Tag Archives: tauranga

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.

Murchison, Westport and a Swing Bridge

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Our destination today is Westport, but we stop several times on along the way.  About an hour into our drive we pull over at the Hope Saddle Lookout.  We knew we would have wonderful views as we had been winding all around the mountains and through the forest.  The clouds were hanging low and dancing around the peaks.

This spot is famous for saving over 30,000 hectares of forest as the NZ government made an accord with the logging companies.

A sweet little church popped up seemingly out of nowhere.

Murchison and NZ Longest Swing Bridge

We arrive into Murchison which is the home to New Zealand’s longest swing bridge.  It is 110 meters long and is suspended 172 meters high over mighty the Buller Gorge.

We were lucky, there were not a lot of tourists here when we arrived.  We paid $10NZD per person and eagerly headed toward the bridge.  It was a fairly calm day, not a lot of wind so the only swinging came from our own weight.

The views were beautiful from the center of the bridge.

When we got to the other side, we discovered several trails that led to a beach and Ariki Falls.  Super easy walks that led us to beautiful places.  The top left photo shows the flood mark in 2021 – check out the white arrow – it is well over 2.5-3 meters tall.

The Ariki Falls were a really nice diversion and oh so pretty.

This is also where they did a lot of gold mining in this location.  They had a replica of a house used by the miners.

Westport

We arrive into Westport about 6 hours after we left Nelson.  It is a nice little beach town.

We enjoy a nice lunch at Donaldo’s and then head to Carters Beach Seaside (our hotel).  Next we drop our bags and make our way to the beautiful, and very long black sand beach.

We then head to Cape Foulwind where there is a nice hike to a lighthouse.  Yep, you read that right, “Cape Foulwind” and it is very obvious why this town got its name once you arrive….yuck!

This photo shows the original wooden lighthouse that was built in the late 1800’s and to the right is the newer digital, unmanned lighthouse.  I like the original one better.

Pretty views from the base of the lighthouse.

Just 5km down the road is the famous seal colony located in Tauranga Bay.  To my surprise, there really weren’t that many seals – maybe they were all out hunting.

We ended our day with a bottle of rose on the beach at sunset.  I’d say this was a good day!

  • Travel:  210km
  • Hotel: Carters Beach Seasisde

Events from this blog occurred during the last week of February.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  Check out the Abel Tasman Caves in our last blog post.