Gulf Harbour 1. Pre-Trip Planning, Information, and Initial Impression of Gulf Harbour

Gulf Harbour On-site experience audit 1. Pre-trip planning, information, and initial impression of Gulf Harbour Figure 1.0: Google map of Gulf Harbour sub-region On planning a trip to the Gulf Harbour from Central Auckland the initial general impression I had was that the local area revolves around marine based tourism; in particular boating, fishing, and other marine or beach based activities, especially considering it was discovered that the Gulf Harbour has one of New Zealand’s largest marinas. It was important to consider when pre-planning the trip to establish where the Gulf Harbour sub-region was located (outlined in figure 1.0 above, which also included the Army Bay sub-region, between Gulf Harbour and Shakespear Regional Park). Additionally, I had to look at how I was going to get there, how I planned to get around the general area, and what were the important points of interest within the local area i.e. what was there to see and do as a visitor who was there for a day. The points of interest were noted (although there did not appear to be many), and it was decided that while navigating the Gulf Harbour area this would be done using a mixture of public transport means i.e. bus, and by foot, so that as a visitor I could experience the region from the perspective of a tourist who was not driving. 2. Getting there Figure: 2.0: Gulf Harbour ferry brochure The most direct method of getting to the Gulf Harbour area from the Auckland City area is by ferry service. Figure 2.0 above shows the ferry service brochure which was collected from the Auckland waterfront ferry terminal. The brochure shows the timetable for the Gulf Harbour ferry services to and from the Auckland City Marina, a map of the Gulf Harbour area which pinpoints the route of the 988 bus service (which is the primary bus service in the Gulf Harbour sub-region), and a map of the Auckland City area which pinpoints the location of the pier which the ferry service departs from. Note there is no weekend service to/from the Gulf Harbour from Auckland City via ferry so trips by ferry from Auckland City must be done during weekdays. Additionally, on the back of the brochure are contact details for Auckland Transport and 360 Discovery (which operates the ferry service) which can be contacted for further information. The fare costs were available on both the Auckland Transport and 360 Discovery websites and from the ticket desk at the Auckland City ferry terminal building. The standard fare for an adult each way is $15.00, however as I opted to use a AT Hop Card, the fare was reduced to $11.20 each way (purchase of tickets from the ticket desk are necessary for using the ferry prior to boarding for visitors not using a AT Hop Card). 3. The trip to Gulf Harbour I caught the first Gulf Harbour ferry service of the day which departed at 7:30am and the trip took approximately 50 minutes. Unfortunately this trip was taken on a day when it was very grey/cloudy and overcast during the morning so was not the best for taking photos. Travellers taking the ferry service though would typically be able to experience views of the East Coast Bay and Lower Hibiscus Coast coastline, Rangitoto Island (in which the ferry service gets relatively close to the coastline which gave almost a ‘Jurassic Park’ type feel to the experience), and a myriad of various sea birds; as shown below in figures 3.0 - 3.1. Figure 3.0: Rangitoto Island Figure 3.1: East Coast Bays Coast and sea birds. On the ferry service itself, general facilities/services aboard included a fully licensed café (figure 3.2 below), Wi-Fi, power points, luggage racks, bike racks, and toilets. It was noted however, that although it states on the 360 Discovery website that the vessels tend to be fully wheelchair accessible, the door on the ferry service appeared to not be wide enough to allow for most wheelchairs to pass though. Furthermore, there was a one step drop from outside the ferry to inside the ferry (which I almost tripped over a couple of times as it was poorly marked to watch your step) which would require a ramp for any passengers who were able to pass through the door to safely navigate inside (it would also make it tricky for other elderly passengers with limited mobility). Moreover, the only promotional information around the Hibiscus Coast area was the sign as seen in front of the café advertising ferry services to the Coromandel Peninsula, which is technically not even in our the Hibiscus Coast region anyway. At very least some more signage on places or things to see within the Hibiscus Coast/Gulf Harbour area would be useful as would a selection of some brochures which would be simplistic to have available. Figures 3.2: