Monthly Archives: April 2024

Coromandel: Rare Donkeys & A Shipwreck

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We left the very beautiful Mercury Island on an interesting weather window.  Our plan was to head to the top of Coromandel and around to the west side for better protection. The winds were predicted to be light and slightly on our nose, but we can “pinch” (point into the wind) pretty well at 35 degrees.  So, we set out only to have 1-3kts of wind on the nose.  Way too light and in the wrong direction for a sail so we motored the first few hours.

Then we cleared the top of Coromandel and we found the wind.  We enjoyed beautiful sailing with full sails up, 17-19kts of wind on the beam.  It was gorgeous!

We dropped the hook at Squadron Bay along with several other boats.  But it is a big bay with plenty of room.  Super pretty green rolling hills dotted with cows!

We had beautiful sunsets and decided to stay for a few days.

The next day we were down to 1 other boat, but it filled up at night with more fishing boats.  It is a super calm, quiet bay giving us a truly peaceful anchorage.

Coromandel Harbour

We picked up the hook and moved to the Coromandel harbour, Papakarahi Bay because we heard there was a market within a few miles of the bay.  Lots more cows and goats in this bay that we had all to ourselves!

There was a regatta going on in the next bay over.  In the bottom left photo you will see black things in the water – that is a clam or mussel farm!

Ponui Island

We cross the Firth of Thames which was a truly unusual trip as the steady 17-18kts of wind turned int 33-35kt guests.  Sugar Shack had a double reefed main and genoa for a short while before we decided to drop all canvas and motor that last 8nm.

Ponui Island (red arrow) is just off the coast of the North Island of New Zealand and right next to Waiheke.

We ended up at Chamberlaine’s Bay on the north side of Ponui island which is right next to Waiheke.  Lots of boats hiding out here.  Ponui island is owned by 3 very wealthy families that farm the land.  They don’t live there and the don’t allow visitors onshore which is a disappointment as there were lots of hillsides begging to be explored.

There are 2 really cool things here though!

The Ponui Rare Feral Donkey

The first and by far the best is the rare, white, short (3′ tall) feral donkeys.  These donkeys are the descendants of 3 animals imported from Australia in the 1800’s.  They were left to roam free and eventually bred down to these white / light gray little donkeys with round bellies.  

They were technically on a farm that we were not supposed to visit.  But I could not resist, so please forgive me land owner for saying hello, for 5 minutes, to your adorable donkeys.  See the funny video I posted on Instagram on 12 February 2024 for more donkey antics!

They were super friendly, not feral at all and just walked right up to us.  There were also lots of cows, sheep and goats.

The Pupuke Shipwreck

This was super sad to see.  The Pupuke was a ferry that grounded at Ponui island.  It was left to rote until the late 1960’s when a man purchased her with the hopes of reclaiming her heritage.  However, she was too far gone so they blew her up!  All that remains is her steel frame and her enormous prop.

We circled around her by dinghy at first to ensure there were no metal shards in the water.

Then we headed to the shore which had half of the ship buried in sand.

Totally cool little island. I would certainly come back to Chamberlaine’s Bay to see the donkeys and enjoy the beautiful sunrise!

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  This blog post occurred in early February 2024.  Don’t miss our blog on Mercury Island as it is a true gem!

Mercury Island

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Mercury Island, also known as The Mercs has been on our destination wish list for over a year!  There are 7 islands that make up the Mercury island group including: Great Mercury, Red Mercury, Korapuki, Green, Atiu/Middle, Kawhitu/Stanley and Moturehu/Double Islands).  

Great Mercury Island, which is where we explored, is the only inhabited island.  The rest of the Mercs are managed by DOC (Department of Conservation) and are preserves.

We see some of the other islands as we sail around Great Mercury.

Coralie Bay

Our first anchorage is on the east side of Great Barrier and it is called Coralie Bay.  We decided to go to this bay because we had really light winds and typically this is not very protected.  This is a pretty large bay with lots of places for anchoring.

We happened to visit Mercury Island during a 4-day weekend so there were lots of local boats out at all of the anchorages.  At dusk we counted 23 boats which is a lot to us, but evidently not very many to others.

We met our friends Mirko and Daniela from Yum Yum and Leigh and Linda from Moon Shadow.  The next morning, Leigh picked us up and we did a quick hike up to the top of one of the many beautiful mountain tops.  

Peachgrove Bay

We decide to continue our exploring while the weather is calm so we head to Peachgrove Bay.  This is another bay that is typically exposed to the weather, but our calm conditions it is perfect.

There is a lovely walk to a set of waterfalls here in Peachgrove Bay.

Sunsets are stunning.

And Sugar Shack is so happy in this beautiful water.

Bumper Bay

This is truly a beautiful bay!  The water colors are stunning, the beach is long and there is only one other boat here, our friends, Yum Yum (Daniela and Mirko).

The winds were predicted to shift so we had leave Mercury Island.  We motored across to Coral Mandel, Matarangi Bay to do some provisioning.  It was not a pleasant anchorage and the dinghy landing was even worse.  We got drenched by waves and almost flipped the dinghy.  Gesh!

Afterwards we had a lovely sail, with lots of tacks, to get to Little Bay where we stayed for the night.  We arrived at 1800 and left in the morning so not much to say other than it was pretty.

Our blogs run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog occurred during the first of February.  Hope you didn’t miss the absolutely gorgeous Rakitu Island in our last blog?

Rakitu Island: The Cove

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Matt was looking at the satellite charts and found what looked like the perfect, pristine anchorage called The Cove at Rakitu island (also called Arid island).  This is a relatively small island (329 hectares) and has towering cliffs that rise 180 meters from the sea.  It gives this anchorage a fortress-like feeling as you are protected from many directions.

The island used to be a farm privately owned by the Rope Family.  They raised cattle and had several houses and outposts here.  The Department of Conservation bought it from the Rope family and it has since become a scenic reserve (1994).  It is naturally free from many predators (rats, stokes, cats, rabbits) so the birds and their nests can flourish. 

The Ngati Rehua people cleared and cultivated the central valley where 3 historic sites remain today.  This is a beautiful saying of Rakitu:

You are a guardian, protecting and looking after our land, our family, and our future generations. Behold the breath of life!

The Cove at Rakitu Island

This little piece of Heaven called The Cove is just around some beautiful towering pinnacles.  As we enter the anchorage the water changes to a magnificent blue.  We pass many caves which are just begging to be explored (more on this later).

We drop the hook and settle in to our new favorite place.  

Onshore Rakitu Island

Even though this is an uninhabited island, there are still several buildings left behind from the Rope Family.  Evidently government officials use these facilities when they visit the island to check on things.

There is a short path from The Cove anchorage to the other side of the island.  You walk through some thick grass and across a few muddy rivers, but otherwise it is pretty easy walk.

When we return to the beach we are rewarded with a beautiful view of our boat at anchor.

The Caves

The next day we decide to go explore some of the many caves.  We hop in Sweetie (our dinghy) and head to this stunning arc in the rocks.  On our way in to The Cove, we passed by this as we came in on the big boat and I’ve been wanting to go under in the dinghy.  We posted a video on sv Sugar Shack’s Instagram which is a lot more fun than the photos.

Then we went around the north side of Rakitu and came across several more caves.   Look at the water color!

It was high tide so we could drive in most of them.  We found one in particular that was truly stunning.  There were so many colors in the rocks that it took my breath away!

Just in case you need a closer look to appreciate the beauty.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred at the end of January.   In our last blog post we enjoy a 2+ mile beach!