Spirits Bay
Coordinates 34° 25′ S, 172° 47′ O
Spirits Bay or Piwhane Bay is a 12 km long bay at the northern end of the Aupōuri Peninsula at the northern tip of New Zealand. Administratively, the area is part of the Far North District of the Northland Region.
At the western end of the bay is Cape Reinga, from which, according to Māori legend, the spirits of the dead begin their journey back to Hawaiki.
The bay, together with Tom Bowling Bay, forms a large part of the coastline of the northern tip of New Zealand’s North Island. At the eastern end of the bay is Kapowairua, the northernmost settlement in New Zealand, which is also the only access point to the bay. The bay is closed off to the east by Hoopers Point (Ngataea) and the offshore small island of Pananehe Island. The small Waitahora Stream flows into the bay.
The Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet in the marine area off the bay.
Literature
- New Zealand Travel Atlas, Wise Maps Auckland. ISBN 0-908794-47-9.
Spirits Bay (right), Te Karaka Bay (left)
- Bay in New Zealand
- Bay in Australia and Oceania
- Bay (Pacific Ocean)
- Waters in the Northland region