to anchor. I really enjoyed a walk on Moturua Island which is very popular. It was another fairly long trail all the way around the island with plenty of ups and downs. Magical views as you come down to the coast every now and then to find an exquisite small bay with sandy beach. On one of the beaches, quite a long one, I stopped to watch a big black oystercatcher making its way along the waterline, foraging in the sand with its strong red beak. It was steadily approaching me. I kept still, wondering how close it would get before it saw me and flew away. I was charmed to realize that it had me in sight all along and as it reached a point about 10m away, it kept a beady eye on me while circling to seaward, still walking, keeping exactly the same distance away until it felt it had safely passed, and then continuing along in its normal way. How considerate! How polite! I followed its example and continued on my way.

 

 

On Saturday I was lucky enough to be given a place on Gordon Gregg’s ‘Tystie’ which was taking part in the annual Tall Ships Regatta, a major Bay of Islands event. I was a little disappointed to see that there were no actual tall ships taking part, but something like 10 junks were there and it was a very colourful event. I refrained from entering Speedwell as I have no experience of racing and, with no third-party insurance, the thought of jockeying for position at the start or tight manoevering round the buoys frightened me more than any ocean crossing.

 

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 12th, 2020 at 23:29 and is filed under Cruising, New Zealand, South Pacific. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.