Aotearoa - Coasting Around the Country Quiz

Answer: Pegasus Bay

Pegasus Bay was named after an early nineteenth century survey ship, the Pegasus. The Pegasus' survey was one of the first serious attempts to chart the coast of New Zealand "properly". The survey corrected a number of major and minor survey errors from James Cook's survey some 35 years earlier. One of the major errors that Cook made, and the Pegasus survey corrected, was establishing that Banks Peninula was, in fact, not an island, as Cook had suggested. Banks Peninsula was, incidentally, named after Joseph Banks, the naturalist who sailed with Cook.

Answer: Port Nicholson

Captain Cook first entered Port Nicholson in 1773, having failed to recognise the entrance as anything but a shallow bay on his previous voyages. The bay was named after John Nicholson, the then-Sydney Harbourmaster, in 1826. The entrance to Port Nicholson is partially obstructed by Barrett Reef, which has
claimed several ships over the years, most notably the Wanganella in 1947 and the Cook Strait ferry Wahine in 1968. Other than that it is probably one of the finest natural harbours in the world. Except for the wind, of course!

Answer: Jackson Bay

Crayfishing is still the main industry at Jackson Bay. It's a marvellous place to live ... except for the sandflies. It used to be a sleepy and very unbusy place, with just a few huts and caravans. However, the last time I was there coach loads of tourists infested the place! Hector's dolphins use the bay as a nursery because it's open but well-sheltered from the southerly swells.

Not a place to be handling a boat in a nor'wester, however.

Answer: Milford Sound

Milford Sound is the destination many tourists who travel to New Zealand are keen to see because of its spectacular (and often near-perpendicular) scenery. It has one of the diciest airports in the country, and most people arrive by car or bus. However, land access to Milford is via the Homer Tunnel from the Hollyford Valley and is often closed during winter due to snow and avalanche danger.

Answer: An earthquake

Despite being a very active area for earthquakes, Hawkes's Bay appeals to people who love its dry, warm climate. Its weather makes it one of the two most ideal areas of New Zealand for growing grapes and Hawke's Bay wines are famous the world over. Napier and Hastings are the two biggest towns on the bay and in fact run into each other these days. Napier was nearly flattened by the earthquake in 1931 and over 200 people died. Land rose out of the bay as a result of the earthquake and part of it is used as the local airport. Napier is known as the "Art Deco Capital" of New Zealand, because when the central business area of town was rebuilt, the art deco style of architecture was used for a lot of the new buildings.

Answer: Bay of Islands

The bay received its European name from that great explorer and cartographer, James Cook, in 1769. Much of the first thirty or forty years of European contact with the Maori occurred in the bay. Karorareka, the first "town" on the bay became a rip-roaring place of wild partying and every kind of vice.

It was also the site of some of the first "battles" in the Maori Wars in the later 1840s. The government abandoned it for Auckland at the first opportunity!

Answer: Te Waewae Bay

When we were kids, we'd hunt toheroa (a rather succulent shellfish) on Bluecliffs Beach at Te Waewae, digging madly in the sand to catch the elusive creatures. The whole of the bay is now a marine sanctuary, and I understand that toheroas can only be harvested for special Maori occasions.

Answer: South Taranaki Bight

The South Taranaki Bight is really just a curving coastline, but it has some very nice beaches and a place in Maori lore. The North Taranaki bight, to the north of New Plymouth, has been the scene of numerous gas and oil finds.

Answer: Aramoana

This was the ultimate tragedy. During a dispute with a neighbour, David Gray shot the neighbour dead. He then went on a rampage through Aramoana, shooting at anyone he saw including Stu Guthrie, the sergeant in charge of the local police station. He had a number of weapons and a lot of ammunition and could potentially have killed a far greater number of people than he did. Fortunately it appears that he was not being methodical so much as opportunistic and that he didn't really hunt for potential victims.

The massacre, as it became known, shocked and saddened the entire community.

Answer: Golden Bay

Tasman's ships appear to have been run by committee, and the incident resulted in a decision not to attempt to land in New Zealand again. The two ships sailed, with difficulty, up the western coast of the North Island without ever touching land. They then crossed the Tasman Sea again, heading back to Batavia in what is now Indonesia.

Answer: Wine making

In fact, the whole area is quite fertile. The bay also gives its name to the area surrounding the bay. Gisborne, the first New Zealand city to see the sun each day, sits on the northern edge of the bay and the surrounding countryside is famous for its wines, particularly chardonnay. Cook must have caught the local Maori on a very bad hair day because they were distinctly unfriendly ...

Answer: Hauraki Gulf

The Hauraki Gulf has been the training location for many of New Zealand's top yachtsmen and women. Relatively shallow and sheltered, it is a playground for the people of Auckland.

Answer: He doubted that a ship could sail within it

Certainly the winds and tides around the mouth of Doubtful Sound would be avoided by a sailing ship captain, even today. Most yachts motor into the sound. The passages through the Shelter Islands at the mouth of the sound are narrow and piloting a relatively unhandy ship such as the Endeavour through them probably presented Cook with a challenge he felt he could not afford to take.

Answer: Picton

Picton has been the South Island ferry terminus for many years. There have been half-formed plans to build a new terminal near Cape Campbell on the Pacific coast at various times. This would shorten the three hour and forty minute crossing from Wellington quite considerably, but the challenges of building a port which could operate in nearly all weathers have resulted in no action on the idea.

Answer: Hokianga Harbour

The Hokianga was so-named because it was, according to Maori legend, discovered by Kupe. It is a lovely area with a generally mild climate and is a popular holiday destination. Waipoua is a major tourist attraction a little to the south. It also has an outrageously expensive ferry service at Rawene, in its upper reaches!