The era of steam is returning to Northland, with trips on Kawakawa's vintage railway to be joined this summer by steamboat excursions between Opua and Paihia.
The return of the 10-metre steamboat Eliza Hobson - until recently a familiar sight on the Kerikeri River - is only the start of a grander project that could involve the steam railway linking up with a much bigger, century-old steam ferry plying the waters of the Bay of Islands.
The first step in the plan involved bringing the 15-year-old Eliza Hobson back into survey, the maritime equivalent of a warrant of fitness.
To that end volunteers have been working on the kauri steamboat at Ashby's Boatyard in Opua, repairing cooling pipes, replacing the stem post, rebuilding the mast and repainting the hull.
The Eliza Hobson was to be relaunched today and for the rest of the month will star in a TV series being filmed in the Bay of Islands and due to screen next year.
Spokesman John Clode said the plan was to use the Eliza Hobson to run steamboat trips between Paihia and Opua during the summer.
The privately owned boat would be operated by the newly founded Northern Steamship Charitable Trust, with the income used to pay for the restoration of the Minerva - a 101-year-old steam ferry originally built to shuttle passengers between Auckland's Queen St wharf and Howick.
Mr Clode said the Eliza Hobson's trips would be a precursor of what the Minerva would do once restored.
The key difference was size, with the Eliza Hobson licensed for 14 passengers while the Minerva would take up to 150.
"We need an income stream for the restoration," Mr Clode said. "What could be better than using a little steamboat to fix a big steamboat?"
The trust was holding discussions with Fullers, which had made a "marvellous offer" to handle the Eliza Hobson's ticketing and promotion, and was forging links with the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway.
"The two are absolutely made for each other," Mr Clode said.
The dream is that once the railway reaches the Colenso Triangle, site of a future railway terminus and wharf at Opua, rail passengers would be able to board the Minerva for a tour of the Bay's historic sites, such as Russell, Marsden Cross and the Kerikeri Basin.
The Eliza Hobson was built in 1996 in Warkworth and named after the wife of William Hobson, the first Governor of New Zealand. It was initially based at the Maritime Museum in Auckland, then ran steam trips up the Kerikeri River from 2003 until 2010.