Rotoroa Island NZ

19/08/2026

Teachers Only Day 2026 on Rotoroa Island, Thursday 8 October 2026.

Join us for a a free day for Auckland teachers of Years 5 to 8 to experience our conservation education programme exactly as your students would. Free to attend, the ferry and the day are on us, 75 minutes from downtown Auckland!

What the day looks like:
- Walk it, an educator-guided walk through regenerating forest, with takahē and tīeke along the way.
- Test it, water testing at the wetlands and rock pools at Ladies Bay, using the same gear your students would.
- Plan it, a digital resource pack with updated curriculum links, RAMS forms and student journals.
- Swim it, beach time in the afternoon, and a swim if you feel like one.

Places are limited and last year’s day filled quickly. Register free by emailing [email protected], or visit rotoroa.org.nz/education.

“An amazing opportunity for students to see restoration in action.” Attending teacher, 2026.

Our island sanctuary is just an hour from Auckland, but it feels like another world. It’s a place where curious explorers can uncover fascinating stories and beautiful beaches. Experience first hand the conservation of iconic New Zealand species. And escape to somewhere truly special for the day, ...

18/08/2026

Meet a survivor. This is a takahē (Rotoroa's resident female Fyffe), once thought extinct, now one of Aotearoa's greatest conservation comebacks, and wandering free right here on Rotoroa Island. Being a predator-free island is what makes moments like this possible.

We are only 75 minutes by ferry from downtown Auckland, but a world away. Book your ferry with Explore Group and come visit.

📸 Mark Cairns

10/08/2026

A big thank you to the team at Yamaha Motor New Zealand 💚

For this year's Yamaha Day, staff, partners and volunteers swapped the office for gloves and walking boots and spent the day with us on Rotoroa, rolling up their sleeves for our restoration work.

Working alongside our team, the crew cleared vegetation, maintained our walking tracks, tackled pest plant control, and even gave the wharf a good scrub. It is hands-on work that protects the native plants and wildlife making a home here again, and it is exactly how a restored island stays that way.

They also got to know Rotoroa's story: from a former rehabilitation centre to one of Aotearoa's great conservation comebacks. Living the theme "Own the Moment, Take Action," they certainly did.

To everyone who came out, and to Auckland Sea Shuttles for getting the crew across - Rotoroa is all the better for it.

Thinking about a team or volunteer day on the island? We would love to host you. Get in touch or visit rotoroa.org.nz 🌿

📸 Yamaha Day 2026

30/07/2026

Meet the woman who helps islands go predator free and brings back thriving native flora and fauna 🌳

Jo Ritchie has spent her career restoring wild places: an ecologist who has led pest eradication projects across the Hauraki Gulf and beyond, helped drive the predator-free Waiheke project, and keeps Rotoroa running as our Operations Manager. Ask her what a healthy forest sounds like and she will tell you to close your eyes and listen for tīeke.

On Saturday 1 August, Jo is sharing all of it on our Living Forest Walk: plant identification, rongoā, tastings straight from the bush, and the story of 350,000 native trees. Join us! Secure your ferry ticket + guided walk combo with Explore Group and we will see you when you arrive to our island sanctuary. Learn more:

Our island sanctuary is just an hour from Auckland, but it feels like another world. It’s a place where curious explorers can uncover fascinating stories and beautiful beaches. Experience first hand the conservation of iconic New Zealand species. And escape to somewhere truly special for the day, ...

28/07/2026

Today is World Conservation Day, and Rotoroa Island is proof of what conservation can do 🌿

For a century it was a Salvation Army rehabilitation retreat, closed to the public. The Rotoroa Island Trust was established in 2008, thanks to a generous gift from Annette and Neal Plowman, with the aim of the island being a public sanctuary for everyone to enjoy.

Since restoration began, more than 350,000 native trees have been planted across its 80 hectares, turning a farmed island in the Hauraki Gulf into one of the youngest regenerating native coastal forests in the country. Next month, another 45,000 go in the ground.

Rotoroa Island was then made predator-free and the wildlife has come back with it: tīeke, pāteke, takāhē (one of the world's rarest birds), and kiwi chicks have been raised here for release into the wild.

None of it happened by accident: it's the work of rangers, volunteers, visitors and everyone who believes a wild place is worth protecting.

Visitors can explore the many walking tracks, see the wildlife, swim at the stunning safe beaches, visit the chapel and discover the island’s fascinating history in the small museum.

Guided walks with an island ranger are a wonderful 90-minute introduction before heading off to explore.

Our island sanctuary is just 75 minutes from downtown Auckland by ferry, and every visit helps keep the recovery going. Come see it for yourself 🌏

📸Photos are showing aerial image of island after planting, North Tower before planting, North Tower 2011 and then North Tower 2021.

23/07/2026

Walk the forest with the person who looks after it this Saturday 🌳

This Saturday 25 July, join our island manager and arborist Dean Oxborough for a special guided tree walk on Rotoroa, followed by a free hands-on pruning workshop.

Dean has spent 20 years in the trees. On the walk he'll show you how to read a regenerating forest, what thrives on a wild coastal island and why, then in the workshop he'll teach you how and where to prune, a skill you'll take straight home to your own garden.

