+Tom Vanya Hey Tom, really pleased you enjoyed it. It was a great visit for us and will be one of those we will always treasure ... cheers and all the best for 2016
+Deane B - Our pleasure Deane - hope we are making the places 'real' - we really try to give an honest perspective. As for being 'best on the net' ... thanks for that compliment, however I must say we see so many great vids from other folks. Ana always reminds me how sometimes we arrive in certain places and are not as impressed and generally when we look into our hearts as to why, it has a lot to do with great weather. I remember in the Bahamas as we cruised past a certain island we decided to drop anchor. We could not understand what all the fuss was about so lifted anchor and moved on. When we collected our kids in Nassau and were headed south again past the same island we thought it looked majestic this time so dropped anchor here again. It was one of our best visits and the difference was most definitely in the weather. So, we are mindful when sharing footage or thoughts about a place that weather plays a huge role. Also of course, thankfully different things appeal to different people, but I must say Great Mercury Island is very special in terms of diversity, nature and an amazing energy the place emits when walking through these meandering hills. Cheers!
Happy Holidays. Have fun and stay safe. I hope you know how lucky you are to be on such a fantastic adventure. Thanks for sharing the travels with us. Peace to all!
we hope that it will be. once the weather stays warm enough we will be hitting the lake, and putting out much better footage. i look forward to seeing where you go in 2016 as well
Sean Thompson Hey Sean - we will be sure to take a 'look see' at your footage. Must admit we are a bit selfish that way that we do not look at many other RUclips channels mostly because we struggle with internet connection which I am sure you as a sailor will appreciate. We are always changing sim cards and taking out new contracts and so on so it becomes difficult and expensive to stream. You must be eager to get onto that lake huh! Cheers for now - Brent and Ana
+Catamaran Impi Santa has brought me a boat or two in the past but I did not ask for one this year.So I will have to do my sailing with you and some others here on You Tube for now :)
***** - that's a great reply - at least this way you get to stay out of the boat yards, but beware as I may have to post a movie or two on that as well to keep things real. Must say though, this is a great yard at Norsand - you know - as far as the word 'great' can be used in any boat yard of course :)
happy New year to Impi and it's crew....... it is really high quality stuff that you're doing. With every video, it is becoming more and more the same quality than a good tv documentary could be. You're really talented. Please continue, and thank you again !! alec.
+alberciik Thanks Alec - I am under pressure here to perform now huh :) It would be nice to get a stabiliser for the camera as we realise that is one area we are struggling with. I took to walking about with the GoPro camera as it fits in my pocket and then a powershot which is small enough with a zoom lens - only issue is that the zoom is a bit erratic and smooth so I will look into a good replacement for that when I vista SA soon. Any ideas on a small cheapish good enough quality camera with smooth zoom function would be appreciated. Cheers
+Outdoorscout Merry Christmas - well - I guess I should start wishing y'all a happy new year now as 2016 is about to happen !!! Thanks Outdoorscout - appreciate that! Cheers
Merci pour cette dernière vidéo de l'année reçois toutes mes salutations bonne fin d'année mais surtout une très bonne année 2016 avec des navigation et des nouvelles découvertes kissssss
Niclas - you would REALLY enjoy Mercury Island - I still carry an exceptional vibe in my heart from that place - really difficult to understand ... but it 'captured me in a big way' ... :)
Great video once again. Merry Christmas to you and Annie! May you have a wonderful and happy New Year sailing the seas. Many blessings to you both. From Georgia, USA
+Ted Smith Thanks Ted - hope you are having a great holiday season! Yeah - may 2016 be a great year for us all - we hope to share many adventures sailing and so on but first we head back to SA for our sons wedding. Perhaps we can share a little of our home too and some technical stuff around the yacht I filmed recently - cheers for now
I enjoyed the two videos of your travels that I have seen. From B.O.I to Whangarei and this one of Great Mercury Islands. We also visited the Great Mercs about 5 years ago by yacht. I was seriously impressed also, and I live here! The trees you referred to are known commonly by their Maori name "Pohutukawa" They are the NZ Christmas tree as they flower close to Christmas.
