Tag Archives: waterfalls

Great Barrier Island

We are free!!!  Oh my goodness after almost 3 months in the marina we finally break ourselves free to do some sailing around New Zealand.  We’ve been tied to the dock doing boat projects and meeting with different vendors and have not had a moment to go sailing until now.  We decide to head to Great Barrier island first and if time and weather permits, Mercury Island.

It is a slow motor down the Whangarei River.  We request permission to have the Te Matau a Pohe “Hook Bridge” open so we may pass under.  Still an amazing thing to see!

It is a beautiful day, albeit light wind on the nose.  We raise the main sail and continue on a motor sail as we don’t even have enough wind for the jib.  We pass by the Hen and Chickens Islands.  I just love their names.

Kaikoura Potato Bay

We approached Great Barrier Island and made the last minute decision to go to Smokehouse Bay which is supposed to be a nice boatie/cruiser bay.  However, when we approached we saw that there were close to 30 boats anchored there – so we stopped short and anchored in Kaikoura Bay also known as Potato Bay.  We had this beautiful bay all to ourselves.

We were expecting some ugly winds so we moved the following morning to a new bay.

Wairahi Bay

There were still a lot of boats at Smokehouse Bay so we decided to go to a bay just past it (still in Great Barrier Island).  We arrived to Wairahi Bay with 3 other boats.  Perfect!  From here we can easily visit the other bays within the western side of Great Barrier Island. We hang out in this anchorage for over  a week.  Several other boats joined us in this anchorage, but it is big enough to not feel crowded.

First, we explore the river that feeds into Wairahi Bay.  Matt took the SUP up the river during high and low tide so that he felt comfortable taking the dinghy with me.  It is so cool to be surrounded by hillsides, overhanging trees, and hidden houses. 

I spotted at least 5 hidden “baches” (summer houses) in the trees.

Smokehouse Bay

About 1 mile down from our anchorage is a popular spot called Smokehouse Bay.  It is a place created for locals and cruisers/boaties.  This as the anchorage that was incredibly busy when we first arrived. However, the weather changed which made this a very uncomfortable anchorage so everyone cleared out when we visited.  This is a shot during low tide (top) and high tide (bottom).

The facilities in this bay were provided by the late Eric Webster and his many friends.  Locals and cruisers maintain the property and equipment.  The Weber family placed Smokehouse Bay under the protection of the Queen National Trust as an open space covenant for the public whilst remaining in private ownership.

A massive rain storm destroyed Smokehouse Bay in November 2005.  Everything was covered in mud and debris and it took over a year to rebuild the facilities.

What can you enjoy at Smokehouse Bay?

  • Pizza Oven
  • Smokehouse (perfect for smoking fresh catch)
  • Grills
  • Laundry hand crank basins and clothes lines
  • (2) showers including 1 that offers hot water from a wood burning stove
  • Free book trade library
  • Toilets
  • Outdoor seating area around a bonfire
  • Great hikes on the 5 hectres (50 acres)

We enjoyed the entire bay to ourselves because it was inclement weather and all the boats left for a more protected anchorage.  We hiked to the summit and had excellent views of the bay.

Port Fitzroy

The most populated bay in Great Barrier Island is Port Fitzroy.  It is where you can get fuel and some supplies.  Super cute little town with a market, library, visitor center, and burger joint.  The town is the top photo.

There are two great hikes in this bay.  One starts from the center of town and leads you to a beautiful waterfall and the other is across the bay and leads you to a spectacular crows-nest view.

We decide to do the waterfall hike first, since we were already in town and it is only a 40minute hike to the falls.  But it is straight up.   First, you clean your shoes with a spray and scrub…then off you go down the path.

About 40-minutes, 300+ stairs, and 1.5 miles  later we arrive at the triple waterfall.

We take a moment to enjoy the beauty around us, dip our toes in (its freezing), and head back.

Next we take our dinghy across the bay and leave it at the dock (red arrow).  We then hike to the valley (green arrow on right), up to the peak and back down to the dock.  Super good hike.

At the top of the peak is a swing bridge that leads you to a 600-year old Kauri tree.  Once at the tree, you can climb up to the crows-nest to get a spectacular view of the bay.

As we make our way back down the hill we take a turn off to Sunset Rock.  I bet this would be wonderful to watch the sunset…

All in all we hiked 10.5 kilometers or 6.5 miles.  We were a bit bushed when we got back to the boat.

Historic Floods

We ended up spending a little more time in Great Barrier due to bad weather.  Lucky for us we were tucked away in the perfect anchorage for inclement weather.  Evidently this is a once in 50 year flood and yet it happened twice within a week!

Everything was flooded including the airport, grocery stores, and busses!

And of course the streets and highways.

We weather the second storm at a different bay called Karaka Bay at Great Barrier.   This was the calm before the storm.

Some more beautiful photos from Karaka Bay

I just love the stunning motus, rock formations, and islands.

Our friends captured us heading up the river, n our way back to the marina.

Events from this blog occurred in late January 2023.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  Don’t miss our last blog where we explore the Lost Springs.

