March 29, 2013
It was time to leave Port Fitzroy and see some other parts of Great Barrier Island. We headed south to exit the area via the Man of War Passage, a narrow passage between Kaikoura Island (which encloses/creates the harbor of Port Fitzroy) and the mainland. The channel gets very narrow and we had to be on our toes.
Before we headed through the pass, we had a good look at some of the other bays in the area, including the famous Smokehouse Bay which is beloved by cruisers for the fresh water, bathtub, laundry tubs, and fish-smoking apparatus supplied free for anyone who anchors there. It was fun to see this famous bay, but we felt no great need to stop.
We went out through the pass and headed down the coast inside the Broken Islands group. It’s a good name: they look torn off the land like chunks of bread torn off from a loaf and tossed into the sea. It was a surreal landscape and quite beautiful. We kept hearing about Smokehouse Bay with its bathtub, but we’ve never heard anything about the fantastical Broken Islands. I would love to have anchored here, but time was running short and we needed to stick with our plan.
Above are a few photos of the Broken Islands Group. As always click any to enlarge and scroll.–Cyndi
