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Cruise the NE Tip of the North Island

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Last season, 2023, we were pretty much focused on boat projects and only left the dock for 2 weeks.  During that 2 weeks, NZ was hit with a cyclone that flooded the Auckland airport.  Not the best sailing experience for us.  So, this season, 2024, we decided to try again.  Since we only have 2.5 months we will focus and cruise only the North East tip of the North Island of New Zealand.

This is a summary of all of the islands and anchorages we visited on the NE side of the North island.  A highlight reel with hyperlinks back to the blog post associated with each island (in case you missed it).  

This is a long post meant mostly for cruisers as I list out our lat/long location for each anchorage and the anchoring conditions.

Hen and Chickens

We anchored at Urquharts Bay for a few days of hiking then made a short 40nm cruise for the Hen and Chickens island chain (blog Hen & Chickens).  I just love the name!  We anchored at Starfish Bay off the Whatupuke Island. (35°53.565S / 174°45.024E anchored in 9m of sand, great holding).

Great Barrier Island

We make several stops at Great Barrier Island.  Our first stop was at Whangapoua Bay which has a very sad history. We dopped the hook at 36°06.849S / 175°25.806E in 5m in a sandy area with really good holding).

Our next stop is Haratonga bay which has an exclusive beach.  We were hiding from some strong winds and nasty swell. This anchorage proved to be a nice place.  (Anchored at 36°10.017S / 175°29.321E in 8m of sand with rock solid holding).

Rakitu (Arid) Island – The Cove

Holy moly this place is absolutely gorgeous!  This is by far one of our favorite places in New Zealand!  We anchor in a U shape spot called the Cove on Rakitu Island (also known as Arid island).  There is a small sandy beach with lots of caves at water level to explore.  We drop the hook at 36°07.224S / 175°29.618E in 4.5m of water.  There were some large boulders on the sea bed so be careful with your anchor chain.

Matt broke out the drone and captured some great shots of the boat. Read our blog on Rakitu.  A must see!

Mercury Island (The Mercs): Coralie Bay

The winds were not perfect, but it was a window to head south from Great Barrier Island to Mercury Island.  We “pinched” close to the shifty wind and were able to sail for the first 4 hours but then we lost the wind and ended up motoring the last 1.5 hours.  Either way, it was a gorgeous day to be out on the water. 

We arrive to Coralie Bay with 7 other boats.  Not the ideal anchorage, but still very pretty and super calm.  We meet our friends Mirko and Daniela from Yum Yum and Leigh and Linda from Moon Shadow here.  Anchorage at 36°36.353S / 175°47.612E in 4m of water.  Note, there is a rather large rock around here.  We avoided it but if you have a draft longer than 1.5m I’d avoid this spot.

Peachgrove Bay

A very popular and large anchorage on the south side of Mercury island.  We dropped the hook at 36°38.301S / 175°48.5064E in 8m of water.  We happened to visit the island during a long 4 day weekend so it was pretty crowded (for us).  Evidently it was no where near as crowded as it gets over the holidays.

Bumper Bay

This is truly a beautiful bay!  I highly recommend a stop here if you get a chance.  We dropped the hook at 36°38.248S / 175°46.707E in 4m of sand/mud with good holding.  We met up with our friends on Yum Yum (Daniela and Mirko) for dinner.

Coromandel

Little Bay

We left Mercury Island and headed to Matarangi Bay to do a little provisioning.  It was not a pleasant stop, very exposed bay, with a difficult dinghy landing on the beach. 36°43.550S / 175°40.116E in 6m of dark sand/mud with good holding.  We would not recommend stopping here unless you “have to” provision.

After we got some fresh food we headed to Little Bay for the night.  Really pretty beach, but a bit rolly with this particular wind direction.  But we did have a lovely sail here.

Squadron Bay

We sailed around Coromandel’s tip and decided to anchor on the west side of the island.  We landed at squadron Bay which was so peaceful and calm!  Despite there being close to 20 boats (mostly small fishing boats), it was the perfect little anchorage.  We anchored at 36°49.373S / 175°26.019E in 5m of mud with good holding.  Sprawling hillsides dotted with cows.

Papakarahi Bay

The winds were shifting so we moved to a new bay less than 5nm from Squadron Bay.  It was super quiet and peaceful as well.  Anchor down at 36°48.481S / 175°26.617E in 5.5m of mud with good holding.

