Activities

Action Weekend

New Zealand is renowned for its outdoor lifestyle and for those visitors who are looking for the opportunity o share the experience, Doubtless Bay offers plenty of variety.

The region’s warm and temperate climate allows year-round recreational activity, whether it be chasing world-record sized gamefish, diving the reefs and rocky outcrops, or surfing the Pacific rollers.

Perhaps shore-based action is more to your taste in which case you have the choice of international class golf courses, claybird shooting, or off-road beach and hillside safaris.

Here are some suggestions:

aquatic activity

Fishing

Trailer boat-owners will be impressed with the selection of launching facilities. Within Mangonui Harbour itself Mill Bay offers an all-weather, all-tide concrete ramp with a floating pontoon, alternatively Hihi also provides a harbour facing ramp. Hihi is also one of many beach-launch locations dotted all around Doubtless Bay. Vehicles are permitted onto Coopers Beach for boat launching and retrieval, and the whole of the extensive Tokerau Beach also allows vehicular access. The Taipa Boat ramp also boasts extensive parking facilities an access to the bay via the Taipa river estuary.

The whole of Doubtless Bay provides rich fishing grounds, with snapper, kingfish, kahawai, tarakihi and gurnard being available during most seasons. The marine charts will highlight the many reefs and rocky outcrops favoured by some anglers, but drift-fishing anywhere within the bay is usually productive.

For the land-based angler, the Mangonui Wharf is legendary for its Kingfish, plentiful kahawai and John Dory. Great for the kids too because the bait fish are abundant, and snapper are also caught frequently on the incoming tide. Doubtless Bay also provides fantastic rock fishing, and beach fishing for kite & kontiki style long-lining. Check out the seemingly endless Tokerau Beach when the breezes are offshore.

If you are looking for the bigger pelagic species, the 100m line passes close to the outer reaches of the Bay, and beyond here you can chase billfish, shark and tuna in the blue water. The season extends from Late December to mid-April (sometimes longer depending on weather conditions), the winter fisher may also be rewarded with broadbill swordfish and deep-water hapuka, bluenose and gemfish.

Doubtless Bay is also home to a selection of charter boats catering for all types of fishing. In addition a number of offshore gamefishing boats base are based at Mangonui when they fish the incredibly rich 3 Kings fishery during the late summer months.

There are a number of fishing charter operators, including:

Diving

Doubtless Bay and the immediate coastline, both to the North and South, provides spectacular diving, equal to - or in some cases - surpassing the Poor Nights Island experience. The East Coast conditions are generally more settled than the West Coast.

Mill Bay and Taipa Point both have excellent facilities for launching and retrieval with good car and trailer parking and there is also a lauching area off the beach in Hihi in the South of the Bay. To the North, on the Karikari Peninsula, there are three launching points in Rangiputa, Perihipe Beach and Matai Bay. Good diving conditions exist within five to ten minutes from most launching sites - however for more extreme diving you might want to travel a little further to our outer destinations.

Doubtless Bay is renowned for its Pinnacle Dives and has some of the most accessible beach dives in NZ. Brodies Creek, Knuckle Point, Fairway Reef, Albert Reef, Wash Rock and a host of other sites are highly recommended for the advanced diver. Pacific coral outcrops can be found off Knuckle Point and Wash Rock provides large caves and caverns teeming with fish life.

You can drift dive with the tidal flow along the eastern cliffs of Bergan Point or take a night dive at McGreggors Reef. No matter where you decide to anchor, you are bound to have an enjoyable time.

All diving is weather dependant. Doubtless Bay, because of its crescent shape, can provide sheltered diving in most winds (you can even dive the cliff faces from Brodies Creek to Knuckle Point in a Northerly). Visibility can be up to 40m on a good day with average conditions usually between 10 and 20m. Hunter-gatherers will no doubt be rewarded with a good feed of crayfish found in most coastal areas and scallops found off the northerly beaches on the Karikari Peninsula.

Tank fills are available from Coopers Beach Sports, Shell Taipa and from Reel Rods, A to Z Diving and the Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 Holiday Park on the Karikari Peninsula. A to Z Diving is a specialist Dive Centre in Whatuwhiwhi that caters for all diving needs whilst Coopers Beach Sports also provides dive equipment hire at reasonable rates. Enjoy!

Certified diving instruction and dive guides:

Also contact Far North Recreational Dive Club for more information.

Surfing

Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, there’s plenty of surf spots, within an easy drive of Doubtless Bay. For the East Coast spots, look for swells from North through to South East, and off shore winds are North West through West as far as South East. If these conditions aren’t on, look to the West Coast, which is only 45 minutes from Doubtless Bay.

