Moturata / Taieri Island

Since the early 1930s our family has a crib just south of Taieri Mouth. On our way to The Crib, I must have driven past Moturata/Taieri Island more than a thousand times yet I've never set foot on it. I recall stories of my parents and older siblings having visited the island before my time. As such, a journey to the island has always been very appealing to me.

The island is accessible on foot at low tide, and even then, only if a sandbar forms between the island and the mainland. For much of my life the island has been disconnected, only accessible by boat.

It's very important to time a visit to the island as the tides here can move by much more than a meter and the waters are swift. It would not be nice if you found yourself stranded on the island, effectively trapped, over a high tide.

However.

A few days prior I could see that the sand bar was in place and we were approaching a full moon - meaning higher highs and lower lows. We arrived at Taieri Mouth about an hour before low tide and headed to the island. We were aware that a southerly change was approaching yet we took the opportunity to go.

The island is about 1.2km offshore. Soon on the way out, we waded through water up to our thighs - nothing strenuous but it's not an easy walk. However, beyond that it was an easy beach walk to the island which Luna loved.

The island is beautiful, somewhat smaller than I had anticipated and is home to many birds (mostly seagulls). I'm sure you could climb to the top of the island if desired. And, there were a couple of people there diving for paua which I could see were easy to get to.

Then... a southerly change in the weather quickly hit us. I had been taking drone photos and I was quick to get out of there. The rain and southerly wind hit and we were fairly saturated on the journey home. Otherwise, it was an easy walk back.

Loved it. Perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime experience.