Category: Uncategorized

April 22, 2016

This little island near Onetahuti Beach is one of the “three” anchorages we’d heard about in the park; so if we’d listened to that advice, this would be as far north as we would have gotten. This is one reason having a good guidebook makes all the difference; it can enable you to take good-but-vague advice or act as a shield against bad advice.

As it turned out, we didn’t go to Tonga Island. We were short on time, and it didn’t look all that interesting as an anchorage; so we decided to forgo it. Our next destination would be a place called Bark Bay.–Cyndi

Below, a little gallery showing Tonga Island. The second photo shows a view of it from Onetahuti Beach. (Click to enlarge/scroll.)

April 22, 2016

We landed our dinghy near the south headland, where we found green water and golden sand. The steep sides of the headland were covered with beautiful trees and tree ferns, while light sandstone rock formations were scattered in the emerald water at its base. This was definitely one of the more beautiful places we’ve seen.

The scenery changed as we walked down the beach, the headland hills giving way to grassy flat wetlands behind the beach. This beach was very long so we didn’t walk the entire thing, but I suspect we’d landed our dinghy in the prettiest area. When we got back to the dinghy, I really did not want to leave. We lingered awhile longer, but it looked like the wind might be coming up. Not wanting to be on a lee shore, we made the decision to head down to the next bay for the night.–Cyndi

Below, a gallery of photos of Onetahuti Beach. (Click to enlarge/scroll.)

April 22, 2016

My disappointment from passing on the Reef Point anchorage was quickly forgotten when the Onetahuti Beach anchorage came into view. This was a long stretch of golden beach backed by densely forested hills, curving around to a distant headland at its far end.

There’s probably some magic ratio of height and distance of hills, length and width of beach, color of sand and water, and density of vegetation that is a formula for beauty in any given landscape, lending it an extra something special. Whatever that is, this place had it dialed in. Onetahuti Beach will forever be in my beach hall of fame.

This anchorage was fairly open, but the southeasterly breeze was light, creating only a very gentle roll. Below, a few photos from the anchorage (click to enlarge and scroll below, or enlarge panorama at the top of the post). –Cyndi

April 22, 2016

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It was an interesting ride along the coast to our next destination, Onetahuti Beach. The rocky shoreline had the sort of indents and tiny coves that make it so advantageous to travel here by kayak. (Of course, I’m sure the hikers inland see some gorgeous forest.)

One of the main points of interest was Cottage Loaf Rock, a giant white rock that looks like a rounded loaf of bread.

Shag Harbor was intriguing with lots of water taxi traffic, but it’s too small for our boat. The final place we passed was a possible anchorage for us: Reef Point. With our timeline, it would be an either/or with neighboring Onetahuti Beach so I really hoped it wouldn’t be a tempting choice. No such luck. Reef Point was a beautiful little spot beckoning us in. We went to look, but in the end we chose its more famous neighbor. Sometimes you have to make a tough choice. –Cyndi

April 22, 2016

By now, we’d become big fans of Awaroa for several reasons: the clear still water, the long beach, the beautiful walk, and the pretty resort. This is such a peaceful place, yet so full of life. If we ever get back this way, we’d come back here for a longer stay. But for now it was time to head on down the coast to our next destination. –Cyndi