March 31, 2013
March 31, 2013
We had some trepidation as we headed to Kawau Island from Great Barrier Island. It was Easter Sunday, and we knew it would be a big weekend for boaters. The question was just how crowded would it be?
We came up over the north end of the island through a pass between Kawau and the mainland. Kawau looked interesting, rocky and pine-forested, with some very nice homes perched on the hillsides. We passed a couple of nice-looking bays, but our destination was Bon Accord Harbour: a long, deep harbor cutting right into the middle of the island. In that harbor are several anchorages to choose from, including the bay with the famous Mission House, and Smelting Cove with the area’s yacht club. We chose Stockhouse Bay, which sounded nice and less likely to be crowded than the previous two options.
When we turned into Bon Accord, we were shocked to see the number of boats, then relieved to see they were mostly bunched up in Smelting Cove by the yacht club. Stockhouse Bay had a scattering of boats, but there was plenty of room for us. In answer to our question, Easter can get very, very crowded. And seeing all the boats by the yacht club, we gave up any ideas about going there for Easter Dinner.
We spent the rest of the afternoon on our boat enjoying the scenery and giving the stink eye to anyone who thought about anchoring too close. Many New Zealand boaters have the unfortunate tendency to ignore the rules of anchoring when it’s likely to be crowded (and sometimes even when it’s not) and start thinking in terms of making the anchorage a parking lot and “parking” in the “parking space” right alongside other boats. (This is the reason Rich and I avoid cruising here during holiday seasons.)
As for the scenery, it was really striking. It was one of those evenings where the sun is shining but the sky is darkly and cloudy in the distance. There were areas of shallow water which glowed light blue in this light, contrasting with the orangey-brown soil onshore and the deep green of the pine trees. Pohutukawa trees draped over the water at the edges of our bay. The longer we were here, the more this island grew on me. There was a really nice feeling to this place.
That night we had city lights on both sides of us. One was from an actual city on the mainland across the channel. The other was from the city of boats by the yacht club. We’ve never seen anything like it. Here’s a previous post with some pictures.
One very pleasant surprise this night was to hear the call of the kiwis from the hills around us. It seems there are a lot of them here, and it’s a magical sound to fall asleep to.
Above is a gallery of photos of our arrival to Kawau, including passing up over the north end of the island and the surprising sight of the boats crowded into Smelting Cove. There are a few shots from the Bon Accord Harbour area, and a shot of our bay, Stockhouse Bay, on the top left. –Cyndi
