January – May 2013
This post should really be among the posts I did about cruisers having to pick a home base in New Zealand, but I never managed to fit it in. Since it’s something we pass on our way to and from Auckland and Opua, I’ll put it here.
Actually, I’m stretching the truth here. There’s another reason I haven’t written about Marsden: Rich and I disagree about it; and since the blog is a team effort, the team should be on the same page. It’s tempting to say nothing, but if someone is trying to do some research using our blog, they probably wonder what happened to Marsden. So, here goes.
To Recap: If you are going to the North Island of New Zealand, you have a few choices as to where to keep your boat for awhile: the Bay of Islands (including Opua), Tauranga, Auckland, Whangarei, and Marsden Cove.
Marsden can actually be linked to Whangarei as it’s at the head of the river that leads to Whangarei, and people who stay in Marsden make Whangarei their town. There’s a major highway running between the two places, and it takes half an hour to drive from one to the other. So if you’re in Opua, Pahia and Kerikeri are your towns. If you’re in Marsden or Whangarei, Whangarei is your town. If you’re in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Tauranga are your towns.
Marsden Cove is a nice, new marina with lots of slips and a few businesses onshore, including a restaurant and bar. In the distance on the other side of the river are mountains that loom over the scene. Up the river are a good boat yard and storage. As long as you have a car and can get to Whangarei, Marsden Cove has everything a cruiser could need.
Maybe I should stop writing here and make my life easier. But I think I’ll go on and try to sum up our issues with Marsden Cove. The first issue is that not only is it out in the middle of nowhere, it feels like it’s out in the middle of nowhere. There’s a housing development around it, but it’s struggling, so amid some scattered houses are empty lots and foundations waiting to be sold. It does have a central area meant for the yet-to-be developed neighborhood, with the restaurant/bar, a car dealership, and a few other assorted business. It’s newness amid all the free space makes it reminiscent of the strip malls that dot US highways. Down closer to the mouth of the river is a power plant and/or a refinery.
In all, Marsden Cove is clean, nice, and in parts even pretty, but if I had to come up with a word for it, it would be soulless. Rich’s word is less nice and I won’t print it here. We can both agree that we don’t care for it, but we do know people who have stayed here and liked it just fine! So where we disagree is what to tell other people who are thinking of staying here. If you are a friend of Rich’s, he would (in a well-meaning way) say don’t do it. I would say it’s not a place we like, but it works for a lot of people, especially those who plan to leave their boats for awhile.
So, we have come to an agreement as to what to advise others heading this way. Before you commit, check into Opua, then take the bus to Whangarei. Rent a car and make the drive to Marsden Cove. Walk around, see if you like the area, and see if you mind the half-hour drive to Whangarei. If it works for you, great!
There, thank God that’s done. Here are some photos of the area, taken on a rather gloomy day. –Cyndi
