The hidden side to one of NZ’s most popular islands

Ordinarily, a picnic on a deserted sandy beach would be the definition of holiday indulgence. But not today. It’s bucketing with rain, my fancy new waterproof jacket is leaking, and I’ve already made several navigational blunders, which doesn’t bode well given this is day one of a five-day self-guided hike.

Disheartened, I slump beside a pohutukawa tree and sullenly eat my sandwich underneath a sagging umbrella. Then something bizarre happens. Two men emerge from the tree line, completely naked, and sprint into the sea, shrieking and whooping like it’s the best day of their lives. It’s difficult to imagine a more life-affirming reset.

Covering the coast on Waiheke Island’s Te Ara Hura trail.Credit:

This is a side of Waiheke Island most visitors don’t see. Over the past 30 years, it’s gone from a peaceful bohemian hangout to a hugely popular tourist destination. Only a 40-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland, the island receives an avalanche of visitors every summer, all keen to experience its lauded combination of secluded beaches, arty townships and award-winning wineries.

However, you only need to stray a little from the tourist trail to find intriguing pockets of eccentricity, including – as I’ve just discovered – several nudist beaches.

Getting off the beaten track is why I’m here – specifically, to hike the Te Ara Hura, a 100-kilometre-long trail that circumnavigates the island, starting and ending at the ferry terminal in Matiatia.

Although it’s self-guided, I’ll be following an itinerary created by Great Walks of New Zealand, who uses experienced Waiheke-based guide Gabrielle Young. Young meets me at the ferry wharf with a detailed set of walking notes and a packed lunch, then whisks my luggage off to my accommodation for the next four nights, a self-contained apartment in Onetangi, so I can hike with just a day pack.

Considering I have four separate navigational aids – the official Te Ara Hura map, physical trail-side markers, Young’s notes and a GPS phone app that buzzes when I stray off course – you’d think circling an island would be a piece of cake. However, I soon discover that they frequently disagree – often suggesting different routes because of a track closure or high tide – which gives the endeavour a certain intrepid explorer quality. I bet Livingstone didn’t have to wrestle with the anxiety of disobeying his GPS.

Hidden bay on Waiheke Island.Credit:

Most day-trippers to Waiheke will be familiar with Oneroa, the island’s largest town, with its cafe- and gallery-lined main drag overlooking picturesque Oneroa Bay. Waiheke has long been a magnet for writers and artists, many of which exhibit in the town’s four galleries. Space gallery represents a collective of seven local artists, selling everything from delicate silver jewellery and expressive portraiture to a striking wooden female figure (naked, of course) costing $NZ4000 ($3700).

Leaving Oneroa, I follow the island’s northern coastline, a succession of sandy coves separated by rocky headlands, on a track that meanders through dense thickets of regenerating bush. Heroic efforts are being made all over the island to restore the natural habitat. Young tells me that they’ve almost eradicated stoats and plan to tackle rats next. By the end of 2026, they hope to be the first urban island that’s predator free – an impressive achievement given Waiheke welcomes almost a million visitors a year.

The reward for all this hard work is an explosion of native birdlife. The number of kaka, a native parrot, has increased by more than 300 per cent, and there are now weka, a flightless native hen, all over the island. All going well, they hope to reintroduce kiwi later this year.

Native plants – and wildlife – are thriving on the island.Credit:

For hikers, this means you’re frequently plunged into pockets of Amazonian fecundity – explosions of ferns, flax and palms shielded by soaring puriri and karaka trees. Above the background drone of cicadas are the animated conversations of chattering tuis and the distinctive calls of weka and kereru wood pigeons.

Even when you descend into a secluded bay, there will be squabbling pairs of oystercatchers and – if you’re lucky – an endangered New Zealand dotterel or a bar-tailed godwit, whose incredible 11,000-kilometre journey from Alaska is the world’s longest migration.

What you won’t see is many other hikers. For the first three days I don’t pass another soul, which is astounding given Waiheke is less than 25 kilometres from downtown Auckland. Later in the trip I encounter a few dog walkers and day hikers, but I don’t meet anyone else tackling the whole thing.

