The summer cruise is the long one, a month away for many, or in our case last summer, three months away aboard Zest – a circumnavigation of the North Island. But from our home base in Nelson, short cruises are also very possible. Late autumn and winter cruising can be rewarding, made even better when you have a heater onboard! And the anchorages are not crowded.
Our favourite local cruising area is north to D’Urville Island Rangitoto ki te Tonga. There are no extensive sandy beaches as in the Abel Tasman National Park, but neither are there water-taxis and trampers, nor very many boats.
As we motored down Nelson Harbour, the panoramic view was of snow – a lot of snow – covering the mountain tops on the west coast and even on the Bryant Ranges up behind Richmond. It was cool, perhaps cold, with the white
