Kawau Island | New Zealand

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Get yourself to Kawau Island.

It’s a stunning spot out in the Hauraki Gulf, just north of Auckland, and only takes about 1.5 hours to get to, via drive and ferry. As part of our 20 year friendship anniversary, my friend and I headed north on a mini road trip, boarded the Royal Mail Cruise and spent the day sailing in and out of bays, learning about the history and the island, perusing the water-front homes and holiday houses, eventually landing at Governor Grey’s stunning homestead in Mansion House Bay.

It costs a hefty NZD $4 to visit Mansion House, and you kick your shoes off at the door before having pretty much free reign of the house. While you’re obviously not allowed to touch anything, you do get up close and personal with some beautiful old items and furniture, paintings and photographs, intricate wallpapers, lovely gardens and the most glorious library I’ve seen in a while.

After exhausting the antiques in Mansion House, we headed off into the island for a stroll along one of the many paths that weave their way over the island. While several of them were blocked off due to fallen trees and storm damage, the little bit we did see was lovely, and the views over the water were magical.

One of my favourite things about the Kawau Island were all the weka. Weka are New Zealand native flightless birds (sort of like taller, day-time kiwi), and you don’t see them much on the main islands of NZ. There are no predators on Kawau Island, so the weka are incredibly friendly and not fussed about the humans walking around around. We were sitting for a while on a park bench and one just came and hung out with us for about 10 minutes or so, just pottering around, minding its own business, smiling for photos, that sort of thing.

If you ever get the change to visit Kawau Island, then I highly recommend. We’re already talking about a return trip, perhaps booking out a bach and staying for the weekend.

Have you been to Kawau Island?