Whangamumu is one of Northland’s best hidden anchorages, with a narrow entrance, solid holding, and plenty to explore ashore.
A series built from real spots
A while back we asked readers a simple question. “Where’s your favourite place in New Zealand you can only reach by boat?” The replies came in quickly. This series comes straight from those recommendations. If you’ve got one, send it through.
Whangamumu Whaling Station was put forward by Boating New Zealand contributor Sarah Ell and backed up by reader Rob Neeley.
The approach
Whangamumu sits just south of Cape Brett (Bay of Islands) on a stretch of coast scattered with cliffs and broken headlands. The entrance is easy to miss, even when you’re looking for it.
Protection is good from most directions. The only real weakness is from northeast through east. If there is swell running, it finds its way in and the harbour begins to roll. Not dangerous, but uncomfortable. Outside of that, it is one of the more reliable anchorages along this stretch.
Anchoring
Once you’re through, the harbour opens quickly into a near circular basin. It feels cut off from the outside coast. You’re only a short run from the Bay of Islands, but you wouldn’t know it from inside.
Inside, anchoring is straightforward. Most boats sit in around five metres on sand and shell, with good holding. There is room to spread out.
Things to do
In settled weather, it is an easy dinghy run onto the beach near the old station. From there, you walk straight into the remains of the Whangamumu Whaling Station. This was a working site. Established in the late 1800s and expanded into a full processing station by 1910, it became Northland’s longest running whaling operation. It shut down by 1940, but enough remains to give a clear sense of how it once functioned.
Behind the beach, small creeks run up into the hills. Short walks lead to waterfalls, and longer tracks link back towards Cape Brett and Rawhiti.
You can just as easily fish or dive here as you can explore ashore.
It’s a proper anchorage. Well protected, easy to use, with something worth going ashore for. It still feels removed from the rest of the Bay of Islands, even on a busy weekend.
Once you’ve been in, you’ll likely go back.
Got a spot?
Coastal, on a lake, or on a river? We are building this series from reader recommendations. If you’ve got a spot you rate, somewhere you can only reach by boat and would go back to, send it through.
