Guided scenic day-tour of Great Barrier Island from your Auckland Bed and Breakfast hotel in Parnell Auckland city.

If your stay in New Zealand is too short to travel the length and breath of the country, but you don't want to miss out on a real Kiwi wilderness experience; this expertly guided tour is for you ! Bush and Beach Tours, a personal and small tour company, bring you to Great Barrier Island for the day, and you don't even have to check-out of your (luxury) accommodations in Auckland city ! Ask your hosts at the Ascot Parnell for more info.

The Barrier offers the essence of New Zealand in a nutshell. Natural beauty, pioneering history, unspoiled beaches, dense native forests, remote farms ...... Life here seems unchanged from what we knew in New Zealand 50 years ago. An unforgettable day !

A 30 minute flight by light plane over the sparkling waters of the Hauraki Gulf brings you to majestic Great Barrier Island. After breakfast at a local café take an easy half hour walk on gravelled tracks and boardwalks past giant Nikau palms and rare native flora and fauna over unique wetlands to the Kaitoke natural thermal springs. The adventure continues as you drive past native bush and rugged peaks to the secluded natural harbour at Port Fitzroy where you enjoy a relaxed kiwi style picnic lunch. A short drive takes you to a sweeping, often deserted stretch of a pristine white-sand beach. There is time here for a swim or a meander along the beach to visit the graves of those drowned in one of New Zealand’s worst shipwreck accident. Visit the only working cattle and sheep farm on the island where relics of the past remain. Here the world’s largest population of Brown Teal can be found, a friendly little duck on the verge of extinction. At a nearby stream, monster eels come when called and can be fed – if you dare! This unforgettable day is rounded off with a climb to the top of Windy Canyon, a spectacular short walk. The path winds around rocky outcrops and past sheer cliffs coated with rata vines to take in breathtaking views of the island and beyond. The flight back returns you to Auckland Airport at 5.30pm