Two At Sea

December 11, 2013

In keeping with the theme of doing things we missed last season, I had chosen a new bay on an island we’d visited before: Urupukapuka Island. Last time here we’d visited Paradise Bay, and since it lived up to its name, it was hard to imagine we’d like this bay as much. But as it turned out, we did.

Urupukapuka Bay has lots of room, but much of the bay is shallow; so we had to take care to anchor in an area for deeper-draft boats. As we motored towards the area, a boat was in our chosen spot, but it soon pulled anchor and was heading off as we approached. We ended up nabbing the spot.

This happens so often in New Zealand that when we see someone in a spot we’re hoping for, we head for it anyway. As often as not, even more often than not, the boat picks up and leaves by the time we get there. Is it that Legacy is a particularly frightening-looking apparition headed their way? After all, we fly an American flag which is pretty scary these days. But nope, it’s actually that many New Zealanders make multiple stops over the course of a day. This is something very unique to Kiwis in that most boaters we know, once they’ve gone to the trouble of finding a spot and anchoring there, like stay put.

Urupukapuka Bay has lots of pohutukawa trees, and we were hoping to catch them in full bloom. As it happened they were only just starting to bloom, but we were still glad we came. There was a camping area on shore, but it didn’t interfere with the natural beauty of this bay or its beach.

One of the main attractions of this bay was its access to the island’s incredible hiking trail. Having rested for two days, we were ready to get walking again. Today we planned to get to a part of the trail we’d missed on our previous visit: the hike out on the southernmost peninsula and its bays, including Cable Bay.

This turned out to be an incredibly beautiful hike. The sheep roamed freely here, and it was fun to walk among them and try to come up with noises that would get their attention (as you can see from some of our pictures, we succeeded). The scenery was gorgeous: grassy hills and pohutukawa trees overlooked serene blue-green bays and coves.

The gallery at the top of this post shows Urupukapuka Bay, Cable Bay, and a bay in between them. There’s also a shot of Otehei Bay with its pier. (As always, you can click to enlarge and scroll through photo galleries.)

Another neat thing about Urupukapuka Bay was a dinghy ride we took towards Otehei Bay. There were coves and beaches around every corner, and a small island (Round Island) that looked great for snorkeling. This area would also be a kayaker’s dream, and we did see a few of them here.

Above is a gallery with photos of the area between Urupukapuka and Otehei bays taken during our dinghy ride. -Cyndi

December 10, 2013

Our next stop was at Motorua Island, which we’d very much enjoyed during our previous season in the Bay of Islands. This time we were checking out a friend’s recommendation: Awaawaroa Bay. It’s on the south end of the island but has no access to the trail and only a tiny beach, making it what I call a “guiltless bay.” This meant we didn’t have to feel any guilt about not going ashore or accomplishing anything.

There was one worry: we’d been warned this was a small but popular bay, and there was a good chance we’d find it full and have to go elsewhere. Naturally we were relieved to arrive and find only two boats there. We motored in past a Canadian cruiser, who called out hello as we motored past, adding that we’d found a nice spot! And it was a very pretty place, but I think some of its allure came from being, like a popular club, difficult to get into.

Rich found a shallow spot for us, about 14 feet deep with a six foot tide. We’d both gotten braver about shallow water as we’d gained more cruising experience, which was helpful in little places such as this. During the afternoon some other boats came in, but no one anchored too close, a refreshing change.

Awaawaroa turned out to be a pretty and peaceful bay, but my favorite thing about it was the greens. It had thick foilage, some of the trees draped with moss. The water turned every shade of green as the day went on, from celadon to jade to emerald to a deep forest green. If Awaawaroa isn’t the Maori word for green, it should be.

Below is a gallery of shades of green in Awaawaroa Bay, plus a few pictures of a lovely still morning in the bay. (Click any photo to enlarge and scroll.)

