Luxurious accommodation with the most stunning sea views you may ever see. Nestled on a working farm just metres from the sea, explore the rugged coastline and farm, then be entertained by Greg Horler and his wife Rosemarie, who is a 6th generation Chatham Islander. All meals, tours and rental vehicles are available.

Greg and Rosemarie Horler Waitangi – Tuku Road, Waitangi

p: 03 3050 176

e: enquiries@awarakau-lodge.nz

w: awarakau-lodge.nz

Bookings essential

Coming Soon

Whareweka – Te One Science House, is run for the benefit  of the Island, on a not-for-profit basis, for activities related to the arts, sciences, and the humanities. Accommodation, laboratory, and an art studio is available for short term rental.

David Johnston and Jocelyn Powell

255 North Road, Te One

e: enquires@whareweka.org

w: whareweka.org

Not open for public bookings.

This fully self-contained one bedroom cottage is set in the stunning oasis, Admiral Garden, owned by hosts Val and Lois Croon. Located 20 km from Waitangi township and 3 km from the airport.  Relax and enjoy Lois’s art studio, strolling the tracks around garden, bush and farm to the beach or the nearby Henga Walk, Nikau Bush Scenic Reserve walks.

p: 03 3050448

e: lois.croon@gmail.com

Port Hutt Bay Stay is in the North West and overlooks Whangaroa Harbour. This eight bedroom house is approximately 30-minutes drive away from the main township of Waitangi and sleeps 10 people (can cater to larger groups on request). This accommodation can be self-catering or fully catered, and is available to hire on its own or as part of an all-inclusive tour package.

p: 03 3050 011

e: chathamseafoods@farmside.co.nz

A 3 bedroom cottage with all amenities to be self catering, includes wifi – sleeps 6. Located on the Southwest, it is a 25 min (17km) drive from Waitangi. Wake up to the call of the Chatham Island Tui and watch the native pigeon (Parea) graze in the paddocks. Adjacent is the Awatotara private reserve for you to enjoy, home to many Chatham endemic birds. Surround yourself to a diff erent landscape to the rest of the Chathams.

Liz & Bruce Tuanui

1764 Tuku Road

p: 03 3050 351

e: lbtuanui@farmside.co.nz

Hotel Chatham

Centrally located on Waitangi Beach the hotel contains accommodation, a licensed restaurant and public bar, TAB, ATM, tour desk and souvenir shop.

The hotel also owns and manages a number of other properties. These range from nine new five star suites to single bed backpacker units.

Forget Me Not Suites
Beach Houses
Chatham Rise Motel
Lookout
Travellers Rest

p: 033050048

e: info@hotelchathams.co.nz

w: hotelchatham.co.nz

Bayview

Fully self-contained, newly renovated house with spectacular views overlooking Petre Bay. Modern open plan kitchen and living area, bathroom, appliances and deck. Two bedrooms with superb ocean views – one queen, one with two king singles or super king.

w: https://chathamislands.co.nz/Plan-your-visit/accommodation/bayview/

Black Robin Homestay

This is a homestay that guests keep returning to. Lovely harbour views, large ensuite rooms and the most delicious home cooked meals. Lyn will host and entertain you. Rental cars, airport transfers and tour guiding available.

p: 03 3050 106

e: eddieandlynn@xtra.co.nz

w: black-robin-homestays.co.nz

This restful seaside setting is the ultimate way to relax and adopt the pace of nature. Our cottage is fully equipped, just bring your food! Sleeps four people or add in the bunk room on site that has its own bathroom and lounge and sleeps a further six people. Fishing, scenic charters and rental vehicles available.

Megan Lanauze-King and Glen King

2212 Owenga Road

p: 03 3050 419

e: owengacharters@farmside.co.nz

w: owengacharters.co.nz

coming soon…

Skirmish Bay Stay

Nestled in a tranquil bay in the north eastern tip in Kaingaroa, this is your “A home away from home”. Maximum 2 guests, self-catering, minimum 2 nights stay, airport transfers, courtesy vehicle included in costs.

Mark Rodgers and Martha-Lee Tuhiwai

e:marfaandstan@gmail.com

The Landing Retreat

Set on the sunshine coast in the North East of the Chathams, the Landing is a 55-minute drive away from the main township of Waitangi. The three bedroom house sleeps up to 10 people and is self-catering. Available to hire alone or as part of a tour package. Rental vehicle is included, and there is also the option of a private fishing charter.

p: 03 3050 245

e: muirsonfish@ruralinzone.net.nz

No details available

Access to Pitt Island is by boat or plane for day tours or a longer stay. The only accommodation on Pitt Island is Flowerpot Bay Lodge which stands on the site of the original Hunt Homestead. Frederick and Mary Hunt settled here in 1843. The majority of the current Pitt Island inhabitants are descendants of the Hunts. They provide the basis for many stories and yarns of the early pioneers.

