New Zealand
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
277km²
Area
234km
Coastline
627m
Highest point
Mount Hobson
939
People
21°C
Warmest sea
February
2,078km
To the mainland
When to go to Great Barrier Island
Best for the beach from January to March.
The sea is warmest in February (21 °C) and coolest in August (15 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): February.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Largest island near New Zealand's North Island
Great Barrier Island is an island in New Zealand. It covers 277 km², with 234 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, rises to 627 m. About 939 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2,078 km away.
Getting there
- Whangarei Airport (WRE)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 105 km in a straight lineCar hire at WRE airport (Whangarei)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesAuckland - Great Barrier Island (Tryphena) Vehicular Ferry
- 2,078 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Marchbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Great Barrier Island.
- 70beachesBush's Beach, Pah Beach, Mulberry Grove and 67 more
- 16viewpointsMount Hobson, Coopers Castle Lookout, Sugarloaf (Kaitoke Side) and 13 more
- 2ferry terminalsTryphena Wharf, Great Barrier - Port Fitzroy
- 31named peaksMount Hobson, Tataweka, Mount Heale and 28 