+Kerry Campbell - thanks for the info - very interesting. In SA we call these flowering Eucalyptus trees so interesting to hear the local name for it. Great Mercs is certainly a very special place for us ... would love to live there :)
+Don Grace Thanks Don. Yes can you believe with all the Oyster Catchers we see around here - wow! I think what has happened in SA is that in the past and in some places still today, many 4x4 vehicles run up and down the beaches so the eggs get destroyed. On the other hand they may well have moved north to the more desolate beaches where we don't see them as readily, but yeah - they were protected when I last looked. Not sure if the numbers have come back since we have left and maybe something for us to look into with interest when we arrive in SA to be with family :)
Hey G-DOGG - let us know when you do that - so many folks we met here have shared their dreams with us of the day they actually went ahead and purchased the boat - so awesome for us to see that !!!
+JimmyMartian - Wow - that's very interesting. Never heard of a Pen Shell before - thanks for sharing that with us - are they always this big and do people eat them?
+ckbond41 Hi CK - thanks mate - Internet is difficult and expensive at times but generally we take a lot of footage, assemble the video and post when we get close to broadband internet. I must say though, that internet seems to be getting better as time passes and I must compliment Fiji as a nation for their exceptional internet quality and cost. Of all visit around the world I have to say that so far they have the best internet ever!
+ckbond41 - Now that is a very good question ... we will sail as long as we feel able to do so and of course if our cash flow allows. It has not helped that our country dropped in currency value from R8/US$ when we left 4.5 years ago and reached R17/US$ a short while ago - thanks to our amazing president, Mr Jacob Zuma - but hey - we went sailing to get away from all of that. Perhaps this year we will offer some trips to folks and make up our losses ;)
Catamaran Impi The British pound as lost value as well due to the government policies. WE are in the same boat I'm afraid. But the pound would always bounce back. You both are living my dream, long may it continue for you both..
+alan mckinnon - LOL - Alan - we wish we could have filmed what was really going on there man - not sure if you hear me panting behind the camera - ever seen a guy over 50 clear a fence in one swoop :)
Cheers Janine - thanks for the comment. Been without internet cruising the islands in the Southern Lagoon and tomorrow off to Ile Des pins. I will get busy there to work on the next vid :)
+Maha per-ree - LOL - perhaps he saw me wearing nothing but my boots :) No - that is interesting as I did not know about them ... will have to ask about those ... have you had them?
That sounds amazing - never heard of 'deep fried oysters' so it just goes to show how we learn something new every day ... we will have to give this a try :) - I wonder if they do it in restaurants near Whangarei?
+Maha per-ree - Ha Ha - thank goodness I did not go out to a restaurant asking about them tonight - think I may give that a skip - army days are long done and dusted :)
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Dear Brent and Ana, thanks for another articulate, heart felt, funny, inspirational video! Safe travels.
+Tom Vanya Hey Tom, really pleased you enjoyed it. It was a great visit for us and will be one of those we will always treasure ... cheers and all the best for 2016
A lot of bull in that video. What a special place, thanks for sharing all that great scenery.
+Vaughn Herren - he he he - lots of bull indeed :)
Thank you for the great times I enjoy traveling the world through your videos. They truly are the best on the net.
+Deane B - Our pleasure Deane - hope we are making the places 'real' - we really try to give an honest perspective. As for being 'best on the net' ... thanks for that compliment, however I must say we see so many great vids from other folks. Ana always reminds me how sometimes we arrive in certain places and are not as impressed and generally when we look into our hearts as to why, it has a lot to do with great weather. I remember in the Bahamas as we cruised past a certain island we decided to drop anchor. We could not understand what all the fuss was about so lifted anchor and moved on. When we collected our kids in Nassau and were headed south again past the same island we thought it looked majestic this time so dropped anchor here again. It was one of our best visits and the difference was most definitely in the weather. So, we are mindful when sharing footage or thoughts about a place that weather plays a huge role. Also of course, thankfully different things appeal to different people, but I must say Great Mercury Island is very special in terms of diversity, nature and an amazing energy the place emits when walking through these meandering hills. Cheers!
Happy Holidays. Have fun and stay safe. I hope you know how lucky you are to be on such a fantastic adventure. Thanks for sharing the travels with us.
Peace to all!
+Gary Burt - Thanks Gary - hope its a good one for you too ! Yes, we sure do realise how fortunate we are :)
One of the best of your videos yet. Please keep them coming.
