12-18 June 2021

Leader: Peter Davis

7 days, 12 people, 120 km, 30 cm rainfall, 627 m asl (highest point), 144 beers (approx.), and tons of laughs.

Saturday the 12th June: Departure: On Saturday morning, 12 of us flew from Kapiti via Auckland to Great Barrier Island, arriving on the island by midday. We picked up rental cars and off we went. Our adventure had begun.

It was a beautiful day; we stopped at a burger caravan and enjoyed our lunch in the sun. Then we did some food shopping and headed off to Great Barrier Island Lodge where we stayed for the next six nights. We went for a local afternoon wander around Whangaparapara Harbour to an old mill site, then to a waterfall. It took us about 2 hours with lots of photo stops. We returned to the lodge and by the time we settled into our rooms, it was nearly dark. We decided to head out for some drinks and food. To our surprise, we got turned away by two places due to short notice, so finally we had a long winding drive to the Irish pub at Tryphena.

Sunday the 13th June: A loop walk to Mt Hobson via Kaiaraara Track, returning back via the South Fork Track, with a total distance of 20.18 km

We left the lodge at 8am; the weather was fine with a bit of cloud in the morning. Kaiaraara track is one of the various tracks that allow easy access to the summit. The track is mostly composed of boardwalks and stairs (over 1000 steps). After a couple of hours of climbing up the stairs we reached the summit of Mt Hobson, which is the highest mountain on Great Barrier Island with a height of 627 m. Unfortunately, it was very misty, so we didn’t get much of a view.

On the way back, we stopped at Mt Heale Hut for lunch, and had a quick visit to Kaiaraara Hut. We ended our day at the local golf club near Claris with a couple of drinks and a pub meal.

Monday the 14th June: Kaitoke Hot Springs, Tramline and Witheys Tracks, 15.75 km

It was the wettest day we had on the island. We wanted to check out the Kaitoke Hot Springs, which were about a 30 minute walk. However we decided not to get in because it was too wet and too muddy. Seven of us carried on walking, the rest went back to the lodge. In the end, only five of us were left to complete Witheys Track while 2 took a quicker route out on the Tramline Track. Witheys Track was fascinating with the deep cuts formed to create the tramline for bush clearing.

We spent most of the afternoon at the lodge, which was rather relaxing. Some had self-catered meals, and others had a restaurant meal at the lodge.

Tuesday the 15th June: Barrier Cape and Kowhai Valley Track to Tryphena, 17.03 km

It was raining in the morning. We did a bit of driving, then walked to the Barrier Cape Whaler’s Lookout for a wander. We had a late lunch at a café and waited for the rain to stop. As soon as the rain had cleared, we headed off. Six of us started from Medland's Beach and followed the Kowhai Valley Track to Tryphena, while the other six walked in the opposite direction, and we did a key swap in the middle. We had our torches on for the last 2 km or so as it was getting dark; it was kind of fun. After the walk, we went back to (our now favourite) Irish pub for drinks and dinner.

Wednesday the 16th June: Harataonga Coastal Walkway, 27.41 km

After two days of rain, we finally had some sunshine. We did a round trip on the coastal walk starting from the Harataonga Campsite. The track ends at Aotea Road at the south end of Okiwi Basin, but we stopped at the viewpoint of Whangapoua Estuary, enjoying the magnificent view while having lunch. The track is moderately easy; it winds through forest, and there are no steep grades or steps. We had a nice, relaxing evening: dinner at the lodge and few drinks afterwards in the “party” room, and lots of laughs.

Thursday the 17th June: Peach Tree Track - Mt Hobson - Windy Canyon, (in both directions) 25.34 km

It was our last full day on the island and we planned to walk up to Mt Hobson again using different routes, with the hope that we would get better views this time. We split into two groups. One group started from Kaitoke Hot Springs Track and Peach Tree Track, and the other group started from Windy Canyon and Palmers Track. We did the key swap at Mt Heale Hut. We did get better views on the summit, and also spotted a black petrel resting in a tree that we could get quite close to, for a photo shoot. Windy Canyon and the Pinnacles were spectacular. Some of the group returning on the Kaitoke Hot Springs track enjoyed a relaxing soak, as did some of the group walking in the other direction, who walked the 30 minutes back in again.

Our last dinner was at a Thai restaurant near Claris.

Friday the 18th June: Coming home

We were able to enjoy our morning with a leisurely stroll to the Whangaparapara wharf after which we headed back to Claris for a delicious breakfast at My Fat Puku Café. This was followed by a short walk to some local museums before heading back home.

We truly enjoyed the walks on the island. The tracks are very well maintained and the island has something to offer for all levels of fitness.

The pace of life on the Island is slower and less constrained by time and traffic. It was another trip of a lifetime, and another place we can tick off the bucket list.

Those on the trip were:

David Williams, Elisabeth Hynes, Graeme Richardson, Julie James, Kate Livingston, Marian Cox, Neville Grubner, Niamh Dunne, Owen Cox, Paula Richardson, Peter Davis, Yingjun Shelton