From the deck of the Aotea Track’s Mt Heale (Matāwhero) Hut the vista at twilight is awe-inspiring. It faces west towards Te Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier Island. To the left is the distant glow of Auckland. Ecologically, Aotea Great Barrier … Read More
There’s a climactic scene in Don E McGregor’s latest book where a Barrier guerilla fighter and a wily Japanese soldier stalk each other in the rocky crags around Ruahine above Rosalie Bay. Defiant Great Barrier Islanders have played a crucial … Read More
Tony Christiansen is the Chair of the Great Barrier Island Historical Research Group Incorporated, which has recently erected The History Hut in Ben Sanderson’s paddock next to the radio station in Claris. It serves as the archives for the island, … Read More
As lockdown brought travel to and around the island to a halt I reached out to several island professional photographers, asking them if they would share a favourite image and about how Aotea has challenged and inspired their work. Hillary … Read More
The next festival on Aotea’s calendar – Small Island Big Ideas in September – promises to cater for hearts and minds. Its theme is Uncertainty – an odd theme you might think – but accepting that change is constant is … Read More
Words Tim Higham, Images Saskia Koerner Aotea’s population is growing. The number of people listing the island as their primary place of residence for health care purposes has crept up to over 1150. The last official census in 2018 had … Read More
A lot of visitors say Great Barrier Island is like stepping back in time. All homes and accommodation places are reliant on their own power, waste and water systems. Recent participants in the Off the Grid Festival had the chance … Read More
Joss Bellerby loves the apple and chocolate scents of her Stonewall Store in Tryphena when she opens up in the morning. Gerald Endt needs to be in touch with the day – temperature, soil condition and moisture – if his … Read More
Aotea and every one of the 50-odd islands and rock stacks that surround it has a name. Some are well-known, like Rakitū and Kaikoura. Others known to just a few, markers to a past stretching back a thousand years. Rodney Ngawaka … Read More