+Dave Howard - Thanks Dave - it sure is a magical spot so not difficult to take good shots there :)
The flowering Red Pohutukawa trees are a sight to behold during the summer months in coastal New Zealand.
In South Africa we call them flowering gums or eucalyptus trees - nice to know the NZ name for them. Ahhh - Mercury Island - one of my favourites ...
Catamaran Impi Yes we are indeed blessed wth some of the finest cruising grounds, not to mention our Rugby players, Kia Ora brother.
Kenneth Hammond LOL - yeah man - Your Rugby Players ROCK !!! Kia Ora
Really enjoy and look forward to your calm and very informative videos, thank you for making them
+Sean “SV Inopii” Thompson - Awesome Sean - Hope 2016 is a good one for you guys!
we hope that it will be. once the weather stays warm enough we will be hitting the lake, and putting out much better footage. i look forward to seeing where you go in 2016 as well
Sean Thompson Hey Sean - we will be sure to take a 'look see' at your footage. Must admit we are a bit selfish that way that we do not look at many other RUclips channels mostly because we struggle with internet connection which I am sure you as a sailor will appreciate. We are always changing sim cards and taking out new contracts and so on so it becomes difficult and expensive to stream. You must be eager to get onto that lake huh! Cheers for now - Brent and Ana
Thank you. Merry Christmas Brent and Ana.
+elfaroproductions - Merry Christmas - hope Santa brought you a sail boat :)
+Catamaran Impi Santa has brought me a boat or two in the past but I did not ask for one this year.So I will have to do my sailing with you and some others here on You Tube for now :)
***** - that's a great reply - at least this way you get to stay out of the boat yards, but beware as I may have to post a movie or two on that as well to keep things real. Must say though, this is a great yard at Norsand - you know - as far as the word 'great' can be used in any boat yard of course :)
happy New year to Impi and it's crew....... it is really high quality stuff that you're doing. With every video, it is becoming more and more the same quality than a good tv documentary could be. You're really talented. Please continue, and thank you again !! alec.
+alberciik Thanks Alec - I am under pressure here to perform now huh :) It would be nice to get a stabiliser for the camera as we realise that is one area we are struggling with. I took to walking about with the GoPro camera as it fits in my pocket and then a powershot which is small enough with a zoom lens - only issue is that the zoom is a bit erratic and smooth so I will look into a good replacement for that when I vista SA soon. Any ideas on a small cheapish good enough quality camera with smooth zoom function would be appreciated. Cheers
Merry Christmas. Always enjoyed your vids. Thank you!
+Outdoorscout Merry Christmas - well - I guess I should start wishing y'all a happy new year now as 2016 is about to happen !!! Thanks Outdoorscout - appreciate that! Cheers
Merci pour cette dernière vidéo de l'année reçois toutes mes salutations bonne fin d'année mais surtout une très bonne année 2016 avec des navigation et des nouvelles découvertes kissssss
+jeff Zana - MERCY BEAUCOUP Jeff - we hope 2016 is a great year for you too !!!
Excellent video and music !
Wow! I just fell in love with Great Mercury island! It's now on my "places to visit" list. hehe!
Niclas - you would REALLY enjoy Mercury Island - I still carry an exceptional vibe in my heart from that place - really difficult to understand ... but it 'captured me in a big way' ... :)
Great video once again. Merry Christmas to you and Annie! May you have a wonderful and happy New Year sailing the seas. Many blessings to you both. From Georgia, USA
+Ted Smith Thanks Ted - hope you are having a great holiday season! Yeah - may 2016 be a great year for us all - we hope to share many adventures sailing and so on but first we head back to SA for our sons wedding. Perhaps we can share a little of our home too and some technical stuff around the yacht I filmed recently - cheers for now
Thanks for sharing a special place with us. Have a great 2016.
+Ben Coles Hey Ben - cheers mate - hope 2016 brings many happy adventures and wonderful memories to you and your family :)
I enjoyed the two videos of your travels that I have seen. From B.O.I to Whangarei and this one of Great Mercury Islands. We also visited the Great Mercs about 5 years ago by yacht. I was seriously impressed also, and I live here! The trees you referred to are known commonly by their Maori name "Pohutukawa" They are the NZ Christmas tree as they flower close to Christmas.
