Great Barrier Island

Peering out of the plane window, it was hard to believe we'd only been flying half an hour from Auckland and here we were circling over Great Barrier Island already. My first impressions were Wow, Wow and Wow! It seriously feels like you are a million miles from civilisation, and in a way you are - but that's the beauty of it!

Great Barrier Island is at the edge of the Hauraki Gulf and is one of the most peaceful, unspoilt places you will come across in New Zealand . This is definitely the place to come if you want to get back to basics and amongst wonderful Mother Nature at her very best. The place is packed to the rafters with golden beaches, sparkling clear waters and huge native forests.

And it's not like it's crawling with tourists either - as I soon found out when I picked up my hire car at Claris Airport where I flew in. I love the fact that most of the roads here are not even sealed, and the best thing I soon found out was that everyone you pass on the road waves at you - and a pretty cool, "hey how's it going fellow road user?" kind of wave , if you know what I mean.

Yep, you definitely need a car to get around the island. It's bigger than you think and there's heaps to explore, so you wouldn't want to miss a bit, that's for sure.

Tryphena

I headed south to a place called Tryphena, which was going to be my base for the next couple of nights. I'd booked myself in to stay at Pohutukawa Lodge, which was right next door to the Currach Irish Pub, so I thought I couldn't really go wrong.

After meeting a few of the friendly locals at the bar, I headed off to explore Tryphena Harbour, as there was still a few hours left in the day and I didn't want to waste a minute. I had a drive round to the wharf where the ferry from Auckland comes in, and there just so happened to be one docking in. So I stopped for a bit of nosey for a while, then decided to mosey on back to Tryphena for a few sun-downers by the beach. Nice.

I was really glad I was staying next to the Irish pub, as it seemed to be the focal point for both tourists and locals alike. It's a lovely quaint place, and I soon found out the meals were spot-on, especially when you've got a nice cold beer to wash it down. Yum!

Mountain Biking

I didn't want to overdo it though, as the next morning I was heading out mountain biking with Nathan Laven from Paradise Cycles.

I was definitely glad I had a clear head the next day, as I woke up to blue skies and gorgeous sunshine streaming through the window. Fantastic! It didn't take me long to find Nathan's house, just a short drive down the road from Tryphena, and before I knew it I'd been sized up for a mountain bike and after a quick ride around his driveway, we were all set for adventure!

We headed back up towards Claris to the Great Barrier Forest , where Nathan told me there were heaps of great mountain biking tracks. He certainly knew his way round them as well. We were soon pitting our wits against the uphills, but at least there were straights and downhills to look forward to. The views all around from the top of Te Ahumata were a pretty awesome reward. You could see for miles. Even over to nearby Little Barrier Island and the Coromandel. Simply stunning.

Great Barrier Island is really well set up for mountain biking and you could spend days checking out all the tracks. And the best thing is, you'll hardly ever see another biker as it's like the island is a best kept secret that only certain people know about. So don't go telling too many people about it!

Crazy Horse Trike

Next up, I tried out a completely different kind of bike - the Crazy Horse Trike experience to be exact.

It wasn't too difficult to spot Steve and the trike amongst the battered looking utes and well-used vehicles lining up outside the shops in Tryphena. The shiny bright blue trike was definitely a head-turner. As I soon found out after getting in the saddle for a "wind in the face" experience.

The Rewaco HS5 trike is designed to carry two passengers so I had plenty of room sitting up behind Steve in the back. After buckling up, strapping on my helmet and adjusting my sunglasses, I was ready for action. And action is certainly what I got!

I had the option of a sedate, relaxed cruise or a fly-by-the -seat-of-your-pants kind of experience, so you guessed it, I was feeling the need for speed, so Steve put his pedal to the metal. Yee-haaa! Woop woop! It was amazing watching the views fly by as we cruised along, with a stop for yet more photos at Awana Bay , before heading back to base. Fantastic!

