{{coord, -41.344427, 174.788075, display=title Princess Bay is one of the southern beaches of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Location

It is situated between

Houghton Bay Houghton Bay and Valley is one of the southern suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand. It is located between Island Bay and Lyall Bay, on the rocky shores of the Cook Strait. It has two beaches, Houghton Bay and Princess Bay, used by surfers, swi ...

and

Te Raekaihau Point Te Raekaihau Point is a rugged coastal landform in Wellington, New Zealand, adjacent to Princess Bay, between Houghton Bay to the west and Lyall Bay to the east on the south coast. One meaning of the name is "the headland that eats the wind". Te R ...

, on the rocky shores of the

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A H, ...

. It comprises a beach that skirts

and contains a regular population of surfers and divers.

Character

Princess Bay is on the Southern Headlands Reserve, and along with other parts of Wellington's South Coast, it is a popular recreational diving and fishing spot. In 2005 the decommissioned F69

Frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

Wellington was sunk off Houghton Bay, and is now an artificial reef and dive location. Princess Bay has a long history as a favourite surf spot of locals, and is an even smaller sister to neighbours Houghton and

Lyall Bay Lyall Bay is a bay and suburb on the south side of the Rongotai isthmus in Wellington, New Zealand. The bay is a popular surf beach, featuring a breakwater at the eastern end. It is home to two surf lifesaving clubs and has also been the site of ...

Aurora Australis

Displays of

Aurora Australis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...

are currently able to be seen from this locality, as the

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...

is shielded to some degree by the range of hills along the coastline. The dark sky is necessary as most aurorae are weak and barely visible to the naked eye at this latitude, with any increase in light pollution removing such displays from visual identification.

External links

F69 Dive wreck and artificial reef

Video of the F69 Frigate Wellington Sinking off Houghton Bay

Astronomy in New Zealand

Tourist attractions in Wellington City Beaches of the Wellington Region Bays of the Wellington Region

Location

Character

Aurora Australis

See also

External links