Tag Archives: great barrier island

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.

Whangapoua: Pristine Beach With a Tragic History

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Most cruisers visit the west side of Great Barrier island, especially its famous Smokehouse Bay  We stopped by last season but it was in the midst of a storm and was completely empty.   This season we decided to mix it up a bit.  We have always wanted to visit the East side of Great Barrier but you have to have just the right weather conditions to anchor in these exposed bays.  The weather was in our favor and we headed to Whangapoua also known as Motoroa Point.

Just off NZ’s coast are loads of islands to explore.

After we left Hen and Chickens we saw our window to go to a bay on the east side called Whangapoua Bay. At the North tip of Great Barrier there are these beautiful pinnacles that jet out of the sea to greet you as you pass by.

Based on the satellite charts Whangapoua Bay has a very long 2.4 mile beach that is begging to be walked on!  We motor the 40+ nm because the winds were very light and arrive to a gorgeous bay that we have all to ourselves.

A Walk on the Wild Side

This is an absolutely gorgeous beach.  Super soft sand and a variety of landscapes.  First you have the beautiful, green hillsides, then these rich, green towering evergreens, then flowing sand dunes, and pockets of tiny shells.

These tiny spiral shells were so beautiful.  I desperately wanted to collect these beauties. However, I left them there as I was sure they were filled with little critters waiting for the tide.

The beach seems to go on and on and on… We walk from end to end, taking our time and enjoying the beauty of this bay.

The Tragic End to the SS Wairarapa

Despite its beauty, Whangapoua Bay has a very sad history as it is the location of a tragic accident. From the bay you can see the outlines of white picket fencing that mark the mass grave sites.  The SS Wairarapa crashed along the rocky entrance causing New Zealand’s third most deadly shipwreck.

Evidently, the captain didn’t respect the weather conditions. He did not slow down or navigate properly causing this horrific disaster where over a hundred people perished.   The SS Wairarapa had a tragic ending that is remembered on this beach.

We somberly walk back to our boat and thank the Heavens modern technology has improved so much.

Haratonga Bay 

We move a few nautical miles (nm) to a new bay called Haratonga Bay.  The sun was out but it was pretty darn chilly so I put on leggings and grabbed my jacket!

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred toward the end of January.  We visit a Chicken Anchorage in our last blog post – but did we see any chickens?

Great Barrier Island

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We are free!!!  Oh my goodness after almost 3 months in the marina we finally break ourselves free to do some sailing around New Zealand.  We’ve been tied to the dock doing boat projects and meeting with different vendors and have not had a moment to go sailing until now.  We decide to head to Great Barrier island first and if time and weather permits, Mercury Island.

It is a slow motor down the Whangarei River.  We request permission to have the Te Matau a Pohe “Hook Bridge” open so we may pass under.  Still an amazing thing to see!

It is a beautiful day, albeit light wind on the nose.  We raise the main sail and continue on a motor sail as we don’t even have enough wind for the jib.  We pass by the Hen and Chickens Islands.  I just love their names.

Kaikoura Potato Bay

We approached Great Barrier Island and made the last minute decision to go to Smokehouse Bay which is supposed to be a nice boatie/cruiser bay.  However, when we approached we saw that there were close to 30 boats anchored there – so we stopped short and anchored in Kaikoura Bay also known as Potato Bay.  We had this beautiful bay all to ourselves.

We were expecting some ugly winds so we moved the following morning to a new bay.

Wairahi Bay

There were still a lot of boats at Smokehouse Bay so we decided to go to a bay just past it (still in Great Barrier Island).  We arrived to Wairahi Bay with 3 other boats.  Perfect!  From here we can easily visit the other bays within the western side of Great Barrier Island. We hang out in this anchorage for over  a week.  Several other boats joined us in this anchorage, but it is big enough to not feel crowded.

First, we explore the river that feeds into Wairahi Bay.  Matt took the SUP up the river during high and low tide so that he felt comfortable taking the dinghy with me.  It is so cool to be surrounded by hillsides, overhanging trees, and hidden houses. 

I spotted at least 5 hidden “baches” (summer houses) in the trees.

Smokehouse Bay

About 1 mile down from our anchorage is a popular spot called Smokehouse Bay.  It is a place created for locals and cruisers/boaties.  This as the anchorage that was incredibly busy when we first arrived. However, the weather changed which made this a very uncomfortable anchorage so everyone cleared out when we visited.  This is a shot during low tide (top) and high tide (bottom).

The facilities in this bay were provided by the late Eric Webster and his many friends.  Locals and cruisers maintain the property and equipment.  The Weber family placed Smokehouse Bay under the protection of the Queen National Trust as an open space covenant for the public whilst remaining in private ownership.

A massive rain storm destroyed Smokehouse Bay in November 2005.  Everything was covered in mud and debris and it took over a year to rebuild the facilities.

What can you enjoy at Smokehouse Bay?

  • Pizza Oven
  • Smokehouse (perfect for smoking fresh catch)
  • Grills
  • Laundry hand crank basins and clothes lines
  • (2) showers including 1 that offers hot water from a wood burning stove
  • Free book trade library
  • Toilets
  • Outdoor seating area around a bonfire
  • Great hikes on the 5 hectres (50 acres)

We enjoyed the entire bay to ourselves because it was inclement weather and all the boats left for a more protected anchorage.  We hiked to the summit and had excellent views of the bay.

Port Fitzroy

The most populated bay in Great Barrier Island is Port Fitzroy.  It is where you can get fuel and some supplies.  Super cute little town with a market, library, visitor center, and burger joint.  The town is the top photo.

There are two great hikes in this bay.  One starts from the center of town and leads you to a beautiful waterfall and the other is across the bay and leads you to a spectacular crows-nest view.

We decide to do the waterfall hike first, since we were already in town and it is only a 40minute hike to the falls.  But it is straight up.   First, you clean your shoes with a spray and scrub…then off you go down the path.

About 40-minutes, 300+ stairs, and 1.5 miles  later we arrive at the triple waterfall.

We take a moment to enjoy the beauty around us, dip our toes in (its freezing), and head back.

Next we take our dinghy across the bay and leave it at the dock (red arrow).  We then hike to the valley (green arrow on right), up to the peak and back down to the dock.  Super good hike.

At the top of the peak is a swing bridge that leads you to a 600-year old Kauri tree.  Once at the tree, you can climb up to the crows-nest to get a spectacular view of the bay.

As we make our way back down the hill we take a turn off to Sunset Rock.  I bet this would be wonderful to watch the sunset…

All in all we hiked 10.5 kilometers or 6.5 miles.  We were a bit bushed when we got back to the boat.

Historic Floods

We ended up spending a little more time in Great Barrier due to bad weather.  Lucky for us we were tucked away in the perfect anchorage for inclement weather.  Evidently this is a once in 50 year flood and yet it happened twice within a week!

Everything was flooded including the airport, grocery stores, and busses!

And of course the streets and highways.

We weather the second storm at a different bay called Karaka Bay at Great Barrier.   This was the calm before the storm.

Some more beautiful photos from Karaka Bay

I just love the stunning motus, rock formations, and islands.

Our friends captured us heading up the river, n our way back to the marina.

Events from this blog occurred in late January 2023.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  Don’t miss our last blog where we explore the Lost Springs.