Day by day, I gradually work my way clockwise around the island. Each morning, I’m collected from Onetangi and delivered to that day’s starting point. Ranging from 15 to 25 kilometres, each leg uses a mixture of trails, roads and boardwalks to traverse a restless volcanic landscape of plunging valleys, intimate coves and rocky peninsulas. One day I climb the equivalent of 187 flights of stairs.

It’s possible to walk for hours without seeing any sign of human habitation.Credit: Gabrielle Young

Most of Waiheke’s 10,000 or so residents live in the western half of the island, so the eastern part is still mainly farmland and vineyards. Aside from the occasional holiday home or sailboat, I often walk for hours without seeing any evidence of human habitation.

Waiting in the apartment when I return each night is a delicious home-cooked meal to heat up (my favourite is a spinach-filled Greek spanakopita pie), and Young has stocked the kitchen with a generous array of breakfast and lunch supplies.

If there’s one thing that distinguishes this hike from every other multi-day walk I’ve done, it’s that you’re rarely far from a winery. I wrestle with the decision as to whether to imbibe for about 30 seconds before succumbing, and I’m now an enthusiastic advocate of wine-fuelled hiking.

The route passes around a dozen wineries and I manage to call into five. One standout is Man O’ War, the island’s biggest producer, located on the less-visited eastern coast in a bay where Captain Cook landed in 1769. Known for its innovative take on traditional varietals, its Ironclad Bordeaux blend is sensational.

Another highlight is Poderi Crisci, a gorgeous Italian-themed property that’s a soul-stirring sight after a taxing climb to the trail’s loftiest peak, 155-metre-high Puke O Kai. Specialising in Mediterranean varietals and authentic Italian fare (don’t miss the tiramisu), it’s known for its lavish long lunches with matching wines.

Although Mudbrick is one of the island’s most commercial wineries, it’s also one of its most awarded, and the view over the Hauraki Gulf from its elevated terrace is genuinely captivating.

The island’s vineyards.Credit:

Sometimes wine just isn’t enough to get the job done, though, and after a long, hot afternoon on a relentlessly undulating ribbon of road, I’m lured into Waiheke Distilling by the prospect of a restorative gin and tonic. Its cherry-infused Red Ruby gin hits the spot and comes with a stunning island-studded coastal vista that stretches all the way to the Coromandel Peninsula.

One downside of a self-guided trip is that you miss out on the interpretation of a knowledgeable guide. And this is particularly salient when it comes to Waiheke’s Maori heritage. While there’s some insightful background in Young’s notes, I pass only a couple of plaques that mention it, which is odd given the obvious physical evidence (countless kumara pits and terracing on hills) plus New Zealand’s enthusiastic embrace of Maori culture.

Beach crossing on the trail.Credit:

According to Young, the reason is that there’s still a lot of trauma about what happened here, specifically the massacre of the resident Ngati Paoa tribe by well-armed Ngapuhi warriors from Northland in 1821.

Fast-forward two centuries and it’s clear that a passionate sense of community has returned. The final leg of the walk passes through Church Bay, a beautifully scenic stretch of coastline that’s the setting for Waiheke’s biennial Sculpture on the Gulf exhibition. In 1993, Nick and Nettie Johnstone gifted part of their farm to the Forest & Bird conservation group, who have since transformed it into a thriving coastal reserve with more than 40,000 native trees.

It reminds me of something my server said during a tasting at Goldie Estate, the island’s pioneering first winery: “I’ve lived all over New Zealand and I’ve never found a community like this.”

The details

Tour
The six-day Te Ara Hura Self-Guided Walk includes all accommodation (one night in Auckland and four on Waiheke), return ferry trip, all island transfers and most meals. The trip is rated 4/10, meaning it’s suitable for hikers with a “good level of fitness and good health”. Cost from $NZ2990 ($2760). See greatwalksofnewzealand.co.nz

Fly
Air New Zealand files daily to Auckland from Melbourne and Sydney. See airnewzealand.com

More
aucklandnz.com

The writer was a guest of Great Walks of New Zealand.