New Zealand’s most remote Church, Our Lady of the Antipodes, is located at Flowerpot.

A popular photo opportunity is the view of the Red Bluff Tuff formations on the West Coast above Waihere Bay, referred to by locals as “Mars”. Formed by undersea volcanoes around 65 million years ago, they are a stark contrast to Mangere Island in the distance at just 5 million years.

Historic attractions include the oldest timber building on the Chathams, the Glory Cottage. It is located at Glory Bay where the earliest shipwreck, the brig Glory, happened in 1827. New Zealand’s most remote Church, Our Lady of the Antipodes, is located at Flowerpot.

Within the bush reserves, tui, tomtit, red-crowned parakeets, warblers and fantails are more readily seen than on Chatham Island and the predator-free outer islands of Rangatira (South East Island) and Mangere are home to other rare and endemic birds.

THE ANCIENT VOLCANIC tabletop of Mt Hakepa on Pitt Island in the Chathams is recognised as the first inhabited place in the world to greet the new day. It also hosts Polish-born artist Woytek’s four dramatic millennium bronze sculptures, created as a lasting testimonial to the hopes of humankind and our reconciliation with nature.

Phone: 03 3050 212
Email: bnb@flowerpotlodge.co.nz

Ocean Mail Scenic Reserve has a variety of walks. The beach is accessible at the shelter and picnic tables. Aster Walk: This is a 20 minute walk to see the Chatham Island swamp aster in flower between November and March. A 2 hour 30 minute lake track takes you through the vast expanse of this valuable wetland. Wetland Walk: A 15 minute loop walk to view peat lakes and wetland vegetation.

One of the only two national historic reserves in New Zealand, Hapupu contains the few remnants of rakau momori (Moriori memorial tree impressions). Sadly, many of these ancient miheke (treasures) have vanished and Moriori are today seeking to reignite this ancient tradition of engraving the kopi trees on the Islands. The walk through the bush takes you past some of these unique engravings. The short bush walk is 20 minutes or the longer one including the coastal walk is about 40 minutes. There is public access but guided trips are recommended to visitors so further damage does not occur in this special place.

Point Munning is part of a 47 hectare conservation covenant owned by Jim and Sally Muirson, where access is provided for the public to observe a seal “haulout” or “rookery” in action. The stunning schist rock formations host an abundance of seals, all year round. This area is also excellent for bird watching. Pitt Island shags also breed at Point Munning and the summer migrant turnstones and banded dotterels can be seen here, along with other seabirds.

A surprising encounter is the relatively intact fuselage of the 1945 flying boat on the very remote farm of Jim and Sally Muirson at Kaiwhata, east of Kaingaroa.

A flying boat base was established at Waikato Bay on Te Whanga Lagoon in 1941 with a jetty, moorings and marker buoys for the channel. the lake bottom having been swept of rocks. The catalyst was for defence purposes following the sinking of the Chatham Islands trader, Holmwood, by German Raiders in November 1940.

Sunderland

The RNZAF set up a scheduled service in 1946 that was taken over later by NAC and TEAL and continued until late 1966.

Sunderland NZ4111 was built in 1945 and had served in Hong Kong and Fiji prior to purchase by the Royal New Zealand Airforce in 1953. It had previously been holed and repaired twice when having hit underwater objects during routine work elsewhere.

A flying boat base was established at Waikato Bay on Te Whanga Lagoon in 1941 with a jetty, moorings and marker buoys for the channel. the lake bottom having been swept of rocks. The catalyst was for defence purposes following the sinking of the Chatham Islands trader, Holmwood, by German Raiders in November 1940.

The RNZAF set up a scheduled service in 1946 that was taken over later by NAC and TEAL and continued until late 1966.

Sunderland NZ4111 was built in 1945 and had served in Hong Kong and Fiji prior to purchase by the Royal New Zealand Airforce in 1953. It had previously been holed and repaired twice when having hit underwater objects during routine work elsewhere.