Standard ferry service setting and licensed café 4. Arriving at Gulf Harbour Arriving at the Gulf Harbour marina the view confirmed my general impressions during my pre-trip planning (from the web audit) i.e. there were thousands of boats in the harbour, which would severely place limitations on any future plans for Gulf Harbour ferry service expansion (as shown in figure 4.0 below). Moreover, there was a peninsula of rocks which protruded all the way out into the bay which also severely limited boat movement in the harbour (shown in figure 4.1 below) and could also be considered as a marine based hazard for boats/ferry services in the marina. I arrived during a low tide period so these rocks would be much less visible during high tide. Figure 4.0: Gulf Harbour Marina boats Figure 4.1: Peninsula of rocks jutting out into bay On arriving at the terminal, I noted the large sign next to the ferry service pier that notified visitors that Gulf Harbour was also a biosecurity checkpoint for those wishing to travel from here via ferry to Tiritiri Matangi Island, which is a wildlife sanctuary so therefore has strict conditions on entering regarding foreign objects (shown in figure 4.2 below). Figure 4.2: Gulf Harbour ferry terminal and biosecurity checkpoint sign The initial marina general area was very green with lush green grass in abundance and numerous native trees and plants surrounding the grassy areas. There was plenty of parking available both in parking spots and on the neighbouring grass areas. There was also a small beach which consisted of both sandy and rocky areas (which on guess is only visible during low tide which it was at the time of visit), and a river inlet at the end of the beach running inland from the ocean which was outlined by lush native trees and plants and ran along under a under two bridges which lead to walking trails, which I did not have time to explore. These specific details are displayed in figures 4.5 – 4.11 below. The river was also interrupted by a rubbish/sewage run off catchment pipe which caught all the rubbish and/or sewage/storm water run-off which had been collected in the river to prevent it entering the ocean/marina (as displayed in figures 4.3 & 4.4 below). However although this prevented ocean pollution which would be detrimental to the local ocean wildlife, it heavily polluted the side of the river opposite the ocean side of the catchment pipe which discoloured the water, was unattractive to look at, and stank like a sewage tank. Figure 4.3: Rubbish/sewage run off, catchment pipe Figure 4.4: River rubbish collected/stopped by catchment pipe Figure 4.5: Grassy area running up the middle of carparks leading to ticket office Figure 4.6: Beach by Gulf Harbour Marina Figure 4.7: Beach by Gulf Harbour Marina leading to river inlet Figure 4.8: Inlet river leading from Gulf Harbour ocean Figure 4.9: Inlet river leading from Gulf Harbour ocean Figure 4.10: Inlet river leading from Gulf Harbour ocean Figure 4.11: Bridge across inlet river leading from Gulf Harbour ocean to walk/cycle path 5. Gulf Harbour Marina The primary focus of the Gulf Harbour Marina area was around the marine industry. This was evident in the high volume of marine based commercial businesses/organisations, which included Gulf harbour Covers & Marine Interiors (focused on boats). Burnsco (focused on boat and fishing accessories, and other water sport accessories e.g. wakeboards, kayaks etc.), Gulf Group (marine brokers i.e. purchasing and selling boats), Windcraft (focuses on yacht investment), Gulf Harbour Rigging (yacht rigging and advisory services), ONE10 – Yacht Painting (marine painting, marine refits and touch ups), Brin Wilson Boat Builders (boat construction, maintenance and upkeep), Osmosis Solutions (focuses on protective coatings for boats), and several other commercial companies of which it was unclear what they offered but were definitely boat focused. In fact the only business located on the Gulf Harbour Marina which was not focused around the marine industry was the Ripples Café. Located at the end of the grassy area alongside the car parking area was a ferry ticket office/information centre as highlighted in figure 4.5 (above) and figures 5.0 & 5.1 (below). Figure 5.0: Gulf Harbour ferry ticket/information office Figure 5.1: Back of Gulf Harbour ferry ticket/information office This building sold ferry tickets on the Gulf Harbour and Tiritiri Matangi Island ferry services and provided time table brochures for other ferry services which might be of interest to visitors (departing from the Auckland City ferry terminals), and general information around Shakespear Park, and the sanctuary on Tiritiri Matangi Island (as displayed in figures 5.2 & 5.3 below.

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