The Bay of Islands is a playground for boaties and if you don't have your own boat you may think you're missing out a little bit. Help is at hand. There are some great charter operators that cater for every requirement.
Starting with the Hole in the Rock tours out
to Cape Brett you have options aplenty
from half-day morning or afternoon trips to full day trips with island stopovers.
These are run by both Fullers and Explore and if you only have a couple of hours
available then the Mac Attack runs a fast
boat out to the "Hole".These are motor
boats of course but you may prefer to sail
and you can do a day trip to the Islands.
These trips don't run out to the Hole in the
Rock but cruise the islands of the eastern
Bay of Islands.Most of the sailing trips depart
between 9:00am and 10:00am and return by
4:00pm. She's Lady, Carino NZ, Gunga, Lion
NZ, or R. Tucker Thompson all offer great
trips.You can take your pick depending on
the sort of yacht you would like to sail on.
Fishing is another great activity to explore
in the Bay. Trips range from four-hour
snapper fishing, six-hour kingfish trips to
being able to stay out all day out chasing
game fish. The snapper season starts in
October and runs all through the summer
months but in saying that, we have had a
great winter fishing season too.
Snapper fishing trips start at about $100.00,
Kingfishing trips normally run at $225.00,
and a quarter share fishing for marlin starts
at around $450.00. Spot X, Captain Bucko,
Blue Sea Charters and Earl Grey Fishing all
run daily trips through the summer and with a
little pre-booking most will run in the winter.
If you want to get out and stay in the islands
you have the choice of over night trips on
Ipipiri or Rock the Boat. There's not much
that's better in the world than to anchor up
in a sheltered bay in the evening time and
watch the sun go down to the sound of the
water gently lapping against the hull.
If being in the water is more your thing then
a diving or snorkeling trip is a fantastic way
to experience the fish life.We have two
world-class wrecks in the RainbowWarrior
and the Canterbury. The RainbowWarrior
was bombed in Auckland harbour by the
French government agents and now rests
in the Cavalli Islands just north of the Bay
of Islands. It has just been rated as one of
the top 10 dives in the world by the team
at The Lonely Planet. Paihia Dive run daily
trips for divers or snorkelers
You can also kayak, parasail, or jet ski. A great website for information on water activities in the Bay of Islands is www.bayofislandsinformation.co.nz
All of these trips cater for independent
travelers, so if you are on your own don't let it
hold you back. It's a great way to meet a few
kiwi locals, and other travelers.The shoreside
towns of the Bay of Islands are beautiful
but you need to get out on the water to really
experience the beautiful Bay of Islands.