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Tiritiri Matangi Island Day Trip from Auckland with Optional Guided Walk
1 day
With guide
Full Day
By walk
About this activity
Meet your ferry at downtown Auckland’s ferry terminal and relax on the beautiful 75-minute ride across the Hauraki Gulf to Tiritiri Matangi island. When you arrive at the island, you’ll receive an orientation from the ranger. You can then opt to take a 1.5 hour guided walk where you'll learn from your guide about the island's bird life, history and environmental restoration. The guided walk is recommended for an in-depth introduction to the island's birds, other wildlife, and history, or you can choose to spend the whole day exploring the island on your own.
The predator-free island is home to many endangered native birds, including the colorful and rare takahe. Other birds that can be found here include the stitchbird, saddleback, bellbird, brown teal, whitehead, kakariki, kokako, New Zealand robin, fernbird and penguins. Once deforested, the island has been recovering since 1984, when hundreds of volunteers started planting 300,000 native trees. Since then, 12 endangered native bird species and 3 reptile species, including the rare tuatara (a prehistoric lizard), have been re-established in the sanctuary. Your guide will give you tips about the best spots to see specific animals and how to identify the birdcalls that you will hear.
Your guide will finish the tour at the visitor center where you can browse through informative exhibits. Free tea and coffee is provided at the center and there are plenty of tables where you can eat your lunch (not sold on the island, please bring your own).
Afterward, you can relax around the Visitor Center and check out the lighthouse, built circa 1864 and once the brightest lighthouse in the southern hemisphere. Or explore the walking trails that wind throughout the island, with varying choices for different fitness levels. In warmer months, head to Hobbs beach for a swim. You’ll have about five hours total on the island, with plenty of time to explore and see some of New Zealand's rarest animal life. Numbers of visitors are limited in order to protect the wildlife in the open sanctuary. Don't miss this chance to visit magical Tiritiri!
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The predator-free island is home to many endangered native birds, including the colorful and rare takahe. Other birds that can be found here include the stitchbird, saddleback, bellbird, brown teal, whitehead, kakariki, kokako, New Zealand robin, fernbird and penguins. Once deforested, the island has been recovering since 1984, when hundreds of volunteers started planting 300,000 native trees. Since then, 12 endangered native bird species and 3 reptile species, including the rare tuatara (a prehistoric lizard), have been re-established in the sanctuary. Your guide will give you tips about the best spots to see specific animals and how to identify the birdcalls that you will hear.
Your guide will finish the tour at the visitor center where you can browse through informative exhibits. Free tea and coffee is provided at the center and there are plenty of tables where you can eat your lunch (not sold on the island, please bring your own).
Afterward, you can relax around the Visitor Center and check out the lighthouse, built circa 1864 and once the brightest lighthouse in the southern hemisphere. Or explore the walking trails that wind throughout the island, with varying choices for different fitness levels. In warmer months, head to Hobbs beach for a swim. You’ll have about five hours total on the island, with plenty of time to explore and see some of New Zealand's rarest animal life. Numbers of visitors are limited in order to protect the wildlife in the open sanctuary. Don't miss this chance to visit magical Tiritiri!
Included
- Guided walk (if option selected)
- Entry/Admission - Tiritiri Matangi Island
Not included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drinks
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 3 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
- Please bring suitable walking shoes, a light rain jacket, sunscreen, hat, towel and swimwear
- There are no shops on the island. Please bring plenty of water, snacks and lunch
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Infant seats available
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
65%
Original
15%
Reviews
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Nice... but you have to be a avid “bird man” to really enjoy it.
Fantastic. Very well organized and executed. One of the best tours we took in New Zealand.
So the 1 1/2 hr guided walk turned out to be 2 1/2 hrs then I booked it towards the top and the light house to eat. I wanted to hike around the island and didn't realize that our volunteer told us about every plant, bird and development of this island. I know these volunteers are passionate about the island sanctuary but I think I could have skipped the guided walk. I had to leave our group to go eat because of low blood sugar. I feel the importance of discovering nature on my own was much more enjoyable than being guided. They failed to tell us that the gift shop sold a 8x11 paper with all the birds on the island and I would have liked to try to see these for myself. Because in a group we didn't see many birds due to people talking and walking but out on my own I spotted 5 different types. If you are a true birdwatcher this is the trip for you. If you enjoy hiking and nature just avoid the guided tour.
A unique Auckland experience that should not be missed. The volunteer guide from Supporters of Tiritiri Mantanga was excellent. Remarkably knowledgeable about the flora and fauna. While we saw considerable wildlife, be aware this is not a zoo and so the birds can be hard to spot although the guide was very helpful in spotting them.
This was a wonderful day. It started with a very nice ferry ride to the island where we were met with a wonderful group of volunteers. They kept the groups small and we had 1 volunteer for 4 people. The trail walk was filled with listening to and finding very interesting birds and our volunteer her name was Penny was extremely knowledgeable about the island and the birds. Once the walk was over, we visited the lovely gift shop and took another path back to the shore where we met the ferry for the return trip. If you want to get away for the day and be somewhere not too many people are, this is the perfect tour.