Getting closer

I can officially say this is the longest time I have not been working ever.  It continues to be a really weird feeling not being in a routine.  For the most part we are able to keep ourselves busy and the days just tick by.  Yesterday however was the very first day where we both felt a little bit restless!  It was an overcast and drizzly day which didn’t help.  We got up and drove down the hill to Te Puna to a lovely little cafe for a Valentines breakfast.  After that we went back to the house and were stumped as to what we could do.  Wasn’t in the mood to read, it was too slippery on the road to go biking so in the end we sat down and had a Friends marathon.  Craig settled himself onto the couch and managed to stay there for a good few hours while I would watch a couple of episodes and then get up and go for a small walk down the road and back just to move.  It was a really weird feeling being restless and we were both unaccustomed to it.

Today the sun is shining and we are both back to normal.  I have just finished a 90minute bike ride down the hill and back while Craig is outside pottering around fixing stuff (one of his favorite things to do).

The house sit we are currently at is a beautiful house in Whakamarama with lovely distant views of Mount Maunganui.  We are looking after a dog called Lincoln, 2 chickens and a cat Mario who we only see in the evening when he comes in for dinner.

We haven’t booked anymore house sits after this one as we are hoping (fingers and toes are crossed) that we have found a boat we like.

When the house was sold and everyone had taken their share we were left with less money than we thought we would (we ended up with $149 000.00).  Once we realised this we had to re-evaluate the boats we were looking at.  Realistically we are no longer able to afford a catamaran as a 40foot one is around $180 000.00 plus.

This meant we had to start looking at mono-hulls which I had been against originally due to the fact I get sea sick and with both of us being tall we wanted a boat that had space and was stable.

After looking around a few websites we came across a boat that seemed perfect for us, an Atoll 43.  Although it is a mono-hull the decking is all on one level from the back of the boat through the lounge into the kitchen.  It then goes down a few steps into a big bedroom right at the front of the boat and on each side another bedroom plus a shower and a separate toilet, for us it looked perfect.  Looking around we discovered there are currently 7 for sale in the world with the closest one being in French Polynesia.

Thanks to a group I belong to on Facebook I was put in contact with a boat surveyor over there.  We contacted him and got some more photos sent through to us.  We then hired his services to do a full survey for us costing $1300.00.  This is where we are at at the moment, he completed the survey over the weekend, took a couple of hundred photos which he put in a drop box for us (that was fun looking through) and we are now waiting for the official report.  If he gives it a thumbs up we have decided that we are going to put our trust in him and put an offer through.  If our offer is accepted then we will be looking to book flights over to French Polynesia.  We will spend 4-6 weeks getting some lessons, sailing around the islands and building up skills and confidence then we will head back to New Zealand to pick up Hunny who will be staying behind with our good friends Erin and Andy in Karaka.

It is so tantalizing close and explains why we have been feeling restless.  Whatever happens we are at this house sit until the 4th of March.  If all goes well then soon after that we will be flying towards our new home.

If however this doesn’t pan out our next choice is the same style of boat which is for sale in Greece.  We have investigated and to get a boat delivered from there to New Zealand will cost us approximately $12000.00 and will take 100 plus days, lets hope this first option pans out.