Bay of Islands

Monday 11th - Friday 15th March 2013

On Monday we drove up to Russell in the Bay of Islands, crossing over at Opua on the car ferry. There is a back road but it looked pretty minor & I made an executive decision to take the ferry! We are staying in Russell Cottages, a complesx of quite new, rather well appointed (apart from some kitchen items!) self contained 2 storey cottages.

Russell is one of the earliest European settlements in New Zealand and has a lot of historic buildings. The original capital was at Okiata, where the ferry now lands. Across the water is Paihia  (more touristy) and Waitangi (Treaty grounds).

Next day we had a look around, did some walking and went out to lunch at the very historic Duke of Marlborough Hotel - the first licesed premises in NZ. Unfortunately they had run out of mussells so the mussell quest was put aside (mussells seemed to be out in all the restaurants & cafes - apparently no-one had got around to going & getting them!).

Later on we had a message & dinner invite from Nadia, who we met at the KASK Forum and met up again aty the Duke for Drinks and dinner at Sally's Restaurant (fish & chips - still no mussells!). We organised to meet up the next day for a paddle.

A glorious Bay of Islands morning & a convoy of kayak-bearing cars & vans wound around to Rawhiti - the end of the road before Cape Brett. The other paddlers - Nadia, Dave, Ruth and Rob were going to camp out at Urupukapuka Island, while Peter & ourselves would do a day paddle. Urupukapuka Island is the only one of the Bay of Islands with a DOCS camp on it.

The campsite at Cable Bay had a nice grassy sward, plus toilets and a freshwater source (might have been a spring but came out of a tap and a shower! (luxury!). We had a swim & lunch, then set off around the island.

 

Cable Bay on Urupukapuka Island

 The water is incredibly clear & the colour is a brilliant turquoise rivalling the Nadgee coast (!) - we poked around into little bays and rock gardens, passed around the back of Waewaetorea Island, through Okahu passage and out into the less sheltered side.

There was a small swell, though on the more exposed areas this was said to be running 2m out past Cape Brett (so no paddling through the Hole in the Rock yet). It was a lot less here, but still enough that we couldn't get into too many of the caves that are very abundant on this coast. Dave & I went into one that had a bend in the entrance giving more shelter from the waves.

The outside of Waewaetorea Island

Capr Brett & Hole in the Rock in the distance (about 16km away)

 From the eastern side of Urupukapuka Island we passed around Rawhiti Point and into Oke Bay. Another swim, with the water noticably colder here compared to Urupukapuka Island.

Lots of interesting little passages  - entrance to Oke Bay

 The rocks near shore were pretty much stripped bare by sea urchins. We could have had a feed of kina (sea urchin roe) but no-one was very enthusiastic so the urchin I picked off the rocks lived another day.

Sea Urchins were abundant in Oke bay

We headed back towards Rawhiti with Peter, afetr arranging to meet up with the others at an island closer to Russell. Packing up the Traks was fairly quick (getting the hang of it more), then after a cup of tea with Peter and his wife Su at their campervan, we headed back into Russell.

 

Next day we launched from Long Beach (the 'back beach') of Russell, to paddle over to Robertsons Island. It is only about 4km offshore - all these islands are quite close together. On the way we found a cave that I could jump out in - though there might be a lead but the tunnel in the right of the photo only goes a few more metres.



 

 

The cave had a little gravelly beach at the end

 

Looking back out of the cave

We also found a miniature Hole in the Rock (since we weren't going to get out to the 'real thing')!

A small arch - not the real Hole in the Rock just a little one!

Around the corner from these features is Cooks Cove, where Lt James Cook landed in 1769. There is a plaque on a rock out in the middle of the bay. A fleet of jet skis on a tour stopped to look at it as did the tall ship E Tucker Thompson.



Plaque commemerating Cook in Cook's Cove

 Around in the next bay we found the other paddlers, having morning tea. We walked up the lookout which commanded a brilliant view around the bay - the sun chose this time to come out on what had been a dull moring up until then.

View from the lookout (to the NE)

Looking back down on Robertson's Island

Those of us inclined to tolerate cold water (ie. the women) went for a swim in the lagoon that had a snorkell trail (now mostly grown over). The lunch, and after this quite long break we were back on the water again.

Nadia & Dave launching from Robertson's Island

We crossed back to the mainland into Manowaora Bay and bid fairwell to our new friends. They continued into Assassins Cove to test out a portage, while we turned back towards Russell and contoured the coast into long beach.

 

 

Today was packup day - clean the gear and make sure the Traks were dry. A last lunch out at the Duke (yes they'd got mussells in this time!). Back to Auckland tomorrow, then home.

A last lunch out at the Duke (mussells!)