It's scattered with a string of islands, from the sanctuary of Tiritiri Matangi to bustling Waiheke Island and dormant Rangitoto. The gulf offers a network of kayaking opportunities, including crossing the main shipping channel from the mainland to Rangitoto. But if you don't have the courage to take on an ocean-going behemoth, there are many safer inlets to explore.
My favourites: Motions Creek that leads up to Auckland Zoo or the waterways and old portage routes that burrow deep into the west and north of the region. Lucas Creek, behind Albany, is easily navigable from the wharf west of the village, offering a sheltered paddle into the more open gulf or deep into the quietness and secret nooks of Albany. The creek is bound with mangroves but is surprisingly wide in places - it was a key cargo route when Auckland was young.
Or put in at Okura and head west. These tidal creeks are a buffet of delights for the many seabirds and creatures that rely on the bounty the tides bring. But even as you thrill at these unspoiled hidden gems of our gulf, mourn at how precarious the future of these glorious inlets are, constantly at risk from planned intense residential development.
If you have your own kayak you can put in almost every where - but always, always wear a lifejacket. Plenty of places hire kayaks out from about $15 a half hour.
SAILING
Pull the cunningham! The car is too loose! Cleat it, cleat it!
I end up on the almost perpendicular, slippery deck on a yacht, with a man I've never met before, who is speaking a language I've never heard before, simply by knocking on the door of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and saying, "please, can I go sailing?" And they say "absolutely" and hand me a lifejacket. Every Friday night the squadron has a "rum race" - no prizes for guessing the prize - and you can show up and join a crew and be a yachtie.
I was one of five, plus the skipper, who stepped aboard an MRX Farr yacht designed for racing. The squadron has a fleet of about a dozen of these boats, usually owned by syndicates, sponsored by corporates and are designed to give an easy entry-level introduction to sailing.
The skipper, Gary, takes us - me, a pair of French visitors and two Kiwi blokes - through what to do if someone falls overboard, where to sit when, and what to do and when. He tells me to sit in the middle of the boat and learn what I can. Gary is unflappable as he steers the yacht out of Westhaven and into the harbour, telling the other sailors to "pull it tight", "not so much" or "a little more".
The French woman has clearly done this before: winding up ropes and releasing them to catch just the right amount of breeze. I act as ballast, clinging on to the size of the yacht as we heel out into the harbour.
As we prepare to cross the starter line, which I can't actually see, a cold squall steals our visibility. Gary reassures us it will get better once the rain clears. I swing from one side of the boat to the other as we slice through heaving sea and impossible angles while the young 'uns cleat and haul . We don't win the race, although we do earn a bottle of rum for our efforts.
To join a crew at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on a Friday evening, email:
reception@rnzys.org.nz FERRIES
When you have visitors from out of town the best way to show off the Gulf is to hop on the ferries.
Ferries go as far as Coromandel once a week and sail to Waiheke 33 times a day.
With the offer of a wine at the end of the journey to Waiheke, the cousins from Christchurch happily pay their $38 return fare.
The ferries are essentially for commuters - they crisscross the harbour from Birkenhead, Devonport, Waiheke, Half Moon Bay and Gulf Harbour throughout the day - but on a Sunday morning most passengers are tourists with a hankering for a chilled Waiheke white.
Auckland terminal to Matiatia Bay takes 40 minutes but at every plunge of the bow there is something lovely to admire.
Even the moving container wharves gain an added interest when seen from the top deck of a catamaran. The towers of Auckland commerce recede and we glide past the ostentatious wealth displayed in the clifftop mansions of Mission Bay until Rangitoto looms green and majestic on the left.
Before we know it the boat slows, its nose dipping to an even keel to ease into the dock at Matiatia.
Fullers Ferries travel half-hourly from 5.30am weekdays and from 8am on weekends.
Adult fares: $28 one way, $38 return; children: $12 one day, $20 return.
fullers.co.nz