Ponui Island

We crossed the Firth which was a tricky little passage with huge gusts and a choppy swell.  We dropped the hook at Ponui Bay, Chamberlaine’s Bay.  Anchor down 36°49.942S / 175°11.416E in 5m on a sandy bottom.  Home of the very rare, white Ponui donkeys.  The three land owners do not allow visitors to come ashore, I went anyway for less than 10 minutes to meet these friendly beauties.

West Ponui Bay

Beautiful little anchorage with good holding.  Stunning sunsets.  Anchored at 36°52.253S / 175°09.790E in 2.5m of sand/mud.

Waihike Island

We stopped at several anchorages off Waiheke Island.  Beautiful island and a must see!

Man O War Bay, Waiheke

Super large anchorage with a beautiful sandy beach and a delightfully tasty winery.  We drop the hook at 36°47.368S / 175°09.487E in 4m of water.  There is a 2+ meter tide so be careful anchoring here with a deep draft. 

Owhiti Bay, Waiheke

Gorgeous bay with a long sandy beach to walk on.  An easy dingy ride to Garden Cove which is stunning but precarious entry into the bay.  In Owhiti we dropped the hook at 36°45.758S / 175°08.771E in 6m of sand/mud with good holding.

Rangitoto Island:  Islington Bay

This was a short overnight for us but the bay was really pretty.  Anchoring position 36°47.224S / 174°53.818E in 4m of mud with really bad holding.  We tried several times to anchor in this bay and had a difficult time getting the hook to stick.

Rotoroa – Home Bay

Rotoroa is a beautiful wildlife preserve with lots of fun tracks to walk!  We anchored at 36°49.283S / 175°11.749E in 5m of mud with good holding.  Great fun walking the trails around the entire island.

Maraetai Bay 

Off the main island is a small bay called Maraetai Bay where we stop to provision and pick up our friend.  We only stay for a short while, but we dropped the hook at 36°52.397S / 175°03.105E.

Rakino Island: Woody Bay

We are starting to make our way back north.  Our first stop on a rainy day is Rakino Island, Woody Bay.  We had this lovely little bay all to ourselves as we anchored at 36°42.905S / 174°56.606E in 5m of sand with good holding.

Kawau Island

The weather was shifting so we decided to go to Kawau Island to hide from the forecasted winds.  We anchored in Shark’s bay by ourselves at 36°25.566S / 174°49.653E in 6m.  We also anchored at Dispute Bay 36°26.284S / 174°49.768E in 4m (low tide 2.4m). Super pretty near the Coppermine ruins.  Another must see is Kawau Island.  We really enjoyed this place.

Tiritiri Matangi

We went to Tiritiri Island for the day during super calm conditions.  The anchorage is not protected at all so not a good place to stay overnight.  We anchored at 36°36.233S / 174°53.079E in 7m.  But the island is a bird preserver and there are some great hikes.

Main Land – Anchor Bay 

On our way North we stopped at Anchor Bay which is just off Bluebell Point for the night.  Our anchorage of 36°21.990S / 174°50.043E in 7.5m.  This pretty bay had a bit of a roll or swell but the hillsides were super lush and there were several long beaches to explore.

Urquharts bay (Whangarei River)

This is a great big bay perfect for arriving and departing into Whangarei.  We needed to drop off something to a friend so pulled in after a beautiful downwind sail from Anchor Bay.  This time we anchored in 7.5m of water at 35°50.877S / 174°31.804E.  We only stayed overnight and left early the next morning to Tutukaka.

Whangaruru Bay

Well we skipped Tutukaka much to our dismay as our friends who have a bach (beach house) were not there.  We ended up at Whangaruru Bay in a little nook called Teparaparapa Bay.  Dropped in 3m of sand at 35°21.696S / 174°21.463E.  We only stayed for the night so no big adventures.

Otehei Bay

We found this super shallow anchorage in front of a long white beach and it had a lovely restaurant/bar Otehei Cafe!  The entrance was really shallow even though it was high tide.  We did not realize that there is a marked channel which the ferries use (so use it) and then we anchored to the right at 35°13.426S / 174°13.862E in 3.2m.

MotuMaire Island

We returned to Pahia so I could catch a bus to Whangarei.  We dropped the hook behind two small motus in pretty shallow water.  It was mid-tide when we arrived and we dropped in 3.8m of water at 35°16.376S / 174°05.508E.

