Mana Island is a Scientific Reserve managed by the Department of Conservation. The general public are welcome to visit the island without a permit between 8am and 5.00pm. Access may be made only in the bay between the old woolshed and the wharf. Boats must remain offshore after visitors have landed. Dinghies may be pulled up the beach after transporting passengers from their boat.
We have booked a local charter boat operator who can take 30 people per trip. The cost will be $30 each if the boat is full. Normally there is a maximum of just two full boatloads permitted per day. The trip over takes about 20-30 mins. The boat will be leaving from Mana marina (see boat departure coordinates). The trip is happening on Saturday 5 September. The first boat will depart soon after 8am so everyone booked on this boat (see list in announcement) needs to be there by 8am at the latest. The second boat will depart around 8.45am so please be at the meeting place by 8.30am. We wont be waiting too long for stragglers. The first boat will depart from Mana Island at 3pm and be back at Mana wharf (Plimmerton) by 3.30pm. The second boat trip will depart before 4pm.This allows 6-7 hours on the island. Enough time for people to locate all the hidden caches, socialise and participate in the CITO event run during the afternoon.
IMPORTANT POINT - if the weather is too rough for the boat to get out to Mana Island on the 5 Sept, then the trip will be called off by the boat operator. This is the only reason for cancelling the trip. We have booked a back-up weekend of Saturday 12 September if the trip is cancelled on 5 Sept. Once again if you can make it on the 5 Sept but not 12 Sept, then you will need to find someone to take your place on the boat.
Mana Island has great views back towards Wellington and south towards Cook Strait and the South Island. It is full of interesting things to see (historic buildings, native wildlife such as takahe, parakeets, whiteheads, robins, bellbird and brown teal. The caches are all placed near the existing track network. The climb up to the top of the island requires a moderate level of fitness.
Allow for all weather conditions (wind, rain, sunshine) by bringing raincoats, warm clothing, sunhat and sunscreen, woollen hat and good hiking footwear. Please ensure all clothing and footwear is cleaned and free of dirt and seeds. Make sure daypacks are emptied and then filled on the morning of departure to prevent any stowaway pests getting to Mana Island. Bring your own food (lunch, snacks) and a water bottle. There is drinking water available on the island to top up. Remember its a T5 cache so be prepared for a lumpy boat trip on some days.
