Giveaways
18 January 2018 / Updated 4 November 2022
Some of the material in this post is now in my book The Neglected North Island: New Zealand’s Other Half. Follow the link to find out more and to get to saleslinks. My blog post follows after the cover image!
THE largest of Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf Islands is Great Barrier Island, also known as Aotea, the island of the white cloud or the shining sky.
When I get telemarketing calls selling holidays on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, I tell them, ‘We have our own Great Barrier Island.’
I don’t tell them it’s not so big! Although, at 43 km or 27 miles long, Aotea/Great Barrier Island is still fairly sizable as isolated islands go.
Though smaller than the reef that bears the same name, Aotea comes near the top of a list of coastal destinations rated by National Geographic in 2010:
“Only 55 miles of ocean separate Great Barrier Island from cosmopolitan Auckland, but given how little the two places have in common, the distance seems much greater. With less than 1,000 permanent residents, more than half of its land area administered by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, and fewer introduced species than elsewhere in the country, the island is in good shape ecologically and will likely remain so for a while.”
As of the time of my update, you can see the article here.
On the edge of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, New Zealand’s ‘National Park of the Sea’, the island can be reached by a 4-hour ferry ride or a scenic half-hour flight.
Some time back, I bought shares in a bach (cabin) there along with a few other people. Over the years, I’ve loved going over to the island and tramping the 621-metre-high Hirakimata, also known as Mount Hobson, as well as visiting other parts of the island.
There are no possums, stoats, or ferrets on the island, which means that despite the few remaining rats the forest is largely untouched.
My most recent visit was in October 2022, a trip that I made with a friend named Esther Hinton. As you can see from Esther’s photos, the island is a real South Seas getaway, even though it is only 90 km from Auckland.
And so, to my own humble photographic efforts! This October, we caught a ferry out to the island, with dolphins dashing alongside.
Several of the most popular destinations on the island are on a scenic trail known as the Aotea Track. I walked a part of the Aotea Track in January 2015 with my friend Rose and her partner, Daniel. We hiked along it to the top of Hirakimata, where there are amazing 360-degree views of the island.
Esther and I hiked part of the track again, this October.
The spectacular Windy Canyon is also on the Aotea Track.
Another highlight of the Aotea Track is Mount Heale Hut, which is a back-country hut with all kitchen implements, pots, pans, and even a dish brush supplied, and a view to die for.
Not all the huts on the Aotea Track have such spectacular views. But they all have gas and a full range of utensils, and only cost NZ $15 a night.
This October (2022), I hiked to Mount Heale Hut from Windy Canyon and then took the South Fork Track to Port Fitzroy. I came back via the Kaiaraara Track. In all, this amounted to ten hours of walking in one day.
I climbed to the top of Hirakimata (Mt Hobson) twice, first in the mist and then in fine weather.
I walked to the Kaitoke Hot Springs, of which more below, and then to the bach (holiday hut) that I part-own in Okupu. I have had shares for years.
One New Year, I was even lucky enough to swim with dolphins there.
This time I decided to stay another week, as it’s paradise here.
Although Esther and I came by ferry, after staying a bit longer, I came back by plane. It took off from the Great Barrier Aerodrome (a curiously old-fashioned name) near the township of Claris and rose up over the fabulous Kaitoke Beach, taking off to the southeast over the Pacific before turning westward for Auckland.
I’ve captured many of these scenes in a video, here.
For more, including upcoming events, see greatbarrier.co.nz and greatbarrierislandtourism.co.nz.
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