Isolated beauty

By ANGIE BELCHER


Tuhua, or Mayor Island as it is also known, sits on the horizon like a loaf of freshly baked bread. Those who have visited it agree that it is one of the Bay of Plenty's great coastal treasures. Difficulty accessing the island only heightens its mystique.

There are no fast cats or hydrofoils to Tuhua. If you're lucky, you can catch a ride with an obliging skipper or a chartered fishing boat.

Landing on the island is an event in itself. There are no landing jetties or commercial wharfs. The deep-water bay allows visiting boats to nudge themselves against a shelf of sand. A plank, wedged at the bow, drops steeply until it rests in a few centimetres of water. Visitors take off their footwear, roll up trousers and skirts, and then gingerly walk the plank.

Disembarking is impossible during strong southerly or southeasterly winds and large swells. This has preserved the special nature of the island.

Tuhua lies 35km off Tauranga, a distance easily covered within an hour and a half by most charter boats. It has unique geographical and Maori history.

The island is the summit of an undersea volcano, which last erupted about 6000 years ago. Seams of shiny black obsidian can be seen etched across some of the island's sheer walls. This sharp volcanic glass was of great importance to the early Maori for cutting tools and weapons. It was widely traded and has been found at Maori occupation sights from Tiwai Pt in the South to the Kermadec Islands in the North.

This valuable commodity was one of the reasons the island soon had a settlement. However, its isolation and small population made it an easy target for raiding parties. In 1901 the last of the residents were transferred to the mainland.

It wasn't long before the rich pohutukawa forests and native bird population caused Tuhua to be recognised as a place of great importance. In 1913 the island was declared a wildlife sanctuary. Heavy gill-netting around the island by commercial fisherman during the late 70s severely affected fish stocks. The deep blue, clear waters prized by game fishermen and divers were soon depleted of the large schools of pelagic fish, which at times made the sea surface boil with life.

In 1993, a marine reserve was established on the north side of the island between Tumutu Pt and Turangi Pt, extending from the high-tide mark to one nautical mile offshore. Recovery is slow but regular surveys by Bay of Plenty marine studies students show that the fish life, like the bird life, is beginning to flourish.

A dive within the marine reserve is rewarding for novice and experienced divers. Speckled and moray eels can be seen winding their way among rocks and swaying kelp, and colourful parrot fish, in their rugby-stripe colours, hang around inquisitively, undisturbed by divers' bubbles.

Tuhua is one of the few places in the world where the beautiful paper nautilus (Argonauta nodosa) are washed into the bay to shed their egg cases. This phenomenon takes place only when the tide, moon and weather are in sync. Thousands of fragile white egg cases, many with the opal-sheened nautilus still inside, litter the shallow lip of sand around South East Bay and lie scattered across the sand.

Visitors who arrive at the right time scramble to collect undamaged egg cases, transporting them back to the mainland to take pride of place on the mantelpiece. Any remaining shells will be destroyed by the next tide or swell.

Tuhua deserves protection. Those who make the effort to get there are privileged.



GETTING THERE

Tuhua Island can be reached by private vessel or charter boat. Landing is weather-dependent.

Visitors should be prepared to stay over longer than planned as rough weather may delay their return.

Charter boats travel to Tuhua subject to demand or by arrangement.

Contact: Tauranga Marine Charters (07) 5526283, email: tmc@xtra.co.nz

Tuhua is a privately owned island administered by a Trust Board. All visitors are charged a $5 landing fee.

WHERE TO STAY

Basic bunk cabins and a campground are in Opo Bay (South East Bay).

A cooking shelter, barbecues, toilet blocks and showers are available. What you should take You need sleeping bags/linen, food, cooking equipment, lights. There is no power, but a diesel generator runs at set times, morning and evening. There are no electrical sockets. Drinking and cooking water is available from marked taps. Water is supplied from a bore but is not suitable to drink.

WHAT IT COSTS

Cabins $10 a person, Camping $5 a person. For bookings and other details, contact the caretaker, Keith Ainsly, ph (07) 579 5655. Diving Tuhua The Mt Maunganui Dive Club. Phone club captain Russ Hawkins, (07) 5755986.

Dive HQ, ph (07) 578 4050, email info@diveshop.co.nz

Adventure Education, ph (07) 571 3191.