Motukiore Carpark (Whangarei Heads) Traditional Cache
Motukiore Carpark (Whangarei Heads)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Just off the side of the road you will find a parking area over to Motukiore Island, a good place to start your walk is with a cache.
If you are here at high tide you will have to hop the fence to the golf course, otherwise the beach is a easy step too. Please keep rocks on top of the cache as I wouldn't want it to float away.
Motukiore Island, just a stone's throw outside Whangarei city, is a 5-ha recreation reserve with a fascinating history. It was both an important vantage point for Maori in prehistoric times, and a focus of early European industry in Whangarei Harbour.
Sitting in the middle of Parua Bay, Motukiore Island offers a perfect vantage point to enjoy scenic views of the Whangarei Harbour. Looking towards the open sea, you can admire the impressive Mount Manaia and Whangarei Heads on your left. Straight ahead, you can see the narrow entrance to Whangarei Harbour with Reotahi on the left and New Zealand’s only oil refinery at Marsden Point on the right.
Motukiore Island. Photo: Jonathan Carpenter.
View of Motukiore Island
Mature poutukawa trees are sprinkled amongst the grassy paddocks, and the birdlife is abundant around Motukiore Island. Terns and oystercatchers are frequent visitors.
Small secluded beaches invite you to stop and enjoy the tranquillity or to take a swim when the tide is in.
The island was purchased by the Crown for the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park in 1974. Since 1987 Motukiore has been managed by the Department of Conservation
Location
Motukiore Island is located in Parua Bay, approximately 8 km east of Whangarei, 400 m east of the end of Manganese Point.
Getting there
A sandbar provides access to Motukiore Island at low-tide. Photo: Jonathan Carpenter.
Low-tide access to Motukiore Island
On foot, you can access the island from Whangarei Heads Road (near the Parua Bay Golf Club) and the end of Manganese Point Road. Walk along the foreshore (45-60 min), and then across the sandbar, up to 3 hr either side of high tide.
You can easily sea-kayak to the island or visit the island by boat, but be aware of the tide, as the area around Motukiore, Manganese Point and the Golf Club are very shallow.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Onfr bs pbeny gerr fghzc
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures