The Keyhole from the Puaotetai Bay side

The distinctive tunnel through Camel Rock is called the Keyhole, although the Maori name for the island itself – Taitomo – means a cave through a rock. The Keyhole surges with water but provides a passage from Puaotetai Bay to fishing rocks facing Piha Beach.

A rocky shelf allows fishers to access the rocky platform but only in calm weather at low tide. The rocky shelf itself appears natural, but was actually cut by locals Bill Browne and Jeff Buckton in the 1960s. It is slippery and the tunnel is dark so it is not for the faint-hearted.

The Keyhole through Taitomo Island