Ōnahau Bay

The meaning of the name Ōnahau is unclear. On the Western side of the bay is a hill called Ōnahau,[3] either the bay's namesake or named for it. The name is also used for Ōnahau River & Little Ōnahau River in Te Tai o Aorere / The Tasman District.

Fence Bay[4] is 1 of 3 bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Waterfall Bay and Mistletoe Bay. It was named for a fence that climbed a steep border between the farms of Vogel and Gullery in the middle of the 20th century.[5]

Mistletoe Bay[6][7] is 1 of 3 bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Waterfall Bay and Fence Bay. Mistletoe is likely a reference to one of Aotearoa New Zealand's 9 native mistletoes, the most likely culprits being Peraxilla tetrapetala (pirirangi/pikirangi),[8] Peraxilla colensoi (pirita/pirinoa),[9] and Alepis flavida (pirita/pirinoa),[10] as they commonly grow in beech forests like the Nothofagus solandri (tawairauriki/tawhairauriki)[11] forests historically found along Tōtaranui / Queen Charlotte Sound.[12]

Waterfall Bay[13][14] is 1 of 3 bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Mistletoe Bay and Fence Bay. The bay is home to at least one magnificent waterfall,[15] from which it draws its name. The bay is home to pūrātoke glow-worms,[16] bioluminescent plankton, and stingrays.[15]

Torapapa Point[17] is located on the eastern tip of Ōnahau Bay. The point was labelled "Toropapa Point" on maps until sometime between 1949 and 1959.[18]

Dartmoor Bay[19] is located near the western tip of Ōnahau Bay, just north of Houhou Point.

Dartmoor Bay derives its name from a cottage built there named Dartmoor[20] owned by Mr Herbert Yelverton Monro. Herbert owned the Bankhouse run and station in the fork of the Wairau and Waihopai rivers in Marlborough.[21] The Monro family has no known connection to Dartmoor in the United Kingdom.

Postman's Rock[22] is a large rock just west of Torapapa Point. The rock is named for when the Tōtaranui / Queen Charlotte Sound mail-boat was a row boat and would deposit mail upon it for the Sounds' residents to row out & pick up. Alternatively Post Office Rock.[23]