Here is the Hegan clan saying a fond farewell at our going away kneesup. Yes they do look very distraught don't they!
From left rear Courtenay, Leon, Cushla and Mathew, front, the Admiral (Heath), Skipper (Shane), not properly dressed by this stage, and Jessica.


So, almost there, fly to Brissy on Friday afternoon. Hope to have some boats to look at Saturday so who knows, we may be resident on the water in a couple of weeks or so.


Had a great couple of weeks touring the South Island making sure we saw everything before we left the country. Really lucked out with the weather on the west coast, just fantastic. The weather has such an impact on our experiance of places, so, the west coast is great and Stewart Island SUKS. Rain, hail and bloody cold. Thanks to everyone that has been putting us up for different nights and thanks Kim for teaching me to catch snapper, yum yum!
Now I have finally worked out how to put photos on this site, via Picassa, we should be able to keep you better up to play with events.
Ciao, Shane

enzwell

Heather here ….. This is my first opportunity writing on the blog so I’m going to make the most of it!

It has been a frantic last 2-3 weeks. First there was the farewell party at home - we hired naval costumes so we looked the part! The party went really well, but it was peppered with a tinge of sadness as we won’t see some of our friends for quite a while.

After the party we both had our last week at our respective jobs, so it was more farewells. Then we had a week to move out the house, get everything that we needed to into storage, and pack the tea-chests for freighting to Brisbane. With that all done we could head off on holiday and relax for a bit…..

Only now does it feel like our adventure is starting. We are holidaying around the South Island for two weeks. We went to a wedding at Lake Tekapo last Saturday, and then drove through the very picturesque McKenzie Country down to Queenstown. We went out on the Earnslaw on Lake Wakatipu, and did the Farm Tour at Walter Peak – a great day out. We are down in Stewart Island at the moment – it sure knows how to rain down this end of the country. We head up the West Coast and on to Blenheim, and in a week we are back up to the North Island to farewell our families.

We fly to Brisbane on March 31 and we will be looking to buy a boat as soon as possible. That’s when the interesting part will start for me – I will be on a steep learning curve to become adequately knowledgable for what lies ahead. The one thing I can say though is that as yet I’m not missing not having to go to work each day!

enzwell

enzwell

So Australia it is. Saw a couple of likely candidates in my short trip and generally the boats do seem a little cheaper. I must admit though that one of the main attractions is not having to cross the Tasman, a very shitty piece of water most of the time. Now all we have to decide is where in Aus. We would like to start in Sydney as we like it as a city and it would be great to spend some time there, however, Queensland has lots more boats for sale and although we are happy to travel about, we are talking fairly large distances, not quite sure how far it is from Sydney to say Townsville but it's a hell of a long way!
On the home front we are all but ready to depart, sold most everything but the bedroom suite, TV, a couple of chairs and odds and sods which will go into storage. Working out the best way to draw money down while away as it can be very expensive. Last night had Heather's Toastmasters group farwell dinner which was great, tonight a big farwell party at home and on Thursady the big work farwell at the pub. Funny leaving a job after 31 years plus? I find it a bit strange that there is no real emotion yet. I suppose it's because I really am complete in my leaving, not bitter about the way the job has gone, everything changes, and we feel like we are moving to something as opposed to leaving something. For better or worse I generally seem to focus on what's ahead rather than what is behind, that's my excuse for a rotten memory anyway.
Till later. crew.enzwell@gmail.com

Here we are! 

enzwell

Geez there's a bit to sort out! The house and the flash car are sold, the resignations are in and the hunt is on for a boat. Seen about 15 in NZ so far and off to Brisbane on Monday to have a look there. They look great on the net so I will see how than pan out in reality. After that we can decide if we purchase here or there. Starting in Australia would be so much easier. First and formost is we won't have to sail across the Tasman, a notoriously shitty bit of water. Given it would that about 12-15 days, we would met at least two cold fronts and or depressions, I'd have to take on a couple of crew and fly Heather across and have to meet Cat 1 requiremnts for the boat and the skipper before we leave, why bother? If we buy a boat in Aus, none of that is required, we start our adventure in relatively good water and just day hop around the coast up to the Great Barrier Reef giving time to get
used to the boat and living on it, and hopefully Heather to get her sea legs. Now she does have lovely legs, they just don't do too well on the ocean at the moment, actually the legs are fine it's the stomach that revolts and does a hasty exit. Anyway, the only down side to buying the boat in Aus is if we bring it back to NZ we are up for GST (Grab, steal,Take..tax), still we don't have to bring it back to NZ but can return to Aus and sell there at the end, whenever that is.
So, after Tuesday, I should have a good idea of where we can get the best deal.enzwell

It starts!

"Better to die with memories than dreams"

So, here we are, that's Heather on the left and Shane on the right. The houses are sold the resignations are in, well they will be soon and the planned departure date is mid March. Oh and what's the plan...........well.........we are going to buy a boat,about 40-44 ft and set off around the world, westwards. Leaving from either New Zealand, our home town, or Australia, from there up to Indonesia, Thailand and eventually get to Santorini in the Mediteranian for Heather's 50th, which is needless to say some considerable time away, well, years anyway. So, stay tuned, check in for a peek occasionally and see how we get on!