New Zealand’s Bay of Islands is renowned as a summer destination. The North Island’s water wonderland, we spent a month boating The Bay of Islands. We loved anchoring in cozy bays, hiking uninhabited islands, and visiting historic towns. It’s a great place to visit by sailboat.
About New Zealand’s Bay of Islands
New Zealand’s Bay of Islands is both beautiful and an important historical area. Captain Cook stopped here on his South Pacific voyages and gave it it’s name. Also, the Bay of Islands was the first part of the country to be inhabited by Europeans. Maybe more importantly, it’s the site of the signing of the 1840 Treaty of Waitingi between the British and Maoris.
Currently, The Bay of Islands is known for beautiful beaches, clear water, and gorgeous scenery. The entire region is called “The Winterless North” because the weather never gets freezing like in other parts of the country. It’s New Zealand’s top cruising ground in the summer. We visited in autumn and fell in love with the region.
When we were there in April, we gravitated to the southern region, between Pahia in the northwest, Opua to the south, and Deep Water Cove to the northeast. It’s a pretty small radius but with a lot of bays and beaches in between.
Sailing The Bays
One of the best things about boating The Bay of Islands is proximity. Like sailing in The Virgin Islands; you can bop around on the boat for a few hours and stop at a different anchorage each evening. It’s different from the Caribbean in that the water temperature is quite low, around 19C, and the visibility is iffy. But sailing is quite nice, with winds in the teens much of the time.
The dolphins are not afraid of the cold water in New Zealand. One day while out sailing between bays, this pod visited.
Must Dos
If you are only in the Bay of Islands for a day or so, don’t miss:
Waitingi treaty grounds
This is New Zealand’s most important historical site and a must visit for everyone to Bay of Islands. With several buildings over 21 acres overlooking the bay, this is where the nation’s founding document was signed in 1840. When we visited, we went on a guided tour and watched a Maori performance, along with walking the grounds and visiting the museum. It takes at least three hours to do the site justice, time very well spent.
go hiking
One of our favorite things about cruising The Bay of Islands was the variety of hikes. Since it was too cold for watersports, we found ourselves anchoring where there were hiking trails. Good thing there were a lot!
Bay of Islands Marina
The hub for cruisers in The Bay of Islands is Bay of Islands Marina. It’s a full service facility with rows of docks, a haul out, gas dock, chandlers and boat repair services, and restaurants. We spent some time on the hard getting Go’s bottom cleaned and at the dock in Bay of Islands Marina where we plan to clear out of New Zealand.
Unfortunately, the marina is in Opua, which isn’t a big town. Opua is so remote that friends who spent the previous summer (2022-23) here didn’t think New Zealand had fresh produce. This is partly why we checked in to Whangarei for the convenience and access to supplies.
When you’re boating The Bay of Islands, you don’t want to be in a marina for too long! You want to be on the water. There is a big anchoring and mooring field just outside the marina, but it’s better further afield.
Towns in the Bay of Islands
The two main towns in the Southern Bay of islands are both on the mainland, but are easy to visit by boat. Both towns have ferry docks with lots of space for dinghies. Russell even has a fuel dock.
We’ve anchored outside both towns, and moved back and forth a few times when the wind changed and the other side offered better protection. There’s always activity on the water, with ferries carrying people back and forth, vacationers parasailing or kiting, or sailboats racing on the weekends. Every week or so a large cruise ship anchors out as well. It’s a busy place!
pahia
Pahia is the main town, the closest to the Treaty Grounds, with a big dock. It also offers a tourist office and lots of shops, bars, and restaurants. When in Pahia, go to Tipsy Oyster for their interesting tapas, and Bad Habits for cocktails and steaks.
russell
It’s a 10 minute passenger ferry from Pahia, or a car ferry from Opua to Russell, a cute Bay of Islands town. Russell is a great town to visit, with excellent hikes and restaurants. We loved Hone’s Garden for craft beer and pizza, and hiking to Flagstaff Hill and Tapeka Viewpoint.
kerikeri
Kerikeri is less than an hour inland drive from Opua, and somewhat accessible by water further north in The Bay of Islands. This is the “big town” of the region, the biggest town north of Whangarei, with supermarkets and big box stores. It also has some nice walking tracks and a winery.
Anchoring in The Bay of Islands
Outside of the towns are many options for anchorages, one of my favorite parts of boating The Bay of Islands. Many of the anchorages have decent holding in mud or sand. Also, they are relatively shallow (10-20feet) and in different locations so no matter the wind direction, there’s protection.
The beaches are beautiful but air temperatures hovered around the 60s in April. While we didn’t spend a lot of time on the beaches, many Kiwis were swimming, and in some places the water looked beautiful.
Aside from the marina and main towns, these are the anchorages we visited the most while boating The Bay of Islands.
Deep WATER cove
Deep Water Cove is located at the far eastern entrance to The Bay of Islands from the Pacific Ocean, pretty much the first anchorage upon entering. It’s best known for the hike to Cape Brett Lighthouse, a challenging uphill hike and one of our favorite New Zealand hikes. The Cove has room for only a few boats and it feels very remote, but it’s only 10 nautical miles from Russell.
urupukapuka island anchorages
The largest island in Bay of Islands, Urupukapuka is Departmant of Conservation land. It has campsites and hiking trails and regular ferries that drop off daytrippers. With a variety of bays for anchoring, it is one of my favorite places in Bay of Islands.
It has a lot to offer cruisers, including a daytime beach bar/restaurant. We loved spending time at the different anchorages.
Alternatively, stay in one anchorage like Paradise Bay or Otehei and dinghy or paddle to the others. It’s easy to get exercise either hiking or paddling.
The hiking is great, with lots of lookouts and access to different beaches. The sheep don’t hurt either! Herds and herds of them live on Urupukapuka so they’re always on or near the trails.
the motus
Another set of beautiful uninhabited islands in The Bay of Islands are tiny Motuarohia (also called Roberton Island) and larger Moturua. The islands feature a variety of well protected bays in a lovely atmosphere, and we returned a few times.
Both islands include interesting hikes and Maori and Captain Cook history. Moturua has a 4.5k loop hike which climbs up and down to several beaches, giving us a good workout for the short distance.
We’re glad we dedicated time for boating The Bay of Islands. We loved all the time we spent in New Zealand, and this was a memorable place. After months off the boat, it’s nice to be home on Go doing what we love.
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