This arm is very pretty as the surrounding hills are covered by native bush. All of the headlands should be given a clearance of 100 m to avoid rocks.
Allman Bay has shelter from all winds and is one of the few bays with VHF reception or phone reception. On the northern side, the anchorage is protected from W to NE winds and on the other side the anchorage is protected from E to S to W winds. The holding is good and in the southern anchorage a stern line is necessary. Care should be taken to give the southern entrance point to the bay a wide clearance because of the long reef of rocks that is covered at HW.
Rene Bay is satisfactory in winds from the W semi-circle with good holding. A stern line is not usually necessary.
Philante is an often used anchorage and its southern arm provides shelter from all sea conditions. It can however, be a little gusty in strong winds. A stern line can be undesirable, as the head of this bay is too shallow to be able to pull a boat out of the wind. The anchorage indicated on the northern side of the bay is the most sheltered in W to N winds and a stern line is necessary. The creek running into the bay has a good flow of water at all times of the year.
The head of the southern arm has an area of shingle beach and shoals within 50 m of the shore. It is usually a little too open for satisfactory anchorage.
The bay south-east of Philante is also a popular anchorage and has a private mooring therein. The bay is good shelter form all except fresh W to NW winds. A stern line is required in strong winds from SE to SW and can be placed to the southern shore. The head of the bay is shallow and dries up to 30 m from the high water mark. There is deep water right to the bank along the northern shore but a stern line here will place a boat beam to the wind.
The bay to the north is similar, with two small coves on its northern shore, which give good anchorage if a stern line is used. The inner cove is very close to the shallow head of the bay and is best used only by boats up to ten m in length. The bay is unsuitable in winds from SW to W and satisfactory for only moderate NW winds. A stream comes into the bay with a good flow of water. This is most sheltered of bays in the South Arm in strong SE to S winds.
The northern anchorage in the bay of Smokehouse Bay gives good shelter in winds from NW to N to S. A stern line is essential. Here is 2 m of water at LW, close by the small bluffs on the western side of the cove and across the steep stony beach. The head of the bay is a suitable anchorage in winds from NE to S.
Smokehouse Bay has a pleasant shell/flat stone beach and is an enjoyable place for a picnic. The anchorage in the eastern end of the bay is suitable from winds from N to E to S. A stern line is desirable. There is shelter from sea conditions in the southern end of the bay from SE to SW winds but can be a little gusty. This part of the bay is open to all sea breezes and N sector winds.