On 4^th November 1959 the plane’s flying days ended when it struck a hidden rock when taking off. The pilot managed to bring the plane into shallow water and passengers were safely evacuated. Following inspection, the RNZAF decided salvage was uneconomic so stripped off all that was worthy, including the engine, and offered the remaining hull to anyone willing to remove it. Ray and Alf Wiesner, farmers at Kaiwhata, dragged the wreck clear of the water, cut it into three pieces and carted them to their farm to be used as hot-houses and storage sheds.

Over recent years the aircraft has been rebuilt and the current farm owner, Jim Muirson, has housed the shell in a shed together with interpretation information for visitors to view on appointment.

In 1967 a grass landing strip opened at Hapupu with a service provided by the RNZAF and later Safe Air using DC3s and Bristol Freighters. Conditions on the grass runway were hazardous in winter and heavy planes were at risk of being bogged. This, together with the lack of roads requiring passengers to be ferried across Te Whanga Lagoon, lead to the building of the current airport at Karewa in 1980-81. The land was donated by Inia William Tuuta, the airport carrying his name.

Te Whakaru/Mission Bay

The  cemetery at Te Whakaru is considered one of the oldest European cemeteries in New Zealand, with its first burial dating to 1802. Amongst those buried are many who lost their lives in shipwrecks in the area. Little is left of the original German missionary settlement built in 1843, from which Mission Bay was named. After unsuccessfully opening a school in a bid to convert the children of their Maori neighbours, the missionaries resorted to farming, ship building and  trading

A bush track that takes you through forest glades and impressive regeneration beneath the towering nikau palms.
1 hour loop walk.

Blind Jim’s on the western shore of Te Whanga Lagoon, Chatham Islands, is a well-known, accessible recreational location used by locals and visitors to the Island. 

Blind Jim’s broadly describes the bay where North Road meets the west side of Te Whanga Lagoon and forms part of an 8km lagoon margin running from Chudleigh Recreation Reserve in the south, past Cattle Point, then Cemetery Point, to a little beyond Waitaha Creek and its nearby quarries.

The 8km lagoon margin has immense geological and conservation attributes.  Te Whanga Limestone dates from 55-32 million years. The limestone is formed almost entirely from skeletons and other hard parts of marine organisms such as the minute lace corals and foraminifera (plankton), sea urchins, lamp shells, barnacles and fossils.

Remnant native forests are present in parts of the marginal strip and provide character and value to the lagoon landscape.  Some years earlier there had been community concerns for the conservation of the remnants which resulted in 1.5km of the margin being fenced and stock proofed in an effort to provide a protective habitat for many of the rare and endemic species of trees and plants that are threatened.

Chatham islands houses some of the world’s rarest bees. At Go Wild Apiary Kaai and Fran will guide you for a walk of the beehives, following pathways they have designed through native vegetation. Tarahina, Pouteretere, Mingimingi, are some of the endemic plants that help produce a unique award winning honey. Gorse is just as important.

For tour booking and honey tasting visit www.gowildapiary.com or ask your host on the Chathams.

This track requires a good level of fitness and takes you through regenerating kopi and mahoe forest to the impressive limestone formations within the forest and on the cliff edge. A steep descent takes you to the dunes of Long Beach. Beautiful coastal views are on this 1 hour 30 minute loop track.

Visit a garden made for birds, bees and butterfl ies. Enjoy the Te Hau Kohaki Wetland Reserve and the Ngatere Reserve coastal bush, sculptures and walk to Long Beach through the sand dunes. Kahukura Studio/shop. House, garden and studio can be guided or just wander by yourself. If you want to be guided, please phone when you are coming.

21 Port Hutt Rd 

1st gate left on Port Hutt Rd 

p: 03 3050 448 

e: lois.croon@gmail.com 

$10pp

One of the most popular attractions on the Island, this impressive outcrop was formed from lava flows cooling around 80 million years ago. Bearing a remarkably similar resemblance to the internationally recognised Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Ireland, rarely are they seen in such exquisite glory as in Ohira Bay.

Larry Reriti 

e: larryreriti@xtra.co.nz

 p:03 3050235 

ENTRY ONLY WITH PERMISSION AND KEY 

Entry Fee applies

The picturesque bay and picnic stop of Port Hutt is the next highlight. Here the wreck of the former WW2 mine sweeper, turned fish freezer, the Thomas Currell rests. The bay is also historic as it is the location of the first New Zealand – United States science partnership, with the US Navy observing of the Transit of Venus in 1874.

The views from the Waitangi West Road across the volcanoes to north are simply breath-taking and reveal a totally different landscape compared to the rest of the island. Described as some of the most remarkable on the Chatham Islands, all are extinct basalt volcanoes formed between five and 50 million years ago.

