Lagoon Bay is nicely tucked on the inside of the harbour. It's
deep indentation into the peninsula shelters it from almost all
weather. It seems to have it's own micro-climate. The campground by
the woolshed is ideally situated, with the lagoon itself behind.
The dynamics of the lagoon and bay can be observed in real time as
are at full whim of the tides.
The only two buildings in the bay are Vine House, and the
woolshed. These were designed and built by Ron Vine in 1952 for his
family and farm. Together with other structures and fencing, these
provide physical evidence of the skills and experience gained by
Vine during his occupation of the farm in many of his practical
articles in The New Zealand Farmer. One such article
entitled 'Building On Foreshore' (1951) featured a photograph of
concrete blocks being made on the beach. The scene was 'a coastal
farm in the Warkworth district, Northland, where a woolshed was
being built at the very edge of the grass, almost on the beach'.
This was the woolshed, which still stands by the beach, some
distance from the house. It features a base of handmade concreate
blocks with timber construction above. The blocks themselves were
made from sand and shell.
Since 2002,
Vine House has been restored by the Auckland Regional Council
with help from Auckland Canoe Club. It is now available for booking
to public. If you are passing by on the last weekend of the month,
you may very well find me there relaxing or hammering a nail.
The cache is a 1.75 lt sistema container, painted black.
(If you're keen, it is possible to walk around the coast from
Martins Bay at lowest tide, taking about 2 hours. Although you will
probably have to stay the night at the campground or at Vine House
or Big Bay cottage before making the trip back).