On to the Bay of Islands

In order to see the country we took a four hour bus ride to Paihia and the Bay of Islands. After one night in another hostel we picked up our charter boat at Great Escape Yacht Charters.
Great Escape Yacht Charters

Just after we had gone aboard we were joined by Celia for a visit. As the coordinator of the Ocean Cruising Club's Youth Sponsorship Programme I had helped her obtain a grant to enable her to join an OCC boat in Fiji and sail to Opua in the Bay of Islands. Meeting her was a remarkable coincidence. Although I have helped several youth during the last few years to obtain these grants I had never met one in person as all the applications are handled by Email. Celia normally lives on the island of Guernsey but has decided to have an extended stay in New Zealand before returning home.