New Zealand (I)
Cruising in New Zealand (I): Touring and Sailing New Zealand
Contributed By: Jacques and Nita Steininger - Santa Barbara, CA
Since this was our first visit to New Zealand, we decided that we needed to spend a whole month to tour both the South and North Islands and then sail the Bay of Islands.
We left Los Angeles on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2002, on a non-stop Air New Zealand flight to Auckland. It's a 13-hour overnight flight but we were able to sleep most of the way. Despite the distance, jet lag was not much of a problem either because there is only a 4 hours time difference, if you ignore the dateline change.
The South Island
We took a connecting flight to Christchurch on the East Coast of the South Island and spent a couple of days visiting that beautiful city, full of flowers and gardens. Using the Internet, we had booked an 8-day tour of the South Island with Australia Pacific Tours (APT). The tour, called the Fiordland Tour, was excellent and we enjoyed taking the Tansalpine railway to the West Coast, visiting Queenstown, beautiful Milford Sound and Mount Cook.
The North Island
Following the tour, we took a train from Christchurch to Picton, then a ferry across Cook's Strait to Wellington on the North Island. We spent a couple of days visiting friends in Wellington and then drove all the way North to the Bay of Islands. Driving on the left side of the road was a new experience for me. It wasn't too hard to get used to it since the roads are all two-lanes and the traffic is light by US and Euopean standards.
In Whangarei, we stopped at the Big Fresh Supermarket (pronounced Big Fish in Kiwi) for basic food shopping. The prices look quite low compared to the US. We packed the car to bursting! However, we found out later that - contrary to cruising guide information - there is now a brand new, well stocked supermarket in Paia, about 5 kms from The Moorings base in Opua.
We also called ahead to make reservations at the Bay View Lodge in Paihia which we had found on the Internet. This was a good move since, this being a Friday night, all the motels had "No Vacancy" signs. The lodge is a private house with 3 rental bedrooms with a beautiful view of the bay. We got 2 suites for only N.Z.$170 (about US $65). They have a big sign "No shoes inside house". That's typical Kiwi.
We went out for dinner at the Bistro 40 in downtown Paihia going first through a police checkpoint where they had fun with my California driver's license.
Sailing the Bay of Islands
Saturday, March 2 - From Opua to Russell
 The Moorings Base |
We went down to The Moorings base at Opua at around 10 AM. The staff - Kim, Eileen and Mark - were very friendly and helpful. Our Beneteau 463, the Baravi Princess, was almost ready and we were able to start loading our luggage and food provisions. This is the only 463 they have and it's a 1996 model but still in very good condition. In the winter, the owner takes it to Tonga, a 10-day sail that he has done many times. Even though we did our own food provisioning, we were pleased to find the boat well supplied with an assortment of basic spices and cleaning material, plus charcoal and starting fluid for the barbecue.
After our briefing with Mark we went back to Paihia for a quick lunch of Fish and Chips, final food shopping and Internet email session (very inexpensive $ 3.00/hr).
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The only problem was rain. It had been raining since the morning and it didn't stop for 24 hours. We didn't feel like leaving in the rain, but The Moorings base is located in a commercial zone with a lot of ferry traffic. So we decided t o leave anyway for the short motorsail to Russell. We were lucky the rest of the week, as we didn't get any more rain.
We motored 5 km across the bay to a nice anchorage called Matauwhai Bay, on the back side of the historic town of Russell. This is a yachties' anchorage with over 100 boats, mostly from local people and a sprinkling of visitors. The bay is quite large and we had no problem anchoring in about 15 ft of deep mud. Since it was still raining, we had dinner on the boat instead of going to town to the Duke of Marlborough restaurant, as recommended in the Cruising Guide.
Sunday, March 3 - From Russell to Moturua
The Bay of Islands
It rained all night but by morning it had stopped, so we went ashore to visit Russell, a quaint historic town full of tourists and souvenir shops.
At 11 AM, we left to motor a few kilometers to Motuarohia Island.
The local Maori names are confusing at first. However, they are easier to remember with a rudimentary understanding of the Maori language which is a Polynesian language, like in Tahiti, Tonga, Hawaii, etc. The most common word - or part of a word - is Motu, which means a small island in Polynesian. It's the same word in Tahiti. Maori spelling in New Zealand however is a little different. "House" is spelled Fare in Tahiti and Whare in New Zealand but it's pronounced the same: Faré. Obviously, the French and British missionaries who developed the written language in these faraway islands didn't coordinate too well! Other words like wai (water), wahine (woman), iti (small), nui (big), tapu or tabu (forbidden) are similar.
The Warm (?) Lagoons
Motuarohia is famous for its warm lagoons and its snorkeling trail on the Northern Pacific side. However, the ground was hard lava rock and the water temperature was only 22 C (about 75 F) which was very warm to Sharon, our Kiwi friend used to the colder waters off Wellington. She went snorkeling while we watched, thinking of the soft sand and 80 F plus water in the Caribbean.
We then motored again another couple of km to anchor at Moturua (second island) in Awaawaroa Bay. It's another beautiful anchorage that's well protected from all sides and we spent a very comfortable night. The rain had stopped and we enjoyed one of the most beautiful sunsets we've ever seen.
Monday March 4 - Waipao Bay, the Hole in the Rock and Urupukapuka Island
We woke up to a bright blue sky. After breakfast, we motored around the point to Waipao Bay on the same island of Moturua. It is the start of a nice hiking trail around the island.
