Nimaru Bay, Great Barrier Island

Just a short trip north and round the corner from the hustle and bustle of Port Fitzroy you’ll find this little gem of a spot which, only ever a small number of visit this spot, therefore is off many boaties radars.

Tucked up on the right hand side of the Katherine Bay inlet Nimaru Bay is one of the only true sandy beaches on the eastern side of Great Barrier Island. Lined with stunning mature Pohutukawas overhanging the beach and a beautiful fresh water stream (golden tea stained with pohutukawa leaves) feeds right through to the water line and there’s even an area a short walk from the beach with clotheslines set up besides the stream. I have fond memories as a kid of stopping in Nimaru Bay on extended summer boating holidays to get the laundry done!

A great spot for the kids to spend all day on the beach with shelter from the sun, rope swings over the stream and one of my boys favourite activities, building huge dams and waterways! A few summers ago my two lads spent 2 entire days redirecting the stream and creating a complex network of channels to the sea. The next day we found there had been some unauthorised modifications to their construction work, when chatting to a particular Riviera owner on the beach later in the day he admitted that when he went ashore with the dog early that morning and found the dam he couldn’t  help but relive his childhood and have a little play!!

If you’re heading to Great Barrier this summer be sure to pop into Nimaru Bay ……… and may even do a little dam building