Tag Archives: tauranga

East Coast of NZ’s Northland

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This season we had the pleasure of traveling up and down the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, Northland.

We sailed over 700nm down to Tauranga (south) and as far North as Matai Bay.

And the amazing thing is we did not even begin to touch all of the beautiful places Northland has to offer!

We started at Whangarei (red arrow) and went south.  Then we left Tauranga and headed north to Matai before returning to Whangarei.

Along the way, we saw some absolutely stunning coastline. 

The coastline close to Tauranga (south) had a rocky terrain with specs of greenery.  It also had beautiful towering cliff faces.

Around the Auckland / Waiheke Area things were a lot greener with hillsides and mountains covered in lush vegetation.

You’d see mountains, hillsides, and then you will see lower lands but all covered in green!

North on the North Island

As we continued North toward Whangaroa we encountered more beautiful scenery. 

I love the mohawk on the bottom photo. Poor mountain does not know that mohawks are so yesterday!

Continuing North to Matai Bay

The landscape became more rugged the further north we went.  

From Whangaroa to Maitai Bay we saw beautiful mountains with green tops and dramatic cliffs plunging into the sea.

We had a very short sailing season in New Zealand this year.  We were only able to explore the east coast of the north island from February through April.

We had really hoped to explore more nooks and crannies along the coast. However, our extended stay in the boatyard cut our cruising season really short.

However, we certainly made the most out of the time we had!

Our blog posts run 6 weeks behind actual events. We sailed the east coast from mid-February through mid-April in 2026.

Catana Mafia at Tauranga Marina

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After we left Slipper Island we headed for Tauranga Marina just off Sulphur Point in Tauranga.  Greg Prescott, the marina manager is a fellow Catana owner.  We learned that there was an unplanned gathering of Catana owners that we simply had to meet.

We had not been this far south on the north island so it was a great time to see new places.  Tauranga is about half way down the east side of the north island.

Sugar Shack pulled into this beautiful marina with the help of the marina crew.  It was a great place to hide from a forecasted storm.

We enjoyed some stunning sunsets from the boat and the Tauranga Sport Fishing Club.

We walked 20-25 minutes to downtown Tauranga several times for lunch and a great looksy.

Tauranga is famous for its beautiful Mt. Manganui.  A great place to hike and explore.

Who wore it best? 

Reunion of Old Friends

Our friends Wendy and Peryn live in Tauranga so we enjoyed a fabulous afternoon with them at their house.

In addition, our friends Tony and Jaqui came down for a visit.  Tony is launching a new product called Vortex Marine and is having us test drive it for him.  A huge honor and a great opportunity to try the product out first hand.

Vortex Marine is a tablet that takes your every day chart plotter to a whole new level!  Check it out.

Top photo is Charlie and Sue on “Purr” and Greg is the marina manager on “Seuss” both Catana owners.

Greg organized a dinner with the Catana group.  A few other marina guests joined in as well, but most were Catana owners.

  • Sugar Shack
  • Roam: Jim and Pam
  • Purr: Charlie and Sue
  • Machiavel: Grant
  • Seuss: Greg and Sharron
  • Blue: owners were out of town but we admired their boat

Some of these folks we had been talking to online for years and this was the first time we met them!

Some of the other folks had been following along our blog for years and it was the first time they met us.  Always super fun to meet people who enjoy the work we do.

Here is the big group!

It was such an incredible pleasure meeting up with these amazing people with such diverse cruising stories.  

I was humbled and honored to meet the folks on Hapai and Gerdy who had been following Sugar Shack for a few years.  It warms my heart to know we’ve paid it forward for all the good will other folks have given us.

Just another reminder of how truly blessed we are!

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We were in Tauranga around mid-March 2026.

Road Trip: Auckland to Tauranga

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Day 1 of our road trip was rather uneventful and consisted of us doing a lot of driving.  

We drove 3 hours from Whangarei to Auckland. 

We  came to the city to drop off our vertical support legs for our arch to Bumper Replacements.

As you know from our previous post “Solar Arch Installation” the previous company who electropolished our arch damaged it. 

So, we decided to take the support legs to a new company.  They did a great job at a fraction of the price.

These support legs are 2.5m long and barely fit in the car.  They extended from the radio all the way to back of the hatch back!

We stopped for lunch and continued on our journey.  We had another 3+ hours to get to Tauranga.  Matt decided he wanted to drive along the coast for a more scenic route.

Tauranga

We arrived late in the afternoon and decided to go straight to Tauranga Harbor View (Air BnB).  This was a rather large two-story home with 3 bedrooms.  We certainly did not need the space, but it was cheap ($95 USD) and in the right neighborhood. 

I did not take any photos as there was nothing blog worthy.

We found downtown Maunganui which is a delightful, single road, epi-center.  We enjoyed cocktails at Saltwater and had dinner at Rising Tide (delicious dumplings).

DAY 2

We had hoped to hike Mount Maunganui, an extinct volcano and sacred Maori site. This 232 meter tall mountain offers amazing 360 degree views of the bay.  

However, a tragedy occurred just 11 days prior to our arrival.

We had massive amounts of rain and part of the hillside slipped smashing into a campsite and burying campervans, tents, and cars. 

Six people lost their lives and the entire mountain site has been closed.

So, we headed to Tauranga Marina to see the manager Greg Prescott.  We gave him the mold for our rain flashing so he could make some for our friends on Roam.

Greg showed us around his lovely yard and marina.  He also gave us a tour of his beautiful 43′ Catana “Seuss” and showed us the upgrades on “Roam”

And then we were off to drive to Taumarunui another 3+ hour drive.

Waituhi Lookout

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, along our 2 lane highway we see a sign that reads “Waituhi Lookout.”  

We slowly go up the single lane road hoping for no other cars are coming down. 

It is super beautiful with overhanging lush trees and bushes.

After about 5 minutes we come to a rather unimpressive circular parking area and a metal staircase.  Hmmm, this is not what we expected at all.

But, we climb the stairs and to our surprise there is a lovely view of Waituhi.

Taumarunui

We stayed one night in this little town called Taumarunui.  This town was the start of our Forgotten World All-Day Rail Car Adventure.

We checked in to the Forgotten World Motel which was interesting. 

The exterior looks like a typical motel but the interior is rather modern and nice.

This little town is full of history. 

We found several information centers, monuments, and museums along the main road of Hakiaha Street. 

Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to explore everything.

I simply love this optical illusion clock!

On Day 3 we being our Forgotten World Rail Cart tour.  

Our blog posts run 6 weeks behind actual live events.

We began our road trip in early February 2026.