The winter bush is at its best right now: birdsong everywhere, tīeke and pīwakawaka working the tracks, and no summer crowds. The forecast is playing along too, MetService is picking a mainly fine day, around 14 degrees with just a few showers early on. Pack a raincoat just in case and you're set.

🌿 Free workshop, usual price for guided walk + ferry through Explore Group applies.
📅 Saturday 25 July, walk commences 11am after 10.20am arrival by ferry.
⛴ 75 minutes from downtown Auckland on the morning ferry
🎟 Spots are limited and filling now. Book your ferry and walk here: https://bit.ly/450kz6f

Wear sturdy shoes, bring lunch, and come and learn something you'll use for life.

Explore Group are a unique and exciting tourism operator. A company that through the efforts of its employees and selection of products, delivers once in a lifetime experiences to our customers everyday in four amazing destinations.

22/07/2026

What does a forest taste like? On Saturday 1 August, ecologist Jo Ritchie is leading one special Living Forest Walk on Rotoroa 🏝️🌳

Crush kawakawa between your fingers, taste native fruit, meet the plants used for rongoā, hear how 350,000 trees were planted on an island in the Gulf, and why thousands of seedlings are now coming up all by themselves.

Two hours with bush, bugs birds and the woman who helps whole islands go predator free and brings back thriving native flora and fauna. A brilliant family day out!

Spots are limited so book your guided walk & ferry combo with Explore Group New Zealand: https://www.exploregroup.co.nz/auckland/rotoroa-island/

18/07/2026

Protecting our rarest residents 🌿

You may have seen that avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) has been in the news, with a migratory skua found carrying it near Wellington, and a second confirmed case from a harrier hawk in the Wairarapa. It has not reached Rotoroa Island, but as home to takahē, one of five native species the Department of Conservation has initially identified as most at risk, we are taking it seriously.

The good news is Department of Conservation has completed a successful safety trial of a bird flu vaccine on takahē and four other threatened species (kakī, kākāpō, tūturuatu and kākāriki). It was found to be safe and effective, and our birds are being vaccinated later this month with a booster in August. We’d like to thank our DOC and Auckland Zoo partners for their proactive approach.

13/07/2026

Join us for a special winter's day in the forest 🌿

On Saturday 25th July, your Rotoroa Island Ferry+ Guided Walk package with Explore Group New Zealand includes access to a special guided event led by Island Manager Dean Oxborough, a professional arborist with a Diploma in Arboriculture Level 4 Advanced and two decades of experience working with trees across New Zealand.

First, it's a guided walk through the island, tracing Rotoroa's journey from working farmland to restorative native forest, pausing at historical and scheduled trees to explore their ecological significance. After lunch, the afternoon turns hands-on. Dean will lead a formative pruning demonstration walking you through the full arborist toolkit: crown lifting, crown reduction, crown thinning, crown cleaning, deadwood removal, view and light recovery, and pollarding. He'll talk through how to read a tree's form and symmetry, make correct cuts, and when to prune versus when to leave well alone.

Spots are limited and booking up quickly. Workshop is free and included with your Ferry & Guided Walk ticket, or koha welcomed on the day.

If you've been meaning to get out to the island this winter, this is the perfect reason. Winter is one of Rotoroa's best-kept secrets: the forest is fresh and full of birdsong, the tīeke and pīwakawaka are at their busiest, and the tracks stay sheltered under the canopy.

This day is for:

- Gardeners and horticulture enthusiasts
- Nature lovers and conservation supporters
- Anyone curious about Rotoroa's restoration story
- People who want a genuinely different day out

No experience needed! Book here: https://bit.ly/450kz6f.

After you click on book online, enter the date of the event you want to book in the box above the calendar and then work down through the options. This will take you through to payment. Make sure you choose the Return Ferry with Guided Walk.

01/07/2026

🌳 Special Event: 25 July on Rotoroa Island. We're spending the day in the trees with Island Manager and professional arborist Dean Oxborough.

In the morning Dean will lead you through a Special Guided Tree Walk through the island's landscape, exploring Rotoroa's transformation from farmland to restorative native forest, and stopping to examine the historical and scheduled trees on site. You'll gain a deeper understanding of the roles native and exotic species each play - ecologically, historically, and practically.

In the afternoon it will shift to hands-on learning. Dean will take you through a formative pruning demonstration, walking through the full range of techniques arborists use in the field: crown lifting, crown reduction, crown thinning, crown cleaning and deadwood removal, view and light recovery, and pollarding. He'll cover the principles behind why and when we prune, how to assess a tree's form, symmetry, and structure, and the correct techniques for making clean, healthy cuts.

This is a day for gardeners, tree lovers, conservationists, and the genuinely curious. No prior experience is required, just a love of trees and a willingness to look up.

The pruning workshop is free, or leave a koha towards the island's restoration work. Standard ferry and walk tickets apply.

BYO lunch. All experience levels welcome. Book your ferry and guided walk ticket via Explore Group New Zealand: https://secure.exploregroup.co.nz/BookingCat/Availability/?Category=AKLROTO.