+Kerry Campbell - thanks for the info - very interesting. In SA we call these flowering Eucalyptus trees so interesting to hear the local name for it. Great Mercs is certainly a very special place for us ... would love to live there :)
Finally caught up with this latest video, 'Nice One' as always.Wow! hard to believe the 'Oyster Catcher' could be on the endangered species list!
+Don Grace Thanks Don. Yes can you believe with all the Oyster Catchers we see around here - wow! I think what has happened in SA is that in the past and in some places still today, many 4x4 vehicles run up and down the beaches so the eggs get destroyed. On the other hand they may well have moved north to the more desolate beaches where we don't see them as readily, but yeah - they were protected when I last looked. Not sure if the numbers have come back since we have left and maybe something for us to look into with interest when we arrive in SA to be with family :)
Merry Christmas guys!
+tristinatr - Thank you and a very Merry Christmas to you too !
Merry Christmas!! :)
+Jon Madsen Merry Christmas Jon
Great video! Merry Christmas!
+Will Terry - thanks Will - loved your Christmas Cards - you are a talented man !!!
You're too kind :)
Superb video's, hopefully buying my Cat' next year :-)
Hey G-DOGG - let us know when you do that - so many folks we met here have shared their dreams with us of the day they actually went ahead and purchased the boat - so awesome for us to see that !!!
3:49 This is call "Pen Shell", not a mussel.... Thanks for sharing your Videos, great inspiration for me who never sailed before.
+JimmyMartian - Wow - that's very interesting. Never heard of a Pen Shell before - thanks for sharing that with us - are they always this big and do people eat them?
Some pen shell grow larger and yes they can be eaten, with caution as any filter feeder.
Hoping to get the next week. btw that's called a horse muscle. :)
Hey David - beautiful place !
Mate thanks for the heads up on the name of that muscle ...
Cheers and have a great weekend
Totally unspoiled beauty!! Give it to me baby aha aha.
Great video, where you are at one with piece and nature.
May I ask what do you do about internet?
+ckbond41 Hi CK - thanks mate - Internet is difficult and expensive at times but generally we take a lot of footage, assemble the video and post when we get close to broadband internet. I must say though, that internet seems to be getting better as time passes and I must compliment Fiji as a nation for their exceptional internet quality and cost. Of all visit around the world I have to say that so far they have the best internet ever!
Catamaran Impi How long have you got on your adventure. And what are you going to do with IMPI, when you finish.....LOL
+ckbond41 - Now that is a very good question ... we will sail as long as we feel able to do so and of course if our cash flow allows. It has not helped that our country dropped in currency value from R8/US$ when we left 4.5 years ago and reached R17/US$ a short while ago - thanks to our amazing president, Mr Jacob Zuma - but hey - we went sailing to get away from all of that. Perhaps this year we will offer some trips to folks and make up our losses ;)
Catamaran Impi The British pound as lost value as well due to the government policies. WE are in the same boat I'm afraid. But the pound would always bounce back. You both are living my dream, long may it continue for you both..
+ckbond41 Nicely said - cheers CK - and let's hope the same boat we float in stays afloat :)
that big ball was not happy was he that was funny
+alan mckinnon - LOL - Alan - we wish we could have filmed what was really going on there man - not sure if you hear me panting behind the camera - ever seen a guy over 50 clear a fence in one swoop :)
cool video
Cheers Janine - thanks for the comment. Been without internet cruising the islands in the Southern Lagoon and tomorrow off to Ile Des pins. I will get busy there to work on the next vid :)
Why was the lonely Sheep runing away from you in a mighty hurry? Also, did you get to eat 'Mountain Oysters" in NZ?
+Maha per-ree - LOL - perhaps he saw me wearing nothing but my boots :) No - that is interesting as I did not know about them ... will have to ask about those ... have you had them?
Catamaran Impi Yes, try it deep fried.
That sounds amazing - never heard of 'deep fried oysters' so it just goes to show how we learn something new every day ... we will have to give this a try :) - I wonder if they do it in restaurants near Whangarei?
Catamaran Impi It's not Oysters, it's called "Mountain Oysters" It's Sheep testicles and it taste great, deep fried.
+Maha per-ree - Ha Ha - thank goodness I did not go out to a restaurant asking about them tonight - think I may give that a skip - army days are long done and dusted :)