Island Stories

I’m sitting on the veranda of what was once the villa homestead on a 400-acre farm running down to the beach at Mulberry Grove, near where the ferry arrives. Derek Bell bought it on a sub-divided acre in 2005, then … Read More

“My goodness, what a beautiful group of women,” says Anne Kernohan of the island’s Aotea Yoga Collective. When former island yoga teacher Julie Stansfield offered to sell her practice just over a year ago, six yoginis (female master yoga practitioners) … Read More

Who was Great Barrier’s first surfer? Tryphena resident and retired island chemist Mike Gardiner can claim that title. He first visited the island in 1957 fresh out of school and camped in a cave near the mouth of Kaitoke River, … Read More

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

Recently I watched a near total eclipse of the moon. I watched it from the bush clearing that surrounds my house. The moon rose above the ridge about 9.30pm. There were faint wispy clouds in the night sky. Through binoculars … 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