A must see, this original historic Chatham Islands Stone Cottage, built entirely from local stone in the 1860s, exudes character, charm and history. Lovingly restored, this category 1 historic listed building is open for visitors to view from the outside. An entry fee is required.

Contact Jymy & Tarsha Gregory-Hunt 

Waitangi West Road 

p: 03 3050 653 

e: tarsha_jymy@yahoo.com.au 

Open: By appointment only

On August 14, 1868, a large-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of South America, near the Chile-Peru border. The earthquake generated a large tsunami that was observed throughout the Pacific region. As no tsunami warning system existed for the Pacific at that time, people in areas beyond the earthquake source were generally caught unaware. Almost 15 hours after the earthquake, the largest tsunami waves arrived along the east and north coasts of the Chathams. Tupuangi, Te Raki and Waitangi West experienced the greatest effects of the tsunami. The entire kāinga at Tupuangi, where approximately 70 people lived, was destroyed.

Waitangi West beach is the final stop and a chance to enjoy a walk along this remote beach. Watch out for the endangered Chatham Island oystercatcher.

Nestled between two headlands of limestone enjoy the awe-inspiring full power of the sea. Located at the southern end of Red Bluff, the views from the high points above Contemplation Bay are magnificent and take in much of the geological formations of the area. Enjoy a beach walk from the bay to Waitangi.

St Augustine’s Anglican Church at Te One has a service on the first Sunday of each month.

St Augustine’s Anglican Church, Heritage New Zealand Category 2 Listed Building. Built in 1885.

Waitangi Township:

Museum

The museum presents the Islands’ natural and social history. Displays include rocks, fossils (including dinosaurs), rare birds and other wildlife found on the Islands. Items portraying the distinctive lifestyle of the earliest settlers, the Moriori, are displayed, together with those relating to early European visitors and settlers (sealers, whalers, traders and missionaries) and later Maori and later European farmers. As settlements developed so did a distinctive way of life based on innovation, enforced by isolation and the need to be self-sufficient.

The museum holds an extensive collection of photographs and significant archives where history can be researched.

The Chatham Islands Museum was established in 1971 in a room in the Waitangi store. With Council and community support the collections increased and in 1976 an appeal was launched for funds to build a separate museum.

Tikitiki Hill Conservation Area

10 min (return) EASY.

A quick jaunt on Tikitiki Hill with great views over Petre Bay, towards the Red Bluffs. You can also look down over Waitangi township, with a bird’s-eye view of the Waitangi Wharf.

This clearly signposted walk is suitable for all ages and abilities. On a nice day the lookout area is an ideal spot for a picnic – but be careful when the wind is up as the lookout and track are very exposed.

TBC

Enjoy viewing endemic plants and birdlife specific to this area especially Chatham Islands parea (pigeon). Reasonable fitness is required for the track.

Contact Liz and Bruce Tuanui
Waitangi – Tuku Road, Waitangi
p: 03 3050 351
e: lbtuanui@farmside.co.nz

When birds are present seasonal visits are held to GAP Sanctuary; an  opportunity to see the work of the Chatham Island Taiko Trust. This follows a visit to  renowned Taiko Camp, the hub of the Taiko Trust. Tours by arrangement

Contact Liz and Bruce Tuanui
Waitangi – Tuku Road, Waitangi
p: 03 3050 351
e: lbtuanui@farmside.co.nz
w: taiko.org.nz

Chatham Island Food Co.

An Island owned, family run, seafood business. Located in Owenga right above the wharf, Chatham Island Food Co specialises in fresh, frozen and live seafood. We sell pristine seafood all over the world from right here on the Island. Book a tour, learn about local Island delicacies and hear our story. Seafood available to buy on site.

p: 03 3050 572
e: delwyn@chathamislandfood.com
w: chathamislandfood.com

Tommy Solomon

A visit to the statue of Tommy Solomon (Tame Horomona Rehe) at Manukau is also well worth the trip.

Rangaika/Thomas Mohi Tuuta Scenic Reserve

This track requires a good level of fitness. On the 6 hour return walk you will take in views north east across the ocean to Kaingaroa and west to Port Hutt and if the day is clear you will have magic views of Pitt Island and the smaller outer isles.

Hanson Bay is a large bay which comprises almost the entire east coast of Chatham Island. It is the largest bay within in the Chatham Islands archipelago.  It is 35 kilometres (22 miles) in extent, stretching from Okawa Point in the island’s northeast to Manukau Point in the southeast. Across the ocean to the east are the islands of the Forty Fours and the Chilean coast. The bay may formerly have been used as a resting ground by southern right whales and dolphins.

