3 Islands Tour

Islington Bay. Rangitoto island. 13*C

Last week brought a big high pressure system over the whole country bringing clear sunny weather. A snap decision was made on Thursday afternoon that we would go for a sailing tour of the Hauraki Gulf. Shane's yacht is about 95% completed and he was keen to test out the systems and see how the boat sailed in the predicted light winds. A quick trip to the super market and the liquor store for supplies and then we were off to the Marina for an evening departure. The night was dark with no moon and not a breath of wind. Getting out of the slip was no problem and we motored out onto the harbour. Westharbour marina lies at the end of a dredged channel which twists and turns for quite a way out until you reach the main shipping channel. Being a broken ass marina a lot of the channel makers are not lit and of those that are, not all of the lights are actually working. Travelling in and out in the dark requires a sharp watch in order to avoid slamming into a marker post or alternatively, running aground. Once down to the harbour bridge things get a bit easier but you still need to watch out for the many ferries that criss cross the harbour.

Our destination that night was Islington Bay at Rangitoto Island. Its not a particularly nice bay but is well sheltered and has good holding for the anchor with the bottom being thick mud. We arrived at about 10PM so apart from the 2 other yachts in the bay there was absolutely nothing to see. The water was like glass and we had a very calm and still though cold night. This was good as Shizuka is not a particularly good sailor and is prone to seasickness or, as she puts it, "shipsick" .

Underway. 6.5 Knots

 Friday morning was bright and clear and we ate breakfast overlooking the spectacular Rangitoto. This island is a dormant volcano that rises 260 metres and sits slap bang in the middle of the Auckland Harbour entrance. It's a huge symmetrical  lump of black basalt and scoria and is an Auckland icon. It's completely undeveloped and is covered in native forest. Right next to it and joined to it by a causeway is Motutapu island. This island is a lot older than Rangitoto and is a complete contrast having no forest at all. By 9.30AM we were underway and heading north to Kawau Island. The wind picked up a bit and we blasted through the Rakino channel at 7 knots. At one point I caught sight of a dark object leaping out of the water beside the boat. At this speed that could only be one thing. A few seconds later it happened again and this time I could clearly see what is was. We were being visited by dolphins. I have seen them before while sailing and they are an amazing sight riding the bow wave of boats. Shizuka has never seen this sight however so I told her to go out onto the deck and look over the side. A few seconds later she was jumping up and down in delight and snapping away with her camera. There were about 10 dolphins swimming along and leaping out of the water. This went on for about 20 minutes so she was treated to a good show.

Dolphins. Rakino Channel

 We made it into Bon Accord harbour at Kawau and had another very still peaceful night. By midnight he water was like a sheet of glass and as there was no moon bio-luminescence was incredible. It was like an underwater fireworks shows whenever anything moved in the water. Saturday morning brought some light showers and a fresh breeze so we sailed all the way down to Waiheke Island.
Waiheke is the most developed island in the Gulf and many people commute from here to Auckland CBD which is a 35 minute trip on the high speed ferry. There are many expensive houses here and the island likes to market itself as sophisticated and arty. Signs of this are everywhere and range from the hobby vineyards to giant corrugated iron sculptures on the hills above the ferry port. There are also some nice white sandy beaches and the water is clean and clear. Waiheke is very popular with daytrippers and tourists but I really don't care for the place. The place just seems too pretentious to me and the anchorages are more crowded than the other islands. During our night here we were kept awake by a neighbouring powerboat which was pretending to be a floating nightclub. I prefer the less trendy islands further north.

Navigating. Kawau island.

By Sunday morning we were running short on food so we set a course for home. It was another beautiful day and there was lots of traffic in the harbour. For some reason the self steering on this boat won't hold a course and steers the boat round and round in circles but everything else works well. Apart from the nights being cold this was a good midwinter trip.

The Hauraki Gulf is full of beautiful islands, some inhabited, some not and is one of the best points of living here. Most of these island are designated as national parks and development is tightly controlled. While I agree in principle with the park idea, I do question the way that some of the islands are off limits to visitors. The Department of Conservation is in charge of this area and no doubt does much good work here. It seems to me that it gets bigger and more powerful every year and is gaining control of ever increasing amounts of land. Once a piece of land comes under DoC control there will be no further development allowed and DoC staff will decide who can and can't go there. Some of the people who work for the department are eliteist greenies and have their own agendas and pet projects which often involve barring public access to these areas. Rangitoto is a case in point. There is a small number of  beach houses on the island that were built many years ago. The impact of these houses is low and they create few problems. When the island came under DoC control the owners of these houses were told that they could continue to use them but could not resell them or transfer them to anybody else. Therefore, when the owner dies the house will become the property of DoC. Effectively, they have confiscated these houses that have, in some cases, been in the family for generations. Some of the other islands have been designated as bird sanctuaries and landing is only permitted to approved people. The impression I get from DoC staff is that they feel that the conservation estate is an exclusive club for greenies, native bird experts and eco scientists and that the general public needs to be kept away and prohibited from comming into it. The world needs a balance between development and conservation. In the Hauraki Gulf Marine park the scales are tilted too far.

Onetangi Bay. Waiheke Island.

Auckland Approaches.