Kaiaraara Bay

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sun 15 Nov 2020 04:03

Position: 36 11.02 S  175 21.74 E
At anchor Kaiawaara Bay, Great Barrier Island
Wind: W F2. Sea slight. Swell nil. Weather: Sunny
Day’s run: 3 nm

Kiwiriki Bay is a beautiful anchorage and we had found a nice little cove with a satisfactory beach to swim in but, on the down side, there was nowhere one could get ashore to go for a walk and the beach was only satisfactory for swimming at high water. With high water getting later in the day and feeling the need for a leg stretch, this morning we decided we would move to somewhere where we could go for a bit of a hike. To this end we weighed anchor at 1300 and motored a short distance around a headland to get into Kaiawaara Bay immediately to the north of Kiwiriki. Here we dropped anchor, once again in about nine meters of water (the shoreline is pretty steep too in most of these bays). Once Sylph had her cable, we rowed ashore to a campsite on the bay’s southern shore. We dragged the dinghy up the shallow inclining sandflat, set the  dinghy’s anchor, then donned our hiking shoes for a 35 minute walk to Kaiawaara hut, which turned out to be a very well appointed camping hut located on Kaiawaara stream. A suspension bridge crossed over the its clear-running waters and from the bridge’s span we surveyed the surrounds and located a path down to an inviting pool. Ever modest, we changed into our swimming togs and Kate was the first to brave its refreshing chill waters.

Back on board we are clean and refreshed, settling in for another relaxing evening. Tomorrow we might aim for a longer hike.

All is well.