| Great Barrier Island New Zealand is the place to discover the nature-loving side of your character so take your tramping boots and your fishing gear. Great Barrier Island offers a natural beauty and close to nature experience which is just waiting for you to explore. Renowned for its remoteness and rugged beauty, the island is an increasingly popular holiday destination from Auckland. It also has a strong community spirit, focused on communities at Port Fitzroy, Whangaparapara, Claris, Okupu and Tryphena.
Accessible by sea or air, Great Barrier Island, also known as Aotea, has a permanent population of around 500. Only two hours from Auckland by ferry it has the kind of rugged, untouched beauty that is getting harder and harder to find on our planet. The magnificent Kauri Forests are laced with walking tracks, which lead to secluded natural hot springs and historic Kauri dams.
Getting to the island can be by sea or air and once you are there transport and tours on the island include taxis, rental cars, mountain bikes, kayak tours and tour operators. The major towns and villages are Claris, Tryphena, Medlands Beach and Port FitzRoy.
There are plenty activities such as fishing, horse riding, tennis and golf. Our business and shopping section covers automotive and marine supplies, real estate, chemist, general store, gift shops and video hire
Great Barrier is one of the last great wilderness areas of the Auckland region. In the island's centre, spectacular bluffs and ridges rise to the highest peak Hirakimata, at 621metres. To the west, forest covered ranges meet the coast, a maze of bays, islands and indented fiords. The eastern coastline has sweeping white sands and surf beaches, often backed by tidal creeks and wetlands.
Spectacular pa and other archaeological sites survive throughout the island, evidence of its long Maori history. Maori named the island Aotea (white cloud). When Europeans arrived, they found a rich bounty of resources to exploit: whales which migrated along the coast were hunted for their meat and oil; copper, gold, and silver ore were mined from the island's rocks; the huge kauri trees which covered the island were felled for their superb timber and then raided for their valuable gum; other trees were logged for the firewood trade. Relics of all these exploitive industries can be seen today, including impressive timber dams once used to drive kauri logs down the Kaiarara River.
|
