With some reluctance we tore ourselves away from friendly, tropical Fiji to face the 1,100 (mainly upwind) miles to New Zealand.  They didn't disappoint! Harriet's first and unforgettable ocean passage, fast and furious, banging into large waves with the temperature dropping as we ventured South.  And there it was 15,000 miles, half way round the world, New Zealand we had made it.  And the celebrations started as each boat arrived, hugs, kisses and congratulations literally on the quay. A kind of unbelievable realism that we, fairly ordinary people, have achieved something quite extraordinary.  
And now time to explore New Zealand, Meteorites home for the next five months, starting up North in the Bay of Islands.  A stunning area of isolated islands, small villages set in beautiful coves with friendly local cafes providing the most exceptional food and of course the odd local beer (highly praised by Andy) and wines to die for. We explored the coastal paths on foot, the islands by ferry and the bars en mass, great fun.
Tearing ourselves away again for the final 120 miles down the coast, our dream of sailing into Auckland was upon us.  We literally did sail in, as our trusty engine 'Perky' decided now was a good time to lose all the coolant, so we patched him up, crossed our fingers, held our breath as he fired up one last time for the last 100 metres to our mooring right in the heart of Auckland.  We are here, we have arrived, as our NZ friend Fiona said meeting us on the dock, it's only taken 25 years of invites!! And what a friend her and hubby Andy have been, not only introducing us to Auckland, but lending us their apartment, taking us up to their home in Omaha and even providing a car.  Fiona tour guiding us around secluded bays, restful vineyards, coastal walks across stunning countryside and of course the odd exceptional meal, has been an unforgettable introduction to this magical country and we are very grateful.
Meeting old friends has been a bit of a theme, catching up with our dear sailing mate Mickey Reardon, and his lamb BBQ overlooking Auckland was truly memorable and a visit from a great Meteorite Tom Phillips and his growing family, as they travel around NZ was a lovely surprise.
And finally the event to end them all, the Oyster half way round party held at the legendary RNZYC home of the current Americas cup.  What a place, what a night, welcomed, well sort of, by a traditional Haka, it was time to reminisce, dance of course, say goodbye sadly to some who are stopping here and just party hard with people who in a very short time have become friends for life.  As said in the toast "to places we have visited, extraordinary people we have met, to friends we have made and to us .. sailors ... half way round the world .. we made it."
​So Leg 1 is over, we have a break for 5 months while Mike looks after the Mighty Meteorite (thanks for everything Mike!!)  and we tour NZ and Australia by land. We will resume sailing adventure and our blog in April 2018! Thanks for reading!!!

Fiji so good they name things twice.  332 islands and 6 weeks to see them.  With Hugh’s brother Ian and wife Heather onboard we visited the remote Lau group of islands.   Vanua Balavu was destroyed by Hurricane Winston in Feb 16.  Most houses have now been rebuilt but the countryside remains bereft of trees and the coconut trees have yet to bear fruit.  In Daliconi Village we took ‘Sevusevu’ - in Fijian villages all visitors bring a gift to a welcome ceremony with the village chief and share Kava a relaxing drink.  
 
 Daliconi resident Sam sold us cabbages, papaya and homemade bread.  He also took us to Lomaloma where we heard how in the hurricane they ran from house to house as the rooves blew off.  Sam’s nephew Lenudo guided us on a glorious walk across the island.  Needing a ride back our driver siphoned enough fuel from an oil drum to make the journey.  Next we anchored in the Bay of Islands.  Stunning light blue waters with cupcake islands popping out.   Lots of amazing pulsating soft coral.  
 
Sailing north to Taveuni we took a trip.  Soni the guide had been up till 3.30am drinking strong Kava and could only lie down on the floor of the minibus and barely speak.   At a natural water slide we scrambled up the riverbed, watched locals jump in to the top pool and gush through the rock channel riding the water on their feet to splosh into the bottom pool.  We sat down and slid.   
 
