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

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Location

It is situated between Houghton Bay and Te Raekaihau Point, on the rocky shores of the

Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North Island, 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, ...

. It comprises a beach that skirts Houghton Bay 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. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

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 (structure), breakwater at the eastern end. It is home to two surf lifesaving clubs and ...

Aurora Australis

Displays of

Aurora Australis An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

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

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

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