March 27, 2013
In the morning we headed over to the Port Fitzroy harbor. Picture a shoreline about 2 miles long, and along this shore are coves and bays. Now, add a long island just offshore that nearly encloses this section of coastline, leaving an area about a quarter mile wide with a narrow pass at each end where boats can enter and exit. Add tall mountains and lush greenery, and it all adds up to the magical area of Port Fitzroy.
The map shows several anchorages in Port Fitzroy, and as always some are more desirable than others. Our first destination was Rarohaha Bay, near the actual town of Port Fitzroy. It was no problem motoring through the north pass and finding the bay, but anchoring was bit of a challenge as there were a few boats plus a wharf and fuel dock. This bay is pretty large, but having to avoid moored boats, anchored boats, buoys, and leave access to the wharf made it seem much smaller.
Once anchored, we went ashore and took a walk to town. As towns go, this one is about as small as they come, with only small market and cafe and a small building housing tiny businesses. Up the hill there’s pub/yacht club that was rumored to have good pizza. We found out they’d be open that evening and made a plan to come back.
At this point we hadn’t seen much of the island, but we could already see it was as lush and beautiful as we’d heard. You don’t have to walk or drive to the forest here; you’re in it from the moment you step ashore.
Later, we walked up to the pub to join a couple we’d met and sat out on the deck to enjoy our pizza and beer. The pizza was delicious, although the sauce was a little sweet. Oh well, how much can you complain when you’re getting reasonably good pizza out in the wilderness. You really can’t complain at all.
Below is a gallery that shows our afternoon in Port Fitzroy. I’ve included a picture of the small market, and as you can see there’s not a lot of selection, but they did have a coffee-making machine and the coffee wasn’t half bad. I’ve also added pictures of the pub. In spite of being so removed from everything, they have a big screen TV, internet access, and the ability to make pretty good pizza. Rich did his own post showing the pub here. –Cyndi