Here are some of the spots:

Doubtless Bay
On big swells all of the Doubtless Bay beaches (Coopers, Cable Bay, Taipa, and Tokerau) are worth checking out, and frequently when everywhere else is out of control, these are the places to go for. At Tokerau, you can get stand up paddle board lessons with Gary Butt of Water Cowboys (mob: 0273 791508 or email: tokeraubeachboys@gmail.com).

Taupo Bay
30 kms to the South, is a beautiful beach facing NE. It has good beach breaks and a rocky point break at the South end. This is also where you can get surf lessons from Tim at Isobarsurf Surf School (mob: 021 2606 945 or tim@isobarsurf.co.nz).

Matauri Bay
Further South, (about 60kms from the Bay) is a sandy ESE facing beach which offers another option to suit the conditions (SE swell or a big N Easterly, with NW offshore winds).

Henderson and Rarawa Bays
To the north and further afield are these well known East Coast beach breaks.

West Coast
There is all of the Ninety Mile Beach to explore, and at the bottom of 90 Mile is the famous Shipwreck Bay (about 60kms). This is not just one Bay. There are a number of spots all around the rocky points. They are predominantly left-breaking, and facing NW around to NE, and need big SW swells to wrap around the points. Low tide is the time to be there.

And for Surfing Spectators…
If all you want is to look, on good days Shipwreck Bay offers grand stand views of world class surfing. For spectators “Shippies” can’t be beaten.

Kitesurfing

Doubtless Bay
The Doubtless Bay area provides an amazing base to learn or enjoy kitesurfing. Together with Karikari Peninsula on the bay’s western side, there are beaches to cover any wind direction and conditions to suit most tastes and levels.

Karikari Peninsula
Rangiputa (Rangaunu Harbour)
Waist-deep flat water great for learning and progressing as well and superb all round riding. Glass flat water behind sandbars is super sweet.
Wind direction: anything westerly from SSW to NNW. Airzone Kitesurfing School has direct access to the waist deep water for teaching, otherwise walk onto the beach from Gillies Road by Reef Lodge, or the boat ramp at Rangiputa.

Tokerau Beach
Curving 18km long beach with small waves at the northern end near Whatuwhiwhi, getting bigger at the southern end for some wave riding accessed via Ramp Road. Good access off Melissa Road via Simon Urlich Road by Tokerau Beach Motor Camp.
Wind direction: anything easterly - NE (at southern end) SE (middle to northern end)

Puwheke
Beautiful untouched beach, only for experts. Accessed via metal road, can have good waves, often a little turbulent and a bit wild.
Wind direction: N

Rest of Doubtless Bay

Taipa
Good in northerly winds, though have to be careful of NW and NE as headlands can cause wind shadows. Steeply sloping beach with some surf. Can be great for wave riding if the surf’s up. Not so much space at high tide. Taipa Bay resort and Café right opposite the beach. Wind direction: N

Outside Doubtless Bay

90 Mile Beach
As you can imagine, you can do some massive downwinders north to south or south to north. For experienced riders only, and support vehicles be aware of tide times – you don’t want to get stuck on the beach!

For forecasts check out Windguru and look at Rangiputa or Tokerau Beach. For daily information and advice contact Airzone Kitesurfing School on 09 408 7129 or email lessons@kitesurfnz.com.

Land-based Activity

Golf

The Whangaroa Golf Course situated just a few kilometers south of Mangonui village on SH10 is an enjoyable par 70, eighteen-hole country course. Clubs, trundlers and Carts are available for hire and the hireage rates and green fees are set at very acceptable levels so that visitors are welcome.

Alternatively, the challenging and internationally renowned golf course at the Carrington Resort is situated on the Karikari peninsula just 30 minutes drive from the village.

4-Wheel Driving

Probably one of the most enjoyable trips is the 90 Mile Beach run from Ahipara to Te Paki Stream. The trip up the stream to the sand dunes is certainly a wonderful experience. Take a bucket for gathering Tuatua and a boogie board to surf the sand dunes – great fun! Keep track of the tide times. Use State Highway 1 as an alternative route either to or from.

South of Ahipara, up in the gum fields there are two tracks. The first, cutting off to the right at the top of the hill is called the Crunchie Trail. This is a level 9 track through the scrub and sand dunes to the beach. Check the tides! This track must be attempted on a falling tide because there is no way back. The trip continues North around Turoa Point back to Shipwreck Bay. A minimum of two vehicles (with winches) is recommended.

An alternative is to turn South once you hit the beach and travel South to the Herekino Harbour. At this point, a track through the pine forest brings the weary traveler out onto the Herekino - Ahipara highway. WARNING!… This journey is not for the faint hearted! Beware, quicksand!

Tramping & Bush walks

There are many excellent bush walks and tramps suited to all levels of fitness and competence. It is recommended that you check our Walking page, any of the tramping websites listed on the internet or ask at the Doubtless Bay Information Centre.


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