Camomile anchored in Coralie Bay with Motutaupiri headland behind

We found another piece of Kiwi Paradise as we entered Coralie Bay in the Mercury Islands, it was the best anchorage we have found in NZ so far.  We had sailed from beautiful Little Bay first thing on the 24^th January and our position was

and the view from the top

36º 36.3 south

175º 47.5 east

These islands are so named because Captain Cook was nearby when he observed the transit of Mercury which located New Zealands position accurately for the first time. 

We went ashore and walked up the Motutaupiri headland that we passed on our way in, it gave astounding views of Camomile in the middle of the anchorage.

View of the beach from the cockpit

The next day we walked around to the headland on the other side. 

View to the other side of the island

As this was higher we were also able to get a superb view across to the other side of the island, the middle is very narrow. 

View across to the entrance

Beautiful rocks outside the entrance

Te Koru bay, the next bay along, had some wonderful rock pools to explore.  The beach was deserted….

Te Koru bay

Beautiful clear water in Te Koru bay

The White Cliffs of Mercury

The White cliffs outside of the bay were higher and whiter than the White cliffs of Dover.

We needed to keep travelling south while the wind was coming from the north so we left the next day. 

Sailing through the Mercury Islands

Sailing through the islands on a clear sunny day was amazing.  We had an overnight  stop in Tairua to stock up on provisions before continuing on to Tuhua (Mayor) island the next day.  Bill will take up the story from here.