Yep Speedy some good advice there about crossing Kaituna cut, plenty of people have come to grief on that bar, even though I live in the Mount most of my fishing is out there is it has so much territory to choose from.(bit less nowadays)
I use two hours each side of low tide as my rule of thumb bearing in mind two hours after low with an incoming is way more friendly than outgoing.
A Buoy website is a fantastic tool to use and the cams like you said, it is good to look at it the day before on low tide to gauge it I will as it changes so much at times. I'm still trying to figure out if the diversion has affected it, hard to measure that one.
I've had a couple of frights there over the years so erring on the side of caution is always the go as with all boating, if you pick the right days it's a safe option for fishing