Mayor Island, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Opo Bay
(Southeast Bay)
Overview of Opo (Southeast) Bay looking up the slopes of the main cone (Pre A lava shield (Houghton et al, 1992)) that was constructed by the Mayor Island volcano from the time it emerged from the sea, until the main caldera forming eruption (see Tekopua Flat). The highest point on the skyline being Tutaretare (trig) at 320m. Opo Bay is the only location on the island that any buildings are located. Formerly a Big Game Fishing club that attracted anglers, including such a notable as Zane Grey, landing on the island is now only by permission of the Maori owners (Tuhua Trust Board) and requires adherence to biosecurity protocols. Several charter companies run trips to the island from Tauranga. The DOC Tauranga Office provide a booking service for Tuhua accommodation. |
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Opo Bay is a safe haven for big boats, pausing due to rough conditions out at sea. Opo Bay affords perfect shelter in all weathers except for all too common south-easterly winds. Boat captains would normally sleep on their boats, with their passengers on shore. When a south-easterly blows in it has the might of the best a Pacific Ocean swell can deliver. If such a wind change happened overnight they would move their boats to Omapu (Western) or Oira (Northwest) Bays. |
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One of the last remaining sanctuaries of NZ Native Bush is on the slopes of the Mayor Island volcano. Last active about 500 - 1,000 years ago (see Tarewakoura) the bush has had limited modification since then. It is the biggest pohutakawa forest in New Zealand. It has also been a wildlife refuge for more than 50 years, and the island is home to nectar-feeding bellbirds and tui,
wood pigeons, morepork, fantails, kaka (brown parrot), grey warblers, waxeyes, kingfishers
and, harrier hawks, soaring on the thermals. |
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View of the main buildings of Opo Bay. When I spent time on the island there was only one full-time resident on the island by the name of "Bluey". He was responsible for the upkeep of the then very active Big Game Fishing Club which consisted of a club room, dining room and kitchen, with a toilet and shower block adjacent to a number of cabins. Now this area is under the control of the Tuhua Trust Board. |
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The only way to get off at the island is as this boat did, nose first onto the beach. Or in rougher conditions the boats anchor offshore and ferry passengers onto the beach. In the background is the pyroclastic deposits of the Opo Bay Tuff Cone mantling one of the Main Cone lava flows. |
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When the tide is high and the surf a bit tricky then the way ashore is by dinghy. |
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| I could not afford the cabins and I spent my nights in a tent (see under the tree) or in this un-electrified Trust's concrete block building at the north end of the beach. |
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In the southern wall of Opo Bay is these well bedded pyroclastic units that outline the Opo Bay Tuff Cone. It is one of the several parasitc cones that erupted on the flanks of the Mayor volcano prior to the caldera formation. |
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The sun set's in paradise. A nice calm night in Opo Bay. |
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