February 23, 2019
It’s been a bit of a hectic time for Legacy as we’ve been hopping down the east coasts of both the north and south islands of New Zealand in an effort to get as far south as we can. When we’re not on the move, we’re either sightseeing, seeking out new and delicious things to eat and drink, or doing boat maintenance.
Meanwhile, I’ve decided to table my post about our arrival issues, my thoughts on the current management of the Opua Marina, and the new entry regulations until a later time. We have lodged a complaint with New Zealand Customs and will leave it at that for now.
I will mention here for the benefit of any cruisers unhappy with the northernmost entry-point marina, pretty much any other marina in New Zealand would be very happy to have you! Some, because of their remote locations, are better for short stays while others make terrific hubs for taking a breather from cruising and a base for road trips while having access to a good boat yard.
Over the past five years we’ve had terrific short stays at the marinas in Tutukaka, Viaduct Harbour, Gisborne, Napier, Wellington (all on the north island), plus Picton and Havelock (on the south island). We’ve had longer stays at the Bayswater Marina (near Auckland), Tauranga Bridge Marina, and lovely Nelson (on the south Island).
While these marinas may vary in the services and facilities they offer, they have all been terrific places to stay. (We almost stayed at the charming Whitianga marina but our draft was a bit too deep). I will add that we’ve never stayed at the marinas in Marsden Cove, Whangarei/Riverside, or Gulf Harbour so I can’t comment on those, but people seem to enjoy them. As for the other marinas in Auckland, they were either too big (Westhaven), too small (Pier 21), or too hard to get a slip in (Orakei Marina).
(Note: if you do decide to stay in Auckland, some of New Zealand’s other marinas might want you to haul out and wash your hull before coming to visit them. Auckland has fan worms, an invasive underwater pest that might attach to your boat, and New Zealand is working very hard to prevent their spread.)
Our favorite north island hub is the Tauranga Bridge Marina which, in our opinion, has one of the best boatyards in New Zealand because whatever boat problems you run across, they always have suggestions about what steps to take or who you can hire to fix them (and they will often call and arrange to have said person come over to take a look); plus they do excellent work. A big plus is that this marina has such a great location between two lovely towns and is the perfect spot from which to take road trips in the central and south North Island. It also has some of the best weather in New Zealand. While it is preferable to have a car here, we have a friend who got around fine by bus, and now there’s Uber.
As for us, we are now heading into new (for us) territory down the east coast of the South Island. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we’ve been very impressed! It turned out the new marina in Lyttelton, not far from Christchurch, is a fantastic place with great facilities. (More on this in my next blog post). In Dunedin we’re at a yacht club that’s been so welcoming and is also walking distance from town.
So far we are loving the east coast of the South Island. Lyttleton is a lovely little town and Dunedin a lovely little city. Both are surrounded by scenic beauty and have lots of day-trip excursions you can take. We’re hoping to get weather to go further south so we’ll see what the future brings.
Below, a map of New Zealand showing the marinas we’ve stayed in over the pasts five seasons in New Zealand (including a few we haven’t been in ourselves but know friends who have).
Below, the marinas we’re familiar with on New Zealand’s north island. Click on the markers below for a little information about each marina (with the notable exception of the Bay of Islands Marina–we’re not too happy with them these days).
And here, our latest discoveries in the south island. One is big and modern, the other small and a bit rustic. Both are terrific.
–Cyndi