This is a cool snapshot of our travels during the month of February 2024.  Starting at great Barrier (the end of the line with no ship on the right), to Arid Island, to Mercury Island,  around the tip of Coromandel, Waiheke Island, Ponui Island, Rangitoto, Tiritiri Matangi, Kawau island, Urquharts bay, up toward the Bay of Islands (where the ship is)….and we continue on North.

Cavalli Islands – Motukawanui Island

We head north to the Cavalli Islands.  We dopped the hook at a beautiful bay called Waiiti Bay on Motukawanui island.  Our anchor spot is 35°00.478S / 173°56.115E in 4m  We had the bay to ourselves and it was glorious.

Waihinepua Bay

 We anchored at 34°59.802S / 173°48.969E in 5m of mud.  This is a really protected, pretty, small bay.  There is a bach on one side but not much else here.

Whangaroa Bay

We got lucky and were able to use a friend’s mooring located near the Whangaroa Boating Club and Cafe. 35°02.554S / 173°44.775E in 6m.  It was a short dinghy ride to shore where enjoyed a nice hike up St. Paul’s Rock.

Waitepipi Bay

We moved the short distance over to Waitepipi Bay so we could do the Duke’s Nose Hike.  We anchored in 7m at 35°00.276S / 173°43.890E.  Super quiet bay with no other boats.  Rere Bay which is where the trail starts had several boats so we decided to come here for some solitude.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog posts occurred between late January-March 2024.  In our last blog post we take you to Limestone Island where we learn about its rich history as a cement quarry.

Limestone Island & Quarry

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Limestone Island sits in the middle of the Whangarei river.  Cruisers, container ships, cargo ships, and day sailors continually pass by this once bustling limestone quarry.  The island made primarily of limestone has had a diverse history.  From a war zone to cement factory to nature preserve.  After passing her over a dozen times we decide to stop and explore her history.

In the early 1800’s several Maori tribes fought over possession of the island.  In the mid 1800’s the island was leased from the Maori and Lime works was established.  Then, in 1881 the first batch of Portland Cement was produced in New Zealand (and probably the Southern Hemisphere).  In the early 1900’s, Lime Works employed 270 people until 1918 when most of the equipment and buildings were moved to the main land.  Limestone Island was still quarried for limestone for a number of years.  

In 1965, the Aero Club was allowed to graze cattle on the island.  In 1989, the island was gifted to Whangarei District Council.  This was also when the start of conservation and ecological restoration began.  In 1996, the first rangers cottage was built. Since then, the island has since had over 23,000 trees planted and its become a haven for kiwis, birds, and lizards.

Limestone Island Today

There has been a lot of work to restore native vegetation, stabilize historic structures and provide beautiful walking trails and signage for visitors. The visitor center has two towering tikis with beautiful carving and sea shell eyeballs at its entrance.

Sugar Shack anchored in Shipwreck Bay which was a little disconcerting but a beautiful spot none the less.

In 1968, a very famous pirate radio ship called Tiri ran aground in Whangaparapara. It lost engine power and was then swept onto the rocks.  Later it was laid to rest on the shores of Limestone Island along side another shipwreck.

Today you find towering stacks standing proud, furnaces, kilns, and lots of ruins of what was once a majestic cement factory.

You can walk through the ruins, inside the kilns and around the entire factory which is just a small reminder of what it once was.

We climbed to the top of a hill that overlooked the ruins and you can see Sugar Shack in the anchorage.

The single men’s residence, built in 1874, was just a long building with small, dorm like spaces.  The caretaker’s residence, built in the mid 1800’s, was beautiful and had a fireplace in every room! 

This was once a busy port, but now the enormous dock is in ruins with gaping holes in the structure.

Around the end of the island we found this old, metal conveyor belt that we assumed transported the gravel or cement from land to the ships.  Lower photo is a great example of the beautiful limestone that stands proud on the island to this day.

Inhabitants

The only inhabitants are the caretakers, a dozen sheep, and 2 dozen kiwis.  The island has proven to be a tremendous breeding ground for kiwis.  With the removal of stoats and rats, the kiwi eggs and baby chicks thrive.  Once the kiwis reach 1200g they are returned to the mainland.

The Cement Factory in its Prime

I love the diagram which walks you through the life of the limestone.

