Cyclone Vaianu Causes Extreme Havoc

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Our worst nightmare is being caught in a cyclone.  We do everything possible to avoid it, but sometimes Mother Nature has other plans.  Cyclone Vaianu pummeled Fiji and headed straight for Northland, New Zealand.

This cyclone brought with it very unusual wind directions.  The most severe winds would start out coming from the E-SE and as the cyclone passes through will change to the W-SW. This makes it very difficult to find a safe haven from both directions.

We monitored multiple weather forecasts for 10 days leading up to the storm.  Nothing looked good!  Most models showed the eye of the storm coming right on top of Northland (the upper peninsula of the North Island).  

Right where we are located.  We are the white dot in the photos on the upper right of NZ North Island.

Each day brought greater concern and worry for our safety.

Preparation and planning begins  The first decision is where can we go with the most protection and the least impact?

We spoke to a lot of locals after spending hours researching the safest anchorages.  We determined the eastern basin of Whangaroa would give us the best protection from the E-SE and W-SW winds.

Whangaroa for Protection

Coming into Whangaroa was a shock as we crossed the divide between clean ocean water and dirty muddy water.

The red arrow below indicates our location in relation to Northland.  We are hoping the eye passes below us but we are not delusional.  We know we will get bands of heavy rain and strong winds.

We selected this particular bay because we have protection from the east, south-east, west and south-west.  We are in about 3m of mud with excellent holding and have full 360 degree radius all around us.

Cyclone Preparations

It is standard procedure for cruisers to have cyclone plans.  We just hope we never have to use them. 

We have a 2 page plan that includes when we are at anchor and when we are at a marina. Shoot me a note if you are interested in seeing our plan.

Key steps prior to a cyclone:

  • Monitor weather multiple times a day from various reliable sources
  • Fill up both fuel and fresh water tanks
  • Ensure batteries are 100% charged
  • Ensure all bilge pumps and portable bilge pump are in working order
  • Remove all loose items (cushions, gauge covers, window coverings, cockpit enclosure, canvas, etc…)
  • Tie down anything that can’t be removed (boom, main sail, genoa, dinghy)
  • Ready additional anchor, fenders, foul weather gear, ditch bag, first aid kit
  • Make contact with neighboring boats and set a communications plan.
  • Notify land based contacts of location, position, and status

We had to re-anchor during the last violent storm where we saw 42kts.  So, we were reluctant to cover the helms.  We opted to remove the gauge covers and tied the helm wheel down leaving it accessible should we need to do an emergency evacuation.

24 hours Before the Cyclone

Friday night arrives peacefully, calm, and beautiful.  It was as if Mother Nature was providing something beautiful before the ugly took over.

Ex Tropical Cyclone Vaianuu

On Saturday we stayed on the boat waiting for the inevitable storm to hit us in the afternoon.  The winds started to build in the late afternoon and the rain did not start until after dark.

The rain was a constant rain, not torrential rain.  

The wind was remarkably calm compared to expectations.  On average we had 15-18kts of wind and gusts were 20-25kt.  The max gust was 31kts.

The fairly good conditions can be attributed to several factors:

  • Vaianu moved more east away from NZ
  • Vaianu slowed down due to the colder water between Fiji and NZ
  • We were tucked in to a really good bay with protection from each direction of the cyclone.

Our bay was fairly flat.  However, just 100′ away you could see the white caps and swell.

Just outside of Whangaroa harbor, less than 1nm, there were 6 meter (over 18′) seas and massive winds.  

The Back of the Storm

The back end of the storm really dissipated by the time it got to us.  We expected Sunday to be more rain and strong winds from the west and south west.  We got the wind direction, but not the strong winds in our bay.  Again, we picked a good location!

We spent Sunday on the boat trying to dry everything off. We decided to wait until Monday to start to put the boat back together.

Praises and Gratitude

All in all we were so very blessed to not have encountered the full strength of this cyclone.

Thank you to everyone who reached out to us and continued to check on our safety.  We are so grateful!!

Cyclone Vaianu came through Northland on 12 April 2026.

The Duke’s Runny Nose

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Whangaroa is a pretty secluded harbor with several bays available for anchoring.  It has super lush hillsides covered in trees and shrub that line the beautiful blue waters.  Whangaroa is famous for the Duke’s Nose hike. 

The Duke’s Nose: can you see the face in the rock?  The ear is on the left, and the eye is above the beakish nose.

We did this hike a few years ago but it was time to revisit it again (see post from 2023).  Unfortunately our timing was not so great this year.  We just had a massive rain storm which meant the trail would be super muddy and slippery.  However we were in the middle of preparing for Cyclone Vaianu so this was our only shot to hike up.

The Duke’s Nose Hike

Starting at Rere Bay, go to the DOC (Department of Conservation) Hut.  This is the start of the walk which is only 1.3 miles return with an elevation of 571′.  It took us about 1hr47min return with a long stop at the top to take some drone photos.  Our total moving time was only 49 minutes return.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that the short distance and travel time means that this is an easy hike.

