Milt arrived in Opua NZ on May 13 and we waited for
weather to leave for Tonga
While we waited we took in the local sights like the
restored steam engine in Kawakawa, the basis for the
annual....
NEXT->
...Puff & Pull Contest!
Community teams compete to pull the engine farthest
and fastest from a dead standstill
All sorts of groups get into the act...
...including elementary age kids, like last year's
champions!
No Kiwi festival is complete without kilts and bagpipes
The festival ends with an escort by the military  Fife and
Drum Corps
Next year these spectators will be participants pulling
the train!
Milt marching with the band
And away the engine goes back to the round house until
next year!
Barb horsing around with our Kiwi friend Geoff
Waterhouse at the railroad tracks in Kawakawa
The view from Russell looking over Victoria Channel
Reconstructed turn of the century schooner sailing up
the Victoria Channel to Opua Harbour
Milt on a hike in his first temperate rainforest
Scenery like Jurassic Park or a Tarzan movie!
Milt navigating a muddy overgrown path
View from Old Russell over Opua Harbour
Opua Harbour where we waited in great weather for
good weather for our passage
Milt in full foulies taking a turn at the helm
Once the skies cleared, it took some time for the seas to
subside...
...and eventually they did!
After a week of gorgeous sun in NZ,  this is the weather
we chose to depart in!!
Captain Bob and Milt make the best of bad weather!
After the storm, Milt catching up on his vitamin D !