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Latitudes & Attitudes
There's This Place:
Our favourite cruising area lies right out on the fringes. Ruggedly beautiful Great Barrier Island squats on the outer edge of the Hauraki Gulf, acting (just as Captain James Cook perceived when he so aptly named it) as a "barrier", protecting the rest of the gulf from the long swells of the open Pacific. But while its windward eastern coastline is ringed by stunning white sand surf beaches, the island’s western shoreline is indented with sheltered harbours.
The township of Port FitzRoy (the general store, information centre, a small medical station, the Boating Club and a house or two) are up the slope above the wharf in Rarowharo Bay. A campground and the adjoining headquarters of the Department of Conservation are south of the wharf, tucked in behind Coigne Island. Almost seventy percent of the island is nature reserve, under the Government’s Department of Conservation care. The dense vegetation and absence of predators makes the island a friendly habitat for some endangered species that have almost disappeared from the mainland. An extensive network of walking tracks maintained by DoC lets you explore the interior and the various inlets around Port FitzRoy are safe places to leave your boat if you feel the urge to take off exploring.
One of the best walks is to the top of the
island’s highest peak. The Mt Hobson (Hirakimata) track starts from Kaiaraara Bay. As you climb, a viewing platform looks out o
Right at the bottom end of Port FitzRoy is
Wairahi Bay. One of the original settler families cleared the land for
farming and it’s still sometimes referred to as Flinn’s Creek or Ghost Bay.
There are graves on the shore up towards the head of the bay. Overhanging
knarled and twisted pohutukawa trees edge the shoreline with blazing red
flower Walking ashore here is great too. The hills flanking the bay are now farmed by the Stellin family, so you should ask their permission first. You will find them in the waterfront house, behind a newish jetty with a sign reading “Barrier Gold” above it. The views from the high hill behind the house etch out the whole of FitzRoy harbour and across to neighbouring Little Barrier Island. As well as sheep grazing Sven Stellin has also branched into the production of Kanuka oil. The leaves from one of New Zealand’s native tea tree species are distilled to produce the highly refined oil. The oil is a valuable product, useful for treating a wide range of illnesses and complaints, due to its anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiseptic, anti-viral and antifungal properties. And it’s also a great natural insecticide. Sven will explain the whole process of how he extracts the oil to visitors, and let you sample a selection of the products made from the oil in his rustic gift shop.
But there are other attractive spots to explore. Kiwiriki, or Twin Island Bay is just opposite, easily identified by the twin islands at its entrance. A picnic area at the head of the bay is accessible by dinghy and the track behind it links up with the Kaiaraara Bay track. Sitting on anchor here and watching the sun dip below the horizon is an unbeatable way to end the day. Kaikoura Island, formerly privately owned, is currently being developed as an area for environmental education. Around its shoreline are many little nooks where you can drop your pick and try your luck at catching a fish or two. Snapper is the predominant species targeted by anglers, some hefty specimens can be hooked in the surrounding waters. The rocky shorelines of the little islets around Wellington Head are good spots to just drift off and dangle a line over the side. If you are into diving and snorkeling there are plenty of opportunities too. Visibility is usually excellent and the abundant sea life offers opportunities for both viewing and collecting. The local crayfish (rock lobster) can be taken all year round (provided you keep to a limit of six per person, and a minimum size limit also applies) and succulent scallops have a season running from mid July to mid February. Green lip mussels, a true kiwi delicacy, are farmed inside Port FitzRoy’s sheltered waters, but they can also be found growing “au naturale” on the rocky shoreline, along with plump rock oysters. For divers interested in other underwater attractions, there are some good drop offs and two famous wrecks. The remains of the steamer Wairarapa, one of New Zealand’s worst shipwrecks, lie off the towering cliffs to the east of Miner’s Head, just north of the entrance to Port FitzRoy, while the wreck of the Wiltshire is on the island’s south east coast. The run down the coast of the island south of Port FitzRoy is extremely pretty, especially if you take the inside passage. This route threads its way through the Broken Islands group. The largest of the islands is Rangiahua or Flat Island, which has several houses and a jetty with a collection of craft from the Walker (Ngawaka) family, a Maori family who have been in residence for many years. Local legend has it that an earlier resident, Mad Maude Hartnell, who lived in a constant state of drunken warfare with her Scottish husband, would row across to the mainland when the alcohol supplies were dwindling. Quite a feat in an open rowboat!
Make sure you keep an eye out for the bobbing
buoys of crayfish pots, especially in the narrow gap between the Junction
Island and the mainland. This is the inside passage southern exit, an
exciting “hole in the wall” that at first seems impossible to pass between,
but when lined up properly, is wide enough for two average size boats to
pass safely. Immediately behind the pass is the anchorage known as Bowling
Alley Bay. It’s another good spot for fishing and diving. If the wind starts
getting strong though it can become rough as a venturi wind can sweep down
from the head of the valley that backs the anchorage.
Exiting Port FitzRoy to head north will
bring you first into Port Abercrombie, which has two good anchorages. Nagle
Cove is tucked into the northwestern corner. There is a farm with a jetty in
one corner. Way back in the 1840’s several large ships were built in the
cove. One, the barque Stirlingshire, held the record of being the largest
built in New Zealand. To the east, Karaka Bay is more open, but has a lovely
view out to sea. The run further northwards, hugging the coastline, is in
the shadow of high cliffs. Right at the northern extremity of the island are
“The Needles”, jagged rocky pinnacles that look spectacular.
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OK,
so they may no longer be the home of the America’s Cup, but the waters of
New Zealand’s Hauraki Gulf still reign supreme. The offshore waters of New
Zealand’s largest city remain what they have always been, a fabulous
cruising ground. Spreading out from the area where the Cup was contested,
the gulf opens out into a wide blue expanse, dotted with islands just
begging to be explored. Some are little more than rocky outcrops, others are
so big you could spend weeks exploring them.
Great
Barrier’s most visited harbour is tranquil Port FitzRoy. This harbour is
particularly popular with visiting Auckland boaties during the busy
Christmas/New Year vacation period. Aside fro
m that peak period, you’ll find
it a great
cruising destination all year round, with plenty of options for relaxed gunk
holing. Kaikoura Island straddles the entrance of the harbour, giving it an
almost landlocked aspect. You have the option of entering through the narrow
Man of War Passage on the southern edge of Kaikoura, or the wider pass to
the north. A number of different arms fan out into the hills behind the
protection of Kaikoura Island.
ver
one of the 
s
when they bloom each year around Christmas and into the New Year. Anchoring
here and waking up on a sun drenched morning, gazing across to the smooth
hills dotted with white sheep, with not a breath of wind stirring the mirror
like surface of the water around “Fallado’s ” hull, is a really magical way
to start the day. 
Just
before the entrance to Wairahi Bay is Smokehouse Bay. This is perhaps the
most visited of all the anchorages in Port FitzRoy. Some years ago the
Webster family established “yachtsmen’s facilities” in the Bay that are
available to all visitors. You can fire up the smokehouse and smoke your
catch of the day to perfection while enjoying a steaming bath in the full
size tub in the room adjoining it. A fresh water pipe is right alongside and
there are tubs and hand wringers for doing the laundry and a couple of
rotary clotheslines to hang it out in the breeze to dry. The picnic tables
are a great place to set up a party ashore and there is a grid and a set of
piles for tying up to if you need a hull scrub down between tides. Some
cruisers have made Smokehouse their “home away from home”, and base
themselves there for weeks at a time. Any wonder, as the charms of this
“Robinson Crusoe style” get away from it all place make it a hard place to
leave.