Friends Fiona and Andy flew into Savusavu and we headed to Rainbow Reef to dive one of the best soft coral sites in the world passing pilot whales and dolphins on the way.  ‘The Great White Wall’ a luminescent, snowy wall of soft coral and the eponymous ‘Cabbage Patch’ were highlights but our dives revealed vibrant yellow, orange and purple soft coral, aquarium fish and bull sharks.  Onwards to Volivoli this time diving and swimming through caves.  Harriet returned to the boat until New Zealand.
 
38% of the Fijian population are of Indian origin. Lucky for Andy who found an authentic curry house to celebrate his birthday. We donned sari fabric to visit the blindingly colourful Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Hindu Temple in Nadi with amazing ceiling frescos covering the stories of Lord Shiva.   Plates of banana, coconut and flowers were at the entrance ready for worshippers to smash as offerings.
 
Provisioning throughout this trip has required adaptability.  Lemons have been green, orange, round, knarled or just not available.  So when we arrived at Port Denerau and found avocados, rocket, beetroot and sherbet yellow lemons there was great excitement and feasting.
 
The Yasawas group of islands offered plentiful supplies of turquoise sea and sandy beaches.  A boat trip which raced through the reefs passing Spinner dolphins enroute to caves featured in the Brooke Shields film Blue Lagoon was fun but the overriding memory was in Somosomo.  3 boats Oyster Reach, Miss Tiggy and Meteorite set off to snorkel the shallow wreck of a WW2 plane on the opposite side of the island.  Hugh led the itchy scratchy trek to find the path with motivational talk.  Eventually we abandoned in favour of a beach BBQ.  The expedition was successfully resumed next morning.  The submerged plane was ok but the snorkelling, islands and bay were spectacular.   Seagrapes, Rays and Pufferfish tick.
 
Fijians are warm involving people.  Literally everyone greets you with one word ‘Bula’ (boo-la) which means hello and welcome.  It feels great to shout Bula!
 

So to Tonga the 'friendly isles' they stopped eating people in 1906 !! 1,300 miles, six days, usual mix of great following trade and lighter frustrating winds plus one huge Wahoo (fish) and we are here. 
Tonga, many islands, few people.  Surviving on what it can grow, aid and a little tourism based on the migrating whales.
We are delighted however to break from the norm and welcome Matt  as guest editor the following words are therefore mainly his.

“Like most of you, I assume I have been reading the blog, seething with jealousy, updates of sandy beaches, exotic locals, more tan than a leather shop, So I with the kids, Harriet, Ellie and Jake, did something about it and visited. But aren't Tongans big angry rugby players what's this about the Friendly Islands!! After 30 hours, 4 continents, emotional hellos (except Andy) we are here, ready to explore.
Even from the plane we could see just how beautiful these islands are, this continued in the taxi, glorious greens, sandy beaches and pigs so many pigs, Janice loves pigs!! 
You quickly realise how important religion and education is.  The houses may be a bit run down but the churches and schools are pristine.  The different colours uniforms depict the different religions and schools.

An unturndownable invitation to a church showed us why the Friendly Islands.  Warm welcome, bursts of song, sense of community, even if all in Tongan which we didn't quite master.
Off to explore and snorkel around the Vava'u islands - paradise.  And the 'traditional' beach bar b. After an island wide hunt for wood the fire was set.  Something Neanderthal about making fire, discussing it, poking it, but what a fantastic feast under the stars on a deserted beach.
Then the highlight of the trip.  Something I don't think any of us will experience any thing close to again, the opportunity to swim with whales.

I assumed they meant watch from a boat, but no!! Once we had spotted a mother and calf it was flippers, snorkels on and over the side we went.  It was an incredible sight, emotional, to see a humpbacks, the mother alone was over 20 mts long, swimming, diving, surfacing, with the calf floating around right next to you was something else, words can't really describe it. 
Tough act to follow but we certainly tried with a double header of Tongan feasts.  The first a school fund raiser, enough food for the 50, the second, the fella had 11 children so the proceeds were for his family, with enough food for 50 so lucky we were 10.  The family cooked and really showed us the meaning of Friendly.
The people, the ocean, the landscape, the snorkelling.  An absolute unforgettable experience that will take some beating though I expect the parents will give it a good go (the lucky b....... s).

Note from parents, thank you wonderful kids for coming and making this adventure even more special .. special thanks Matt for the blog.