Kaikoura Island: a jewel in the Hauraki Gulf

For those looking for somewhere close to Auckland to visit over the summer months – somewhere with the veritable wow factor - there isn’t a better choice than Kaikoura Island, just off the coast of Great Barrier Island.

Bought by the Crown in 2004 for $10.5 million, the island is now a scenic reserve open to the public for day visits only. It is administered by the Motu Kaikoura Trust, of which Martins Bay resident Rod Miller is a trustee.

“There are not many places like this in New Zealand,” Rod says. “It has huge potential for conservation purposes. It’s 560 hectares, twice the size of (bird sanctuary) Tiri Tiri Matangi.”

The trust has set itself the task of encouraging the natural regeneration of forest while eradicating any predator pests or vegetation which would threaten the natural environment, so the island will be available to the public for recreation and youth education purposes.

The trust has met the task head on, eliminating, over several years, 115 fallow deer (deer had been farmed on the island at one stage), and doing a major poison drop to rid the island of rats.
“Rats are endemic on Great Barrier Island and there’s no proven way to get rid of them, but we have no sign of any remaining after the drop,” island caretaker Will Scarlet says.

Now 150 rat motels (contraptions which entice rats in to take bait) and 140 tracking tunnels are scattered on newly made tracks around the island, to check for the presence of any remaining rodents. Will has also placed 180 bait stations on Great Barrier Island directly across from Kaikoura, to minimise the chance of rats moving across from the bigger island.

Another conservation measure in place is the three quarantine sheds that all visitors with bags must pass through to ensure they have not brought any pests or unwanted seeds with them. One is at the wharf, one at the 548-metre airfield and one at Bradshaw Cove.

Rod says there has been significant regeneration of plants since the deer eradication and bird numbers are quickly increasing now the rats are gone.
“We have good colonies of kaka, kingfishers and banded rail,” he says. “We are now hoping bell birds will come back from Little Barrier Island.”

Aside from the birdlife, there are several good tramps around the island, both on a rough formed road and bait line tracks. Historic pa sites and World War 11 bunkers are also dotted around the coast.

“We hope to do up the old lodge on the island to take groups, but that won’t happen until later this year,” Rod says. “We already host a number of Outdoor Pursuit Centre groups from Orama on Great Barrier, for overnight visits.”

(kaikoura island – view from lodge) Panoramic views from The Lost Resort lodge across to Great Barrier Island, only 100 metres away at the narrowest point of the channel.

More pictures ...