After another well-deserved beer or three down the Irish pub, I got talking to a few more friendly locals about island life and felt I was pretty lucky to be in such an idyllic spot.

I was meant to go scuba diving the next day, but unfortunately the trip was cancelled as the weather wasn't quite right. Shame - because the waters surrounding Great Barrier Island are bursting with unique marine life and amazing underwater type stuff. But I will have to save that for my next trip. Luckily, there was still plenty to do above the ground.

Hiking

Great Barrier Island is absolutely choc-full of walking tracks - from easy tracks which meander through lush native forests to more challenging rugged tracks that really put you to the test.

One of the most popular tracks to do is up to the summit of Mt Hobson (Hirakimata) which stands at 621 metres. There are many ways to do it, depending which side of the island you approach it from, but I decided to start at a place called Windy Canyon and worked my way up from there.

It was another day of amazing views and many, many great photo opportunities, so I was snapping away like there was no tomorrow! It was well worth making it to the top of Mt Hobson as I pretty much had a 360 degree view all to myself which was completely amazing!

The best thing about the track down from Mt Hobson is that if you take the Peach Tree Track you'll finish up at Kaitoke Hot Springs, so you can have a well-deserved soak amongst the fern trees when you get to the bottom. It was absolutely bliss - especially after six hours of walking as I had it all to myself! Another perfect end to a perfect day.

I decided to spend the next day exploring the rest of the island, so I headed north and then over to Port Fitzroy - the most westerly place you can drive to on the island. There were plenty of scenic view-points along the way, where I was once again getting snap happy with my camera.

Detour

I headed past the gorgeous Awana Bay and Harataonga Bay to a place called Okiwi, where I decided to make a little detour to see the SS Wairarapa Graves. This is a special place where a short walk along Whangapoua Beach takes you to the site where some of the people are buried who perished in one of the worst shipwrecks in New Zealand 's maritime history.

The SS Wairarapa struck near a place called Miners Head just after midnight on October 29, 1894, with the loss of 140 lives. Most of those who died were brought back to Auckland , but some still remain buried on the island in two small cemeteries at Onepoto and Tapuwai historic reserves.

It was well worth a stop on my way to Port Fitzroy, where I eventually arrived just in time for a leisurely afternoon ice-cream at the local shop - another great place to put my feet up and watch the world go by. There wasn't too much action going on, just a few boaties heading back in after a day fishing and a handful of hikers who looked like they'd been doing some serious exploring.

I decided to do a short walk around Port Fitzroy, which took me up quite high for great views of the harbour, and it was another fantastic spot where I could have easily spent a day or three just chillaxing.

Medlands Beach

But I had to make the journey back south, although not as far as Tryphena this time, as I was spending my last two nights at Medlands Beach Backpackers - another amazing spot nestled high up on a hill overlooking beautiful Medlands Beach . It was pure bliss and a lovely place to hang out with owners Robyn and Malcolm, who made me feel so welcome. After hours chatting with them about island life, I even got to take some fresh blackberries with me from the garden for my last day's hike.

I'd spotted another awesome looking hike on my way to Port Fitzroy, so decided this was going to be my chance to do it before I had to leave the island. It's the Harataonga Coastal Walkway - a five hour easy grade walk along the old coastal road. It starts from Harataonga campsite and heads west across streams and paddocks. And as you might expect, there are even more amazing coastal views - as if I hadn't had enough of them already! The track ends at Aotea Road at the south end of Okiwi, and I think I only passed two people the whole way! Just watch out for sheer drops, as it's quite a long way down there, let me tell you!

Well after another great day amongst Great Barrier Island's rugged, jaw-droppingly gorgeous scenery, I was definitely smitten with the place. The sound of the waves at Medlands Beach sent me off to sleep that night with a big smile on my face. As I peered out of the plane window as we circled away from this magical place the next day, I thought to myself I would definitely have to make a return visit.

Written by Rachel Pinder, 2010