After dinghying ashore, we hiked ½ hour to Otupoho Bay on the other side of the island. The trail through the rain forest is well maintained but steep and wet.
The Hole in the Rock
We hoisted sail at 11 AM to go to Cape Brett and see the famous Hole in the Rock. The sailing, both inside and outside the Bay of Islands, was beautiful with perfect weather. From a certain angle, the Hole in the Rock island looks like a giant mammoth. After going around Motukokako to see the famous arch, we were able to enjoy a couple of hours of nice sailing with winds of 15-20 knots and 6 ft swells outside the bay.
By law, holding tanks must be used inside the bay. However, you are allowed to dump if you're more than 500 m from shore with at least 5 m of water depth. So, we flushed whenever we got a chance.
Coming back inside the bay, the wind had turned to an unusual SW direction. This made Paradise Bay on Urupukapuka Island an uncomfortable lee shore. We therefore went around the point to Urupukapuka Bay. It is another large anchorage that is completely protected by land on all sides. There were only half a dozen boats and we anchored at 5 PM in about 4 meters of water.
Tuesday March 5 - Back to Opua and Moturua Island
We raised the anchor at 10:30 to go back to Opua in order to get an additional crew member who had come by bus from Wellington. We also refilled our water tanks and did some additional food shopping in Paihia and some email on the Internet.
We left at 4 PM and had a wonderful sail to Waiwapuka Bay on Moturua Island for an easy start toward Whangaroa the next day. When we anchored we were alone in the bay but we were joined later on by another small sail boat.
Wednesday March 6 - To the Cavalli Islands and Whangaroa
Sailing by the Cavalli Islands
Since the weather looked good, we decided to make a 30-mile dash North outside the Bay of Islands to Whangaroa. We got an early start at 6:45 AM in beginning daylight. The weather looked perfect with a nice SW breeze that gave us a couple of hours of nice sailing.
We sailed through the Cavalli Islands and stopped at 10 AM in Motuwhakauraukau Bay, a beautiful horseshoe bay on the mainland side. We were the only boat there. We went ashore and our Kiwi friends went swimming in the cold water.
At 2 PM, we hoisted sail again to go to Whangaroa Harbor, a 5-km long, deep gorge harbor with spectacular scenery of rock formations and plants. We got ashore and walked around the tiny town of Whangaroa, visiting the Game and Fishing Club.
At Motuwhakauraukau Bay
At 5PM, we left to motor back to Kingfish Bay near the entrance to the harbor. We had called on the radio to make reservations for dinner at the famous Kingfish Bay Lodge, with its renowned colorful owner Ed. On arrival, we picked up a free mooring with help from a friendly staff member. The lodge was modern, interesting and full of fishing trophies. The dinner of kingfish was quite good but a little pricy by NZ standards (about NZ $250 or US $100 for four with wine). The view on the bay was again spectacular.
Thursday March 7 - Back to the Bay of Islands
We left early again at 7 AM for the return trip to the Bay of Islands. We went through the narrow entrance against the rising tide. This created a strong current. In addition, the wind of 20-25 knots had turned to the NE, right on our nose. This meant rough motorsailing with only the mainsail.
At 10 AM, we stopped at Waiiti Bay on one of the Cavalli Islands to rest the seasick crew. This is another lovely horseshoe bay that was well sheltered from the wind. At 2:15 PM, we left for the open sea crossing back to the Bay of Islands. We had to motorsail again in 20-25 knot wind until we got inside the bay where we got some nice sailing.
We anchored at 6:30 PM in Opunga Cove near Te Hue Bay. We enjoyed a barbecue with a glorious sunset and a peaceful night with about 20 boats around us.
Friday March 8 - At Rest in Opinga Bay
We spent our last day at rest in beautiful Opinga Bay. In the morning, we went for a walk ashore in Te Hue Bay (Assasination Cove), so-called because of a bloody encounter between French sailors and Maoris in 1772. We visited the simple memorial of that event on a hill overlooking the cove.
Sunset in the Bay
When we came back, Claudia, a friendly trilingual German woman on a cruiser’s boat anchored next to us, came over and offered us her menu of breads, pastries and pizzas which they deliver to boats anywhere inside the bay. We ordered her special cake of the day, a tasty chocolate cake. The German couple have lived on their boat for 9 years, including 2 years in the Caribbean. They're planning to sail back to New Caledonia in May after the hurricane season. It's a six-day sail on their small 36-ft boat and they are looking forward to the warmer weather there.
For our last night, we enjoyed another spectacular sunset.
Saturday March 9 - Return to Base
We left at 9 AM to return the boat to the base and clean it up by 12 noon.
Touring the North Island
We spent a couple more days in Paihia, staying at a nice hotel by the beach. We also rented a car with an automatic gift shift which made driving on the left much easier.
We went to visit the nearby Waitangi park with the 1833 treaty House. Then we drove back to Auckland going through the Kauri Coast on the West side of the island to see the old kauri tree forests. We spent the last three days in Auckland visiting the harbor, the America's Cup compound, the Sky Tower and the National Museum.
Conclusions
New Zealand is a beautiful country with very friendly people and a very low cost of living.
Because the islands lie between latitudes 35 to 45 South, the weather is pleasant but on the cool side. Even in the Bay of Islands which is far up north, we felt that the water was too cold for swimming. The Bay of Islands covers a relatively small area with no shopping or dining facilities once you leave Opua. Weather permitting, the sail north to Whangaroa is recommended.