Whitianga lay on the opposite side of the estuary from Ferry Landing. It was one of the bigger towns along the Coromandel Coast with a sizeable marina that appeared as if everyone in the town had a yacht.
One side of the town fringed the estuary. The other side wound around Mercury Bay. While this sounded like an ominous name, it was because during Cook’s voyage, he waited off shore for eleven days so he could sight the planet Mercury.
From here to there 