The track follows the stream behind the DOC (Department of Conservation) Hut towards the Duke’s Nose.

There was also another stream the ran down the track making this a super slippery trek.  But on the positive side it was super lush and green all around us.

The majority of the track winds steadily through scrub and has a gradual climb, though not overly steep.  However, the real challenge is in the final 50 meters which feels more like rock climbing than tramping.

There are two sections that are really steep, in fact one is actual vertical!  DOC installed (2) metal poles into the rock to make it “easier” for the hikers to rock climb up the mountain side.

The Duke’s Head

This particular hike actually takes you to the top of the Duke’s Head (not his nose).  The views of Whangaroa Bay are usually stunning.  However, with the recent rain storms the mountains have dumped a lot of mud and dirt into the bays making them brown.  

Or as Matt says, “The Duke’s Nose was particularly runny causing the water to turn brown.”

But with the brown water comes lots of waterfalls (right photo).

Matt took some cool drone shots…can you find us in each shot?

Enjoying the rewarding views on top of the Duke’s Nose.

The waters are normally a beautiful blue.  The below photos were taken by previous visitors (from No Foreign Land).  Showing you how beautiful the water typically is at Whangaroa.

Matt and I were both happy we were able to get this hike in between the storm and cyclone.  Well worth the effort.

Find the hike on No Foreign Land.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.

We hiked up to the Duke’s Nose in early April 2026.

All the Rare Things of Burgess Island

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The only island that humans can visit in the Mokohinau Island chain is Burgess Island.  It is the northernmost island of the group and is known for its lighthouse.

The Department of Conservation owns and runs most of the island as a nature preserve and wildlife sanctuary.

Unique species

Because of their isolated location at the edge of the continental shelf, the Mokohinau Islands are home for unique wildlife species found nowhere else in New Zealand, or the world.

The Mokohīnau Islands Nature Reserves provide a safe refuge for some of New Zealand’s smallest endangered species including:

  • Mokohīnau skink
  • Robust skink,
  • Mokohīnau stag beetle,
  • Several threatened plants.
  • Several species of burrowing and ground-nesting seabirds find refuge on the islands, as do a range of forest birds.

To be honest, none of these critters are particularly beautiful, but they are rare and endemic to these islands.

All exotic animal pests have been removed from the island group and the habitats are regenerating naturally. 

The Burgess Lighthouse

The 14 meter lighthouse on Burgess stands at 53 meters above sea level and was first lit in 1883!  The lighthouse, and three keepers cottages were built in 1882.

The keepers originally used oil to power the lighthouse. 

But later the Kiwis converted it to a diesel-generated electricity lighthouse in 1939.

During WWII the navy constructed an early warning radar station near the lighthouse.

The Maritime department automated and “de-manned” the lighthouse in 1980.  Vessels can see it 19nm (35 kilometers) out at sea where the light flashes every 10 seconds.

View from sea as we approach the islands.

View of the lighthouse from the dinghy

In 1996, New Zealand removed the original light and associated equipment and replaced it with a rotating beacon fitted with a 35-watt tungsten halogen bulb.  Solar panels now power the light at the lighthouse.

Today, you can see the lighthouse, the keepers cottages, the radar warning system, an oil store, and the remains of the landing jetty.

I found this interesting post on Burgess Island – check it out.

Unfortunately for us the swell was coming in pretty strong so we could not land the dinghy on Burgess Island. 

I was so disappointed but the “dinghy landing” looked sketchy and had a “danger” sign and the beach was all rocks.

Kiwi Ingenuity

This is a great story of Kiwi ingenuity. 

The keepers had problems getting stores (provisions) in the early years.  The ships only came out 3 times a year and were often very late.

In 1908, one of the keepers built a tin boat with tin sails and dropped 3 letters inside it.  On the outside of the boat were instructions to whoever found the boat.

The Maritime sent the stores ship out within 9 days of the tin boat leaving the Mokohinau Islands!

The original tin boat is on display as the “smallest mail boat in the world” at the Auckland Museum.

Astounding Beauty

We were not able to walk to the lighthouse but we did dinghy all around the Mokohinau Islands.  There are loads of caves and tunnels.

Just check out the many vibrant colors in the water and on the rocks!

Towering cliffsides and mountains jet up from the sea so powerfully.

Every turn showed us something more beautiful.

We were tucked away in a little bay near Hokoromea Island. 

This is by far the best anchor spot in all of the Mokohinau Islands.

But as you can see you have to search for a little sandy spot to drop the hook.

The Mokohinau islands are stunning.  However, you do have to have ideal weather conditions in order to anchor here. 

We were probably on the verge of not good conditions which is why we could not go to shore.  However, it was worth it just to be in the midst’s of so much beauty.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.

We were in the Mokohinau’s in early April 2026.

Find Burgess Island on No Foreign Land.

Be sure to check out our blog post on the Mokohinau Islands.