The next day we headed out and checked out Hahangarua Bay just around the corner. There were vacation homes here and the land was private property, but you could still walk on either of its two beaches. It looked nice, and if we ever got back this way we figured we’d stop and check it out. –Cyndi

December 9, 2013

We motored in the still green water of this quiet bay, admiring the stretch of beach and historic-looking homes. While it wasn’t quite as impressive as some of the island anchorages, it was really lovely, and we enjoyed the birdsong and chortling from the local tuis.

Aside from being pretty, this bay had good holding, was well-protected, and very comfortable. One side benefit was that we felt no need to go ashore; so it was restful, too. This was the type of place that gave us that vacation-y feeling where we could put down the anchor and have the rest of the day to relax. Rich had something to do on the computer and asked what I was going to do. I told him I am going to sit here and be happy! And that’s what I did. Below, a small gallery of photos from the afternoon (click to enlarge and scroll).

That afternoon we had ducks and fish come over to visit and enjoy some breakfast crackers.

The bay was reputed to have drunken tui birds in the spring. We didn’t see any here but spotted one later at Urupukapuka Island that looked pretty wasted.

That evening was warm enough to sleep with our companionway hatches open; so when we woke up the next morning it was chilly in that wonderful way that feels great if you’re snuggled under the covers but a little cold if you get up. I lingered and dozed while Rich got up and made coffee for us. What a great morning!

Rich soon asked me what the agenda was for today, and I told him: rest and relax, more rest and relaxation, nap, a massage for the coffee maker (Rich), more rest and relaxtion, then move to the next bay where we didn’t need to go ashore; so rest and relaxation for the rest of the day.

So often when we travel I have activities planned like hikes, sightseeing, and various modes of exploring; so Rich was very thrilled with this day’s plan! All we needed to do today was motor to the next bay, and it was shaping up to be a beautiful day to head out to an island. –Cyndi

December 9, 2013

Our plan was to head out to the Bay of Islands for a few days before heading down the coast. I thought it would be fun to anchor in some bays we hadn’t visited last season, none of which had any must-do hikes we needed to accomplish. Overall we were on a loose, relaxed schedule, one of the benefits of seeing a place for the second time.

The day’s weather was much as it had been the past few days: variable, a times calm and warm, then cloudy and cool, then windy with a bit of rain, then back once again to calm. It wasn’t the easiest weather for which to make a cruising plan; so we decided to head to an area on the mainland and save the islands for better weather due to start the next day.

The mainland coast in the Bay of Islands has several areas of peninsulas, bays and coves. These mainland bays are generally not as beautiful as those in the islands, but this doesn’t mean they aren’t perfectly nice places to visit.

One such area is Manawaroa Bay, actually a large area containing several bays including Orokawa Bay, Te Hue Bay, Assassination Cove, Opunga Cove, plus some very shallow coves further in.

This area is partially enclosed by the long, skinny Orokawa Peninsula which gives it some protection and makes it suitable for variable weather. This was our destination, and once there we planned to chose a bay.

Below, a map of the area. Approaching from the north, you first spot Pareanui Bay (on the outside of the Orokawa Peninsula). Just across from this, on the inside of the peninsula, is Orokawa Bay. The peninsula is skinny enough to be a mere isthmus between the two spots.

We motored into Manawaora  and toured the bays. I’d been intrigued by a couple of spots, but on closer in inspection they weren’t appealing for various reasons. Below, a photo tour of the area.

A little further in was the popular Te Hue Bay, which looked like a fun place to walk around but the land was privately owned.  After spotting a dinghy on the beach, I’m not sure that stopped anyone from going ashore.

After looking at, and rejecting, all the other spots, Rich pointed to our final option, an appealing-looking bay and one I’d hoped to visit last year by car but we never got there: Opunga Cove. We motored over to check it out. –Cyndi

December 10, 2013

After more beautiful New Zealand sights…

And more incredible food!…

(More on NZ fish and chips.)

(More on Kerikeri restaurants)

We’re duckin’ out of Opua to slowly cruise down to Auckland.

We should be in Auckland sometime around Christmas.

Ahhhh, it’s good to be back at anchor…