The Mount Ocean Swim

Main Beach at Mount Maunganui welcomes open water swimmers. The Mount Ocean Swim is an open water swimming race held in the sea at Mount Maunganui Beach, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Organized by The Event Crew Ltd as part of the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series, the event takes place in April along this expansive coastal shore. Stepping across the sand toward the breakers, swimmers prepare for open sea circuits that range from quick coastal dashes to long island loops. The programme provides a wide spectrum of distances tailored to every level of swimmer, beginning with 100-metre and 200-metre courses alongside the 500-metre Beach Blast. Those looking for endurance challenges take on the longer routes, entering the 1.25-kilometre event named Around Leisure Island or the premier 2.8-kilometre course named Around Rabbit Island.

These courses take swimmers away from the shore, charting lines across open salt water where navigation and steady pacing dictate the rhythm of the swim. Conditions off the beach bring the distinctive sensations of ocean racing. In the 2023 edition, the race unfolded in windy conditions at Main Beach, presenting competitors with moving surface chop. Heading back in toward the finish line, swimmers often catch an incoming swell, riding a wave directly onto the sand to conclude their swim. Further down the coast at Omanu, the shoreline continues as a long sandy beach accessible through coastal dunes. To protect this exposed shoreline, Tauranga City Council manages coastal erosion through annual sand replenishment operations.

Ocean safety here has deep community roots, anchored by a surf lifesaving club founded in 1947 to patrol the beach. This surf club provided patrol services for nearby Papamoa Beach until 1990, and its current clubhouse was completed in June 2006.

Main Beach at the Mount: April sea temperatures and cut-offs

Mauao stands at the western end of Mount Maunganui's ocean beach. Because Mount Maunganui sits on a tombolo, the suburb has both a harbour beach, Pilot Bay, and an ocean beach with great surf within a short distance. A monthly table of sea temperatures for Mount Maunganui lists April at 19.3°C (67 °F) on average, with a minimum of 17.5°C (64 °F) and a maximum of 21.3°C (70 °F). The Mount Swim sets a cut-off of 1 hour 45 minutes for Around Rabbit Island (2.8 km), 50 minutes for Around Leisure Island (1250 m) and 20 minutes for the 500 m Main Beach course. The Mount Swim hosts the third event in Swimming NZ's Secondary School Open Water Championships. Mount Maunganui also hosts the Northern Regional Surf Championships, the NZ Under 14 Ocean Athlete Championships, the Pro Volleyball Tour and The Port of Tauranga Half Ironman triathlon.

Mauao: the volcanic dome and ancient pā above the bay

Mauao is also known as Mount Maunganui. The mountain was formed approximately two to three million years ago as a lava dome resulting from the upwelling of rhyolite lava. Connected to the mainland during the Last Glacial Maximum, it became an isolated island as sea levels rose, until a sand tombolo reunited it with the coast 4,000 years ago. The town itself now occupies this tombolo sand bar connecting the Mauao headland to the mainland. Archaeological evidence confirms that three fortified pā sites were established on and around the mountain. In 1700, the Ngaiterangi tribe captured the summit pā of Mauao from the Ngati Ranginui in an action known as the Battle of the Kokowai. A subsequent battle occurred at the cliffs of the mountain in 1820 between the Ngaiterangi and the musket-armed Ngapuhi. {{h2:Moturiki Island: from Marineland to Leisure Island}} Positioned just off Main Beach, Moturiki Island forms the focal point for the 1.25-kilometre Around Leisure Island swim. The island is connected to the mainland beach by an artificial land bridge. Beyond its natural rocky outline, the islet serves scientific observation, with NIWA operating an active tide meter on its rock face. Swimmers heading around the island navigate the open sea channel alongside its rugged perimeter. The island carries a lively recreational background that explains why the race course bears the Leisure Island name. In 1966, an aquarium called Marineland was constructed directly on Moturiki, operating until it closed in May 1981. That same year, the grounds were transformed into a water park called Leisure Island, featuring swimming pools and a hydro slide until operations ceased in 1990.

Tauranga Harbour: tidal forces behind the barrier island

Protected by Mount Maunganui and Matakana Island, Tauranga Harbour spans approximately 200 square kilometres. The harbour basin is formed by two flooded river systems separated from the Pacific Ocean by Matakana Island. Within this expansive inlet, the tidal range reaches up to 1.98 metres, moving approximately 290 million tonnes of water through the harbour entrances during each change of the tide. These enormous volumes generate swift currents that reach speeds of up to 7 knots within the entrance channels. The Mount Ocean Swim avoids these turbulent narrows, taking place entirely on the open ocean side along Main Beach. Inside the harbour, Motuhoa Island presents 5 kilometres of low cliffs cut into volcanic rocks formed within the last 2.26 million years.

Seventeen archaeological sites, including middens and burial grounds, are recorded across the island, while shore skinks live along its beaches. A boat ramp sits near the eastern tip on its northern shore, and the surrounding waters are designated as a mātaitai reserve. About 3 kilometres from the race area, the Port of Tauranga operates within this natural harbour. Before the first wharf was built in the 1860s, cargo operations took place directly on the beach, and in 1882 the Lady Jocelyn arrived as the first large sailing vessel to enter the harbour. The Mount Maunganui wharf opened on December 5, 1954, marked by the arrival of the MV Korowai. Today the port features 15 berths, with 12 at Mount Maunganui and 3 at Sulphur Point, including an 80-metre Tanker Berth built in 1980 for bulk fluid transfer.

Matakana Island: dunes, surf breaks, and marine wildlife

Separating the harbour from the Pacific Ocean, Matakana Island encompasses 5,000 acres of farmland on the inner harbour and 10,000 acres of forest land facing the open sea. The island's long, white sandy ocean beach is widely known as a destination for board surfers. The coastal perimeter also provides critical breeding grounds, serving as a nesting site for the endangered New Zealand dotterel. In 2007, an estimated 325 stingrays were recorded in the calm shallows between Matakana and Rangiwaea Island, a low-lying island rising to a height of 19 metres. Roughly 12 kilometres from the race area, Karewa Island sits 6 kilometres off the coast of Matakana Island as a 3.57-hectare wildlife sanctuary.

The island is formed of Pleistocene Minden rhyolite covered by deep soil on its southern and western slopes, where flesh-footed shearwaters nest in underground burrows between November and May. The channel between Karewa and Matakana Island reaches depths of about 20 metres. On November 29, 1878, dense fog caused the steamer Taranaki to wreck on Karewa's northern shore, but all 75 passengers reached safety on the island. After racing around the offshore islands of Main Beach, swimmers return across the surf to finish on the sand.