Uniquely designed and built as a tribute to the Moriori ancestors, Kōpinga Marae was opened in 2005 and has magical 180-degree views of Rēkohu (Chatham Island). Guided tours and history talks available on request.

Waitangi – Owenga Road 

p: 03 3050 450 

e: office@kopinga.co.nz 

w: moriori.co.nz 

Bookings essential

‘Splatter Rock’ is a fascinating rock formation located at the western end of Wharekauri Beach, and only accessible through private property (Wharekauri Station) on the north coast of Chatham Island,to the east of Cape Young.

It is a basalt lava formation which was erupted into soft sediments on the sea floor about five million years ago during the Pliocene Epoch, in water depths of up to 100 metres. It is remarkable because of its star-shape, with rounded lobes of basalt arranged geometrically about a central tube-like conduit.

The geological interpretation is that a fast moving lava flow burrowed its way with some force, in a more or less horizontal direction, like a jet of high pressure fluid, as in a hose. Fluid lava was squeezed in all directions within the sediment but as soon as it did, the hot lava, at temperatures in excess of 1,000 ⁰ C, was rapidly quenched against the cold water-saturated sediment (less than 10⁰ C), creating a hard solid skin to the flow. Lobate sausage-like structures, referred to in geology as ‘pillow lavas’, formed as the lava kept on being ‘pumped’ in.

The result is a complex of pillow lavas that extend at right-angles to the main horizontal lava tube or conduit. With the subsequent effects of vigorous coastal erosion by the sea, the original soft sediments that hosted the lava flow have been largely eroded away to reveal Splatter Rock in all its 3-D glory.

Another unusual aspect of Splatter Rock is that the basalt is charged with a conspicuous dark brown to black mineral called hornblende. This mineral is rare within basalt and imbues Splatter Rock with extra beauty and mystique.

Attractions on the station include the Heritage New Zealand Category 1 Ponga Whare. The history of the whare dates back to the time when the New Zealand Government decided to use Chatham Island as a penal colony. The second resident magistrate, William Thomas, returned from the mainland in March 1866 with a number of Maori prisoners, together with their wives and children, and a guard of twenty-six men. Further prisoners arrived in April and July that year and the group (about 200) included Te Kooti, who became their leader.

The prisoners built a redoubt, houses and huts, roads and improved the tracks. Later, being peaceful and law-abiding they were allowed to take paid work on the outlying European farms. The Ponga Whare on Wharekauri Station was built in 1867 for the station owner, Edward Chudleigh.

In January 1868 the government withdrew some of the guard and in July Te Kooti and the prisoners took over the redoubt, tied up the guards, seized the trading vessel Rifleman and ordered the crew to take them to the mainland.

Content to come

Kaingaroa is a small fishing village with a one teacher school and a social clubroom.

Attractions to take in include the picturesque harbour used in the early days by sealers, whalers and trading ships and as a fishing port, prospering around 1910 with blue cod exports and again during the 1960s crayfish boom. This saw around 50-60 boats in the harbour at one time.

A walk to the north western beach to view the jagged schist rocks and along the hard, sandy Kaingaroa Beach is also enjoyable.

Numerous examples of endemic and rare Chatham Island plant species can be seen in the coastal zone around Kaingaroa.

A Moriori village was located at Kaingaroa when Lieutenant Broughton called in during 1791 and two memorials can be viewed that relate to his visit.

The first, a trypot and whale bone memorial commemorates the Moriori resident of Kaingaroa, known as Tamakaroro who was killed by Lieutenant Broughton’s men of H.M.S. Brig Chatham, in 1791 defending his fishing gear.

The memorial is also dedicated to islanders lost in sea tragedies and provides a poignant reminder of the challenges of life on the Islands.

The second memorial marks the bicentenary of European discovery of the Chatham Islands by Lieutenant Boughton. This was the first meeting between Europeans and the local Moriori inhabitants.

Enjoy a guided walk through dense native bush (over 100 years old) with locals John and Bridget Preece. Highlights include Rautini (Chatham Islands Christmas Tree), Kopi, Karaka, Karamu, Tarihina, Mataipo, Hoho trees and Punga. Birds are also in abundance including parea (pigeons), Chatham Island fantails, warblers and, if you’re lucky, the Chatham Islands parakeet. Walks by appointment only. Bookings essential.

Contact John and Bridget Preece
P: 033050300
E: kopibushretreat@gmail.com