Waiheke and Stony Batter

A day trip out to Waiheke, the second largest of the islands in the Hauraki Gulf, has been on my wishlist ever since the tunnel complex at Stony Batter re-opened to the public in 2020 after a five year closure.

It was something of an early start for us with a booking for the 8 o’clock crossing on the Sealink car ferry from Half Moon Bay to Kennedy Point, but we were blessed with a beautifully autumnal morning and the views were simply stunning – including Tahuna Torea and Sandspit beach; Musick Point with its art deco radio station building; and the ever green Browns island (Motukorea). It was a quiet and calm crossing, somewhere around 45 minutes.

Seacat, our ferry to Waiheke, is the largest in the Sealink fleet

Our day got going with a reviving coffee at Charlie Farley’s, a popular eatery in Onetangi, then we heading off on a drive into the less-populated half of the island, along Waiheke Road and Man O’ War Bay Road to a parking spot part way up Stony Batter Road. A short walk on from the car park brought us to the entrance to the Stony Batter Historic Reserve and the tunnel complex hidden beneath the fields in a deliberately remote location.

The tunnel complex at Stony Batter was built in complete secrecy between 1942 and 1948 with a camp on the surface housing up to 190 soldiers and construction workers. It was the largest of three gun batteries in the country, built to defend the anchorages in the Hauraki Gulf, which the US navy was using. It’s unusual in many ways, not least in re-using existing plans for NZ railway tunnels to save time! Some of the problems that have affected the site since then, such as flooding, are partly a reflection of the speed at which the site was constructed.

It’s all somewhat mind-blowing in scale, with 1.2km of tunnels (around four times the height of Auckland’s Sky Tower) and many fascinating spaces to explore on a guided tour. The team have done a terrific job of restoring the internal chambers, with our tour guide taking us to a large magazine chamber, one of the three gun turrets, the engine room and the plotting bunker. We exited through “prehistoric jungle” after a fascinating 50 minutes.

The well hidden exit from the tunnel complex

After re-emerging into the sunlight we made our way over the road on a path (indicated by wooden marker posts) through the rocky outcrops of the boulder field with some truly stunning views across the water. The visit to the tunnels was wonderful and this was just the icing on the cake!

On completing our tour we returned to Onetangi Beach and found a bench to eat our delicious homemade ham and egg pie. After that, we still had time enough left before our return crossing to take in a beer tasting at Wild on Waiheke, see the impressive setting for the Mudbrick Winery and check out Oneroa Beach.

Our day on Waiheke was quite wonderful. It was terrific to get to visit Stony Batter after hearing about it for many years. The plans to develop the space sound really exciting and I wish them well.

Gallery