There is a lovely walking trail that takes you around the entire island during low tide.  It takes about an hour to walk the trail around the edge of the island.  There are several other trails that lead you across the island and around the ruins as well (see map at the top of the post).  The limestone on the trail and the shells were super pretty.

We enjoyed several days at this anchorage where we were able to fully explore this lovely little Limestone Island.

Our blog posts run several weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred around mid-May 2024.  Don’t miss out on our last blog post where we  wander around a beautiful bird sanctuary at Tiritiri.

Tiritiri Matangi: A Sanctuary

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Tiritiri Matangi the name of this new island, means “tossed by the wind” or “looking to the wind.”  It is a beautiful island best known for its Tiritiri Light (the oldest working lighthouse) and its natural bird life sanctuary.  The later giving the island its third name the “Bird Island.”

Truth be told, Matt and I are not ornithologists. We enjoy seeing the birds, but are not true bird watchers.  But since we are so close we decided to go see what we could see.

Originally, this island was cleared off for farming and farm animal grazing.  This lasted until the 1970’s which left very little of the original vegetation. In the early 80’s a community based habitat restoration program started transforming the island brining it to its true beauty today, a Scientific Reserve and one of the most successful conservation projects in the world.

Walks and the Reserve

From 1984, the island has been the focus of a wide-scale native forest regeneration project, where over 250,000 native plants have been propagated on the island. The island was chosen as a unique and protected place to provide a public window for rare New Zealand native birds.

There are several trails that traverse across and around the island where visitors can find over eighty-seven species of birds.  Our trail is the yellow line where we started at Hobbs Beach and headed to the right (we accidentally missed the Wattle track).

Tiritiri Matangi

Tiritiri Matangi

We saw so many beautiful birds.  Many we could not identify, many flew away too fast for me to photograph, and some were too far away to capture with my iPhone.  But I got a few!  My favorite birds are the Tui and the Kereru because they are so darn colorful.  We saw two different quail families with their baby chicks. They are so funny to watch.

The Australian Magpie has a beautiful singing voice and the NZ Bellbirds were everywhere!

The trails were a mix of small dirt paths to large open fields, to nicely built wooden bridges.  It is amazing to me that these trees are only 40-50 years old as they seem so majestic already.

The Oldest Working Lighthouse

Built in 1864, this is New Zealand’s oldest working lighthouse and Auckland’s first lighthouse. The Tiritiri lighthouse was shipped from England in 1864, and equipped later with a blindingly bright light of one-million candlepower.  Now it has a 50-watt lamp charged by solar panels.  The light flashes every 15 seconds and can be seen for 18nm.

Its beams stretched over 80 kms!   Over 21m tall, (91m above sea level) and 4.7m in diameter at the base. It has been updated several times, but it continues to protect sailors in this harbor for the past 150 years!

On this site you will also see the signal station (mast) built in 1912, parts of the diaphonic foghorn (1935) and the lighthouse keeper’s house (1918).

We had some beautiful views along our walk.  Yes, that is Sugar Shack in the distance.

Moturekareka, The Home of the Shipwrecked Rewa

Just 3nm from Kawau is a little island called Moturekareka which is the home of a large shipwreck.  We decided to take the dinghy out to see the remains of the once grand Rewa ship. 

When she was built in 1889, the Rewa was called Alice A. Leigh and she was a huge 3,000 ton, 4 masted, steel barque carrying 31 sails!  

Images property pf State Library South Australia and Yardy Yardy Yardy

Images property pf State Library South Australia and Yardy Yardy Yardy

She had many adventures and was a true beauty (see this website for photos and her full history).  In 1920, she was sold to a NZ company and was renamed “Rewa.”  In 1922 she was put on a mooring and left to rot for 10 years.  Then an young entrepreneur decided he wanted to convert the old ship into a luxurious drinking and gambling establishment.  He had it towed to Moturekareka where he had hoped to position her to sit across the bay during high tide.  However, things did not go well for them and she sank into the position where she rests today. 

It is so very sad to see shipwrecks yet we are drawn to them.  It is amazing to see what the ocean and weather and time do to steel!  Just a small shell of its former glory remains and unbelievably there was no sea life around it.  No fish, no coral, nothing.  

And yes, Matt had to drive our dinghy into the bow of the Rewa because …. well because he could.

Our blog runs 10-12 weeks behind live events.  This blog post occurred around the end of February.  We explore the island of Kawau in our last blog post where we find a Coppermine and smelting house!