One Particular Harbour

~ Hatteras Cabana ~

Ocracoke Island - Take the free ferry out of Hatteras Village ot the beautiful island of Ocracoke. Ocracoke ais a small fishing village with lots of history and fishing and pirate folklore. The town is centered around the small bay that the pirate Blackbeard used to hide his ship in. There are lots of old homes along the side streets that have been made into cute artsy shots. Rent a bike and tootle around from place to place. Have an ice cream cone while looking out over the bay, or a nice cold beer watching the sunset from the deck at Howard's Pub. You can take the kids on a pirate adventure, take a sunset sail on the Windfall Schooner, captain your own fishing boat at Restless Native boat rentals, or get some surfing lessons. Kayak on the bay or go on a Dolphin site-seeing cruise. Don't forget the best part, the beaches! Take a picnic and plan on having lunch on the Best Beach In America 2007 - designated by Dr. Beach. The first 13 miles of Ocracoke are National Seashore. That means no development and miles and miles of natural beach and dunes. This is a must see day trip destination. Ever the ferry ride is an adventure!

Hatteras Lighthouse is one of the most famous lighthouses in America. It is big and impressive. There is a visitor Center where you can see the lighthouse, a museum and if you are daring enough, you can hike all the stairs to the top. The outside of the lighthouse and museum are free, there is a small fee to go to the top. Ocracoke lighthouse is also very neat. You can go inside this one, but you cannot go to the top.

It is legal in Hatteras to have a small campfire on the beach at night. Use common sense, make your fire below the high tide line and away from the dunes. Firewood is available for purchase in town. This is a wonderful way to spend an evening by the fire, with the waves crashing by the moonlight.

I am new to this as we just got an SUV not long ago, but I love it already! You do need a permit from the Park Service which you can get at the Hatteras Lighthouse station. Currently this is $50/wk or $120 for the year. Don't get me wrong, the beach out front of the unit is amazing, I have spent the last 6 years on it and never tire as it is so pretty. There are also many public beach access points so a car will give you great access to some of the countries most wonderful beaches. If you are up for a little adventure though an SUV is fun. There are lots of fishermen that get to the secret spots this way, and if you have children, you can get to the sound side easily where the water just laps on the shore or this oceanside Billy Mitchell beach where the waves slowly roll up and kiss the shore. You will need to deflate your tires to approx 20 PSI. You can get free air at Frisco Rod and Gun in Frisco. Required equipment for this via the park service rules are; a shovel, a tire gauge, a permit, a jack and a board to set the jack on. Please see the Park Service website for other recommended equipement.

Hatteras village is a very quaint fishing village. There are 6 marinas in town that you can charter fishing boats out of. There are also two head boats, the Miss Hatteras, and the Captain Clam that host larger groups for fishing charters, pirate cruises, and dolphin watching cruises. There are also several artsy galleries in town for some great shopping (Stove on 12, the Blue Pelican, Seaworthy Gallery, The Roads End, and the shops at the Ferry Docks to name a few). The big fish come in at Jefferies dock around 4pm so a favorite pastime of tourists is to go down and see what the boats brought in that day. Hatteras is also known for its surfing and as of recently has quickly become a kiteboarding mecca. All the outdoor sports equipment, kayak tours etc are avialble at Waterboys in town.