Yalobi Waterfalls in Waya

We ended up leaving the rugby tournament early because a strong weather system was forecasted to come through and cause all sorts of problems for us.  So, we left after the first set, 16 games in 11-minute increments.  Our new destination is a small bay called Yalobi off the southern tip of Waya Island.

We pointed as high as we could to head North towards Waya.  We managed to sail the first 10nm.  But  we just couldn’t make it so we had to turn the engines on for the last 7nm.  Straight into the wind and waves.  Thank goodness it was only a short distance as it was not comfortable.  We got rained on several times in addition to the wind and seas on the nose.

We arrived in Yalobi Bay on Waya Island to a beautiful double rainbow, but it was only out for a short while before the wind and rain came for 18 hours straight.

The good news is that the rain has brought out the lush green hillside and created several cascading waterfalls.

When we arrived, there were 3 other boats in the anchorage.  By sunset, another 4 boats arrived to hunker down and wait out the storm.

Sun Comes a Shining

Finally, the sun comes out and we are able to go ashore to do our sevusevu and walk around the village of Yalobi.  We meet the chief and several locals who are more than happy to show us around their village with 58 families, a small infirmary, and a school.

There are lots of fabulous homes scattered in between the concrete houses.

We came across a monument which honors the many Fijians that died during the massive Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918.  Fiji lost 14% of their population in a matter of months due to the pandemic.

We strolled along the long, beautiful, beach.

And we discovered lots of cascading waterfalls that filled the streams, water tanks and livelihood of the village.

The Yalobi hillsides and village come alive after the rain storm – so green and healthy!  There was one rather large 50meter yacht that had a helicopter fly off and into the sunset.

We also found this adorable puppy that I so wanted to stuff in my backpack!

The events from this blog occurred in early September 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We experience our first Fijian Rugby game in Yanuya – did you read about it on our last blog?

Matt at Tiki Village

Magical Moments in Mo’orea

As we were waiting for a weather window, we encountered many magical moments in Oponohu Bay, Mo’orea.  We are anchored on a sandy shelf about 2 to 3 meters deep between the reef and the island.  Late one afternoon we spotted two huge nurse sharks (about 3 meters long) just hanging out next to Sugar Shack. We think they were nurse sharks, but they could have been lemon sharks.

One night, just before sunset, the clouds rolled across the caldera and provided this beautiful photo.

Oponohu Bay, Mo'orea

Oponohu Bay, Mo’orea

We had the most enchanting sunset another night.  It started out with a little beauty and then blossomed into this firey red across the entire sky and reflecting onto the water.  None of these photos were enhanced or tweaked…just nature’s beauty.

Some of these photos needed to be shown as stand alone images.

And this has no filters or changes – just pure magic.

Even the rain brings magical moments

It is not always sunshine and rainbows in French Polynesia.  It does rain a lot which is good because it feeds new life into the land, mountains, trees, and flowers.  But sometimes it is a torrential downpour which keeps you holed up in you boat.

I actually got cold and snuggled up.

But the huge rains brought several beautiful waterfalls – just magical.

And another pretty sunset.

Underwater Tiki Garden

Across the channel is a shallow anchorage called Tiki Village.  Matt and I have anchored here several times and never knew there was a tiki museum nearby (we also did not know this anchorage was called “Tiki Villiage”).  Our friends Steve and Lili on Liward took us over there to explore this amazing underwater museum.

The legend has it that when the missionaries came to Mo’orea they built a protestant church right on the Marae, their sacred grounds. The missionaries forced the locals to either destroy or toss their monuments / tikis in the ocean.  But the inhabitants outsmarted them.  They strategically placed the tikis underwater, clustered together directly across from the church in the village of Papetoai.

Church built on the Mo'orea marae

Church built on the Mo’orea marae

There are 7 tikis gently laid in 3 meters of crystal-clear water.  And despite the efforts by the missionaries, the Tahitian culture is very much alive today.

We found all 7 tikis, but some were hard to distinguish.  They are just starting to get growth which is fascinating.  This one we could not figure out – or should I say, I could not figure out.  Lili pointed to what she thought was his head and face…I just don’t see it.

I love this tiki called “the twins”

The Twins Tiki

The Twins Tiki

Matt liked it too and gave me a smile hidden behind his bubbles (he took his mask off).

I think this tiki is a woman, but what do you think?  It actually looks more like a mermaid, but either way female.

This was a great tiki with little growth.

This is my favorite tiki.  I love how the soft coral grew right at his head giving him hair.  And do you see the fish at his head too?  This tiki is a man sitting down while holding a bowl in his hands.

This magical man brought shivers to me as I explored his carvings.

Another difficult one to decipher.

The final tiki had three carvings on it.  Not sure you can see all 3 faces, but they were wonderful.

It was magical to find these tikis knowing their history.  It brought shivers to me as I examined them.  I hope they are honored for decades to come.

Super good times with our friends Josh and Rachel (“Agape) and Steve and Lili (“Liward).

Fruit shopping on the side of the road…don’t you love the pretty decor?

The Opunohu Anchorage at sunset

Opunohu Anchorage

Opunohu Anchorage

View facing the mountains from the same anchorage

Events from this blog occurred during the first week of November, 2020.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.