Auckland - New Zealand - page 111

Okiwi Bar has an excellent right-hand break, while Awana has both left- and right-
hand breaks. Pohutukawa trees shelter the pretty bays around Tryphena.
Diving is excellent, with shipwrecks, pinnacles, lots of fish and more than 33m visibil-
ity at some times of the year.
Hooked on Barrier DIVING, FISHING
OFFLINE MAP
( 09-429 0740; www.hookedonbarrier.co.nz ; 89 Hector Sanderson Rd; half-/full-day charter
$700/1200) Hires out diving, snorkelling, fishing, surfing and kayaking gear, and runs
fishing, diving and sightseeing charters.
Mountain Biking
With rugged scenery and relatively little traffic on the roads, mountain biking is a popu-
lar activity. There's a designated 25km ride beginning on Blind Bay Rd, Okupu, winding
beneath the Ahumata cliffs before crossing Whangaparapara Rd and beginning the 15km
Forest Rd ride through beautiful forest to Port Fitzroy. Cycling on other DOC walking
tracks is prohibited.
Tramping
The island's very popular walking tracks are outlined in DOC's free Great Barrier Island
(Aotea Island) booklet. Before setting out, make sure you're properly equipped with wa-
ter and food, and be prepared for both sunny and wet weather.
The most popular easy walk is the 45-minute Kaitoke Hot Springs Track , starting
from Whangaparapara Rd and leading to natural hot springs in a bush stream. Check the
temperature before getting in and don't put your head under the water.
Windy Canyon , which is only a 15-minute walk from Aotea Rd, has spectacular rock
outcrops and affords great views of the island. From Windy Canyon, an excellent trail
continues for another two to three hours through scrubby forest to Hirakimata (Mt Hob-
son, 621m), the highest point on the island, with views across the Hauraki Gulf and
Coromandel. Near the top of the mountain are lush forests and a few mature kauri trees
that survived the logging days. From Hirakimata it is 40 minutes south to Mt Heale Hut
or two hours west through forest and past a kauri driving dam to Kaiaraara Hut, where
it's another 45 minutes on to Port Fitzroy.
A more challenging tramp is the hilly Tramline Track (five hours), which starts on
Aotea Rd and follows old logging tramlines to Whangaparapara Harbour. The initial
stages of this track are not maintained and in some parts the clay becomes slippery after
rain.