Insiders' guide to Auckland's islands

 

Even though Auckland City is on the mainland, it is simply surrounded by stunning islands, big and small.

Many of these islands are very close to the city centre ferry terminal, making for easy and adventurous day tours from Auckland.

Here are four of Auckland’s most spectacular, interesting and other-worldly islands.


Waiheke

Only 35 minutes by ferry from Auckland’s CBD, this 93 square kilometre island is home to approximately 9,000 people. While some live and work on the island, its close proximity to the city makes it easy for many to ferry to work each day. In summer, when holidaymakers come to stay, the population can grow by as much as 5,000.

The island is known largely for two things – beaches and wine. Onetangi Beach is the largest at 2.5 kilometres long, Little Oneroa is perfect for families, and Gannet Rock is an ideal spot for bird watching with thousands of new borns each year. The wine is famous across New Zealand for its quality, with no fewer than 19 wineries dotted about the island.

For those interested in nature tours of the island, head to the Onerangi Reserve, a 50-hectare plot filled with pohutukawa, rewarewa, matai, puriri, kauri, and rimu trees. Plus, you might spot fantails, tuis, kingfishers, grey warblers, or kereru while you’re there.

 

Rangitoto           

Rangitoto is both an island and a dormant volcano, sitting directly on the horizon in front of Mission Bay.

The entire island is a scenic reserve with more than 200 species of native plants, which includes more than 40 species of fern. It is also home to New Zealand’s largest pohutukawa forest. Making this island extra special is the fact that it is now pest-free, meaning that our most treasured wildlife such as saddleback and takahe birds can roam the 3,900 hectare island without the threat of rats, stoats, cats and possums.

Visitors can take a ferry to the island where they can enjoy the scenic walking tracks on the island. The track from the wharf to the 259-metre-high summit takes just an hour, but there are longer routes to see more of this fascinating island. Those on bird watching holidays should keep an eye out for the black backed gulls nesting around the coastline, or the fantails, grey warblers, silvereyes and moreporks found on the island itself.


Motutapu

Motutapu is Rangitoto’s close neighbour and is even linked to the volcano by a causeway. The island has bright and busy history despite its serene appearance, as it was initially settled by Maori, before becoming a popular picnic spot in Victorian times for approximately 10,000 people at once. More recently, it was a base for military personnel.

Today, Motutapu is a treasured piece of New Zealand. The restoration project that saw Rangitoto declared pest free in 2011 was also implemented on Motutapu, which helped to reintroduce species such as the shore plover, saddleback, whitehead, and brown teal. The Motutapu Trust just recently also released 20 pateke – a nationally endangered duck – onto the island.

While camping and hiking are popular activities on the island, this is also one of the best spots in the country for volunteering, as there is a constant need for help with weed control, planting, nursery work and other conservation activities.


Motuihe

Motuihe is yet another island showing New Zealand’s dedication to conservation. It is found between Motutapu and Waiheke Islands, and despite its small size, is home to a large variety of wildlife such as bellbirds, tuatara, the New Zealand dotterel, the saddleback, the kakariki, and even the little spotted kiwi.

A Motuihe Trust operates an ongoing restoration project on the island in hopes to continue to bring native birds, insects and lizards back to the area, all the while conserving its history and developing walking tracks for visitors.

Visitors to the island can camp, but most are there to volunteer for the trust. Their work has seen thousands of new trees planted on the island since 2003, as well as hundreds of hours of weed control, nursery care, seed collection and other activities. 

Insiders’ guide to walks and trekking

The Waitakere Ranges are situated about 40 minutes to the west of Auckland, making for a quick escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. As such, this is one of the most visited Auckland tourist attractions. 

All together, there are more than 16,000 hectares of wild coastline and native forestland to discover and explore at this regional park. Woven amongst the area is roughly 250 kilometres of hiking trails, all decorated with spectacular waterfalls, cliffs, beaches, and vistas. 

There are short one and two hour walks, as well as the famous four-day Hillary Trail for serious trampers, and everything in between. Some of the most popular sites are the waterfalls, such as Fairy Falls, KiteKite Falls and KareKare Falls. Plus, the beaches are famous in their own right, such as Piha Beach, which is especially well-known for its temperamental surf. 

Waitakere Ranges

The Waitakere Ranges are situated about 40 minutes to the west of Auckland, making for a quick escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. As such, this is one of the most visited Auckland tourist attractions. 

All together, there are more than 16,000 hectares of wild coastline and native forestland to discover and explore at this regional park. Woven amongst the area is roughly 250 kilometres of hiking trails, all decorated with spectacular waterfalls, cliffs, beaches, and vistas. 

There are short one and two hour walks, as well as the famous four-day Hillary Trail for serious trampers, and everything in between. Some of the most popular sites are the waterfalls, such as Fairy Falls, KiteKite Falls and KareKare Falls. Plus, the beaches are famous in their own right, such as Piha Beach, which is especially well-known for its temperamental surf. 

Tawharanui

Tawharanui Regional Park is known for its wetlands, white beaches, softly undulating hills and native coastal forest – and in and amongst all that, its walking tracks. The park is located about an hour north of Auckland on the east coast by Warkworth on a small peninsula outcropping from the mainland. 

The Tawharanui Ecology Trail is a popular spot for eco tours, as this 4 kilometre (return) walk is very quick and easy, taking between one and two hours, and includes some of New Zealand’s most iconic and important scenes. It’s one of the country’s best bird watching tours as it’s rich in birdlife such as the New Zealand Dotterel, the kaka and the rare brown teal. 

Another fantastic walk is the Tawharanui Ridge Walk, which is a longer trek at 10 kilometres that offers picturesque views of Whangaparoa Bay. It will take you roughly four hours to complete this round trip as you traverse over high sky cliffs and gorgeous grassy farm tracks.

Much of Auckland’s landscape is built on dormant volcanoes, which makes for a variety of incredible walking tracks.

Rangitoto is the newest volcano in the area, having erupted just 600 years ago. You can take a quick 25-minute ferry ride to this island volcano from downtown Auckland any day of the week. Once there, you can walk one hour from the ferry wharf to the summit at 259 metres above sea level, or you can visit the Lava Caves Track or the Wilson Park Track for longer routes around the island. 

Mt Eden is a centrally located volcano, and the highest in the city, making for a quick and challenging steep hike. There are four walks around its sides and summit, each taking approximately just 40 minutes and offering fantastic views of the city. 

What are the millions of geocaches around the world?

There are two million of geocaches all over the planet, but you probably wouldn’t even notice one when you saw it. 

Geocaching is basically the world’s largest treasure hunt. It also doubles as an incredible way to discover new places and explore old ones as you follow the directions to your next geocache. 

All you need to do is download the technology onto your smart phone or GPS. You sign up to an account, pick a geocache on the map, then follow the directions. 

When you find your geocache, it will be in the shape of a small weatherproof box, jar or container of some sort. Some are larger and some are smaller, making for different levels of difficulty. Inside there is a book for you to sign, and you can also leave a small memento behind – and swap it for another one. 

To connect with other geocachers, head online and search the Twitter handle ‘GoGeocaching’ for the official page, or ‘gcpodcast’ for the podcast handle. There are also plenty of #geocache and #geocaching tags for you to peruse to see what other treasure hunters are doing around the world! The Facebook Geocaching fanpage has almost half a million followers where you can keep up to date with the latest news and happenings, and the Instagram feed adds a photographic dimension to the treasure hunt. 

You can collect your geocaches as you travel around your own country and around the world. There are even some dotted around Auckland, and if you’re on a day tour with us at Tawharanui Regional Park, you might even find one out there, too! 

Geocaching is a great activity for kids and adult alike, and a fantastic way to get out and see more of what this beautiful country has to offer. 

What makes the sex lives of our native species so special?

New Zealand is home to a wide variety of wildlife, but our only native land mammals are bats. Initially, there were three species, but now we are down to just two – the long-tailed bat, and the lesser short-tailed bat.

Last month, researchers from the University of Auckland published the results of more than three years of study on New Zealand’s lesser short-tailed bat, the Mystacina tuberculata. This tiny bat is only 5-6cm long (about the size of the average thumb), has a wingspan of about 30cm, and is classified as one of our endangered species.

The purpose of the study was to better understand the mating rituals of these little bats. And after three years of observation of the lesser short-tailed bats in the remote forest area of Pureora in the North Island, the scientists found that their sex lives are really quite odd.

As it turns out, the Mystacina tuberculata are ‘lek’ breeders, a term that comes from the Swedish word for ‘play’. It means that the males of the species competitively display themselves to females to attract a mate, a behaviour that is only seen in one other bat species in the world.

But the antics don’t stop there. First, the males would take up a spot in a tree cavity close to where the females were. Once there, the males move about as if they are stretching, and ‘sing’ to attract attention. For a special scent, the males also douse themselves with their own urine.

One of the most bizarre habits, however, that the researchers found, was that once a successful male had attracted a mate, he would leave his spot in the tree and another male would move in and start the same process over again.

For an entertaining clip on this process, check out this video from University of Auckland research Cory Toth here.

The research on New Zealand’s special native mammals continues, as they have a particularly important role as pollinators and seed dispersers in our forest areas.