The Bountiful Bay

The Bountiful Bay

Coming back into the Bay of Islands after an ocean passage, I can’t help but smile. We have just finished a seven-month cruise from New Zealand to Tonga, on to Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, and then back to Godzone.

Little old New Zealand has some of the most breathtaking cruising in the world, and Lyn and I should know - we’ve seen our share of top spots.

New Zealand may be a tad cooler than the tropics, and there aren’t many swaying palm trees, but what it lacks is more than made up for in beauty and ease of cruising. There are also no peaky coral reefs.

My favourite area to cruise in New Zealand is the Bay of Islands. An overnight sail from the City of Sails - roughly 120 sea miles - and you’re in this wonderful, compact cruising area where you can always find a comfortable anchorage, a place to stop for lunch, great walks and all the seafood a hunter-gatherer could need.

‘The Bay’ as the locals call it, is ideal for all kinds of boating. With two great marinas - Opua and Dove’s Bay - there is scope to bring your launch or yacht up for the summer and commute - or else just pay a passing visit. There are numerous launching ramps for trailer boats, kayaking is a great way to get intimate with the Bay, and there are plenty of places to camp if you need to.

Earlier this year we ran a rally from Auckland north to the Bay of Islands. Rounding Cape Brett we stopped at Deep Water Cove for lunch and a walk, then headed through Albert Passage. Be careful there, as the clear passage is through the narrow side between the rock and the headland; there’s a starboard mark on the rock.

Once inside the islands there is a heap of choices for a good night’s anchorage.

Moturua Island

Moturua Island has a couple of great night anchorages. The wind had been blowing from the north all day, so Pipi Bay (Awaawaroa Bay on the charts) was the first choice. You will also sometimes hear locals refer to this bay as ‘Honeymoon Bay’ - it’s a sheltered, deep cove on the south-eastern corner of the island.

During summer, DoC operates a rubbish barge just around the end of the point to the east. You will need to buy special rubbish bags from the local shops.

Pipi Bay has good depth close in, good holding in sand/mud, and is good in east through north to west winds, as are the two bays immediately to the west. South-west winds tend to get a bit sloppy, while Army Bay - just around the corner - is good in anything from west through to the south.

Care is needed anchoring at Army Bay (Waiwhapuku Bay on the chart), though the bottom is hard papa (sand/mud stone) and if there is any swell from the north, it tends to set up a roll. It is, however, a good place to anchor if you want to take advantage of the great walks on the island.

Next morning the weather was calm and we headed around to Army Bay for a walk. The headland at the north-eastern end of the island, adjacent to Army Bay, is a great short walk. There is a footpath up the steep bits and the views from the top give a great vista of the whole Bay - probably why they put an observation emplacement there during World War II.

A more vigorous walk will take you around the whole island, and it’s well worth the effort. We usually take a clockwise route, as this gives the better views. The walk is about two hours and will show you a surprising range of flora and bird life.

The walk from the top of the island down to Waipoa Bay, for example, takes you through lush rainforest with lots of birds, along the beach to some wonderful wetlands, then over the hill to Mangahawaea Bay, which is a popular spot for a day anchorage with its white sand beach (there’s usually a roll in here), or a great place to take a break from your walk and have a picnic lunch or a swim. The views from the top of the hill heading back over to Army Bay are stunning, looking out over Urupukapuka Island to Piercy Island (‘Hole in the Rock’) and the Brett.

Once back at the boat after our walk, the wind was again in the north, so we decided to head around to Waipoa Bay for a quiet night.

There are three nasties to watch for as you navigate around Moturua Island. Leaving Army Bay, heading through the north channel, watch for a shallow patch (1.2m on the chart) about 75 metres past Motutara Islet. Continuing anti-clockwise, look for the isolated rock off the north coast of the island, then heading south - between Roberton Island and Moturua - there’s another isolated reef on the approach to Waipoa Bay.

Waipoa Bay is very pretty. Great in an easterly through to the north-west winds, it has a clear, sandy bottom, and good depth to about 100m off shore. Be sure to set your anchor as the sand is hard, and a good hold can’t be taken for granted. Once set though, the holding is good.

Waipoa Bay is also known as Hospital Bay. The explorer De Fresne built a temporary hospital ashore for crew suffering from scurvy, amongst other things. De Fresne, silly boy, lacked in diplomatic skills and ticked off the local Maori. To cut a long story short, he and some of his crew were killed just across the bay at Assassination Cove.

Our choice of anchorage was perfect; the bay was flat-calm and we enjoyed sundowners and a game of petanque on the beach.

This bay faces west and we watched a beautiful sunset. Then, as night fell, we were shrouded in stars.

Roberton Island

Our cruise was coming to an end and we were booked into a great little restaurant in Opua - Blue Water - for a farewell dinner, but we had the whole day to get there.

Just across from Waipoa Bay is Roberton Island (Motuarohia Island on the chart). Lagoon Bay, on the southern side of the island, is the anchorage of choice. It’s an easy approach with no obstructions, although keep a lookout while anchoring, as there is an isolated rock about halfway along the beach, close inshore, that has snagged a few unwitting boaties.

There is good depth close in to the beach, although it shelves to the western end. The holding is good on sand, but we regard this as a day anchorage only as it is open to the south. It is, however, a great place to stop for the day, with plenty to do and see.

There are three lagoons: two that almost split the island, and one you can see from the walk to the lookout. Known as Smugglers Cove, it opens to the sea through a cave. The lagoons are a great place to kayak, and the main lagoon, in the centre of the beach, has a snorkel trail which can be followed from half-tide to full (the lagoons are almost empty at low tide).

The walk to the top is also well worth the effort: 124 steps in total to a panoramic view of the Bay of Islands.

Roberton is a popular picnic stop and there is a wide, flat area of grass beyond the beach. During summer the island is home to nesting dotterels and DoC staff fence off the nesting areas.

It’s only seven sea miles (14km) into Opua from Roberton and less than four miles to historic Russell, or across the water to Paihia; there are shops at all three. Diesel is also available on the wharf at Russell, Paihia and Opua, as is water.

Petrol is not quite so easy and you will need to take jerry cans to the local service station in Russell, or to the Shell station opposite the beach at Te Ti Bay on the Paihia side; or it is a five-minute walk to the Caltex station (which also does LPG) on the road to Haruru Falls. There is also a well-stocked Woolworths supermarket opposite the Caltex station.

We left Roberton at about 4pm, giving us plenty of time to get settled in the marina at Opua, take advantage of the excellent facilities there, and grab a shower before dinner. Blue Water has a deck out over the water and we celebrated a great cruise in style as the sun set, watching the car ferry ply backwards and forward to Okiato Point on the Russell Peninsula.

All in all, a great couple of days in the Bay of Islands!

(- article retrieved from BOATING NEW ZEALAND magazine; used by permission. December 2009 issue; page 90 ‘The Bountiful Bay’ written by John and Lyn Martin of the Island Cruising Association).