Great Barrier Island (North Island, New Zealand)

Great Barrier Island Reviews

Great Barrier Island Photos

Great Barrier Island Information

Overview

Things to do

Country Info (New Zealand)

Slideshow of Photos

Great Barrier Island is the largest and most remote of the Hauraki Gulf islands and is a great place to go if you really want to get off the beaten track. The island is four hours by ferry from Auckland and has no electrical supply (everything is powered by generators). It is an unspoilt place with great beaches and a unique atmosphere.

Most travellers visit Great Barrier Island by ferry from Auckland, however there are also frequent reasonably priced flights that are ideal if you want to save time.

The island's main airport is at Claris, which is about a half hour drive north of Tryphena. Great Barrier Airlines have frequent flights to Auckland International and Auckland North Shore airports and less frequent flights to Whangarei and Whitianga. The standard return fare is around $170 for the 30 minute flight from Auckland.

If you're not sure whether you'd rather take the ferry or fly, it is also possible to buy a ticket for around $125 that includes ferry transport to the island and a flight back to Auckland.

Great Barrier is a big island and most travellers find they need to rent a car to really explore the island; however there is also a local bus service that is a handy alternative if your time on the island isn't limited.

Suggest a change to the Great Barrier Island Overview section (click to dropdown)

Population: 4.035.500
Languages: English, Maori (both official)
Currency: New Zealand dollar
Currency code: NZD
Local Times:
New Zealand - Auckland

New Zealand - Chatham Island

New Zealand - Wellington

Country Dialling Code: +64
Voltage: 240V 50Hz
Electrical plugs:
Flat prongs, inverted 'V' positioned with earth connector

Flat prongs, inverted 'V' positioned with earth connector

It's been Middle Earth and Narnia in the movies but New Zealand's beautiful landscapes are no fantasy.

With a varied and dramatic landscape, a long and significant cultural heritage, and some of the world's rarest and most fascinating plant and animal species, New Zealand is an ideal adventure travel destination. Take a trip here and discover why New Zealand has it all - from flightless birds to breaching whales and breathtaking fjords to erupting geysers.

New Zealand comes with a reputation as a unique land packed with magnificent, raw scenery : craggy coastlines, sweeping beaches, primeval forests, snow-capped alpine mountains, bubbling volcanic pools, fast-flowing rivers and glacier-fed lakes, all beneath a brilliant blue sky. The far north is a subtropical haven of unspoilt beaches, citrus fruits and hibiscus flowers, while volcanic mud pools and geysers feature in the central part of North Island. The South Island boasts whale watching, ice glaciers and rugged snow-covered Alps. And yes, there are many wide-open spaces.

What's more, everything is easily accessible, packed into a land area little larger than Britain and with a population of just 3.8 million, over half of it tucked away in the three largest cities : Auckland, the capital Wellington, and the South Island's Christchurch. Elsewhere, you can travel miles through steep-hilled farmland and rarely see a soul, and there are even remote spots which, it's reliably contended, no human has ever visited.

Geologically, New Zealand split off from the super-continent of Gondwanaland early, developing a unique ecosystem in which birds adapted to fill the role normally held by mammals, many becoming flightless through lack of predators.

Only in the last couple of decades has New Zealand come of age and developed a true national self-confidence, something partly forced on it by Britain severing the colonial apron strings in the early 1970s, and partly by the resurgence of Maori identity. Maori demands have been nurtured by a willingness on the part of most pakeha to redress the wrongs perpetrated over the last century and a half, as long as it doesn't impinge on their high standard of living or overall feeling of control. More recently, integration has been replaced with a policy of promoting two cultures alongside each other, but with maximum interaction. In this way New Zealand is set to forge through the new century with considerable dignity and a good deal of uncertainty.

The British represent the second largest group of visitors to New Zealand - after neighbouring Australia. But at 12,000 miles away from the UK it's a once-in-a-lifetime destination for many and takes a bit of planning.

Most British travellers either tack New Zealand on to the end of an Australian holiday and regret not having enough time, or take two or three weeks and race around like mad to see the whole country. While New Zealand is small enough to 'do' in that time, a more enjoyable option is to spend longer at just a few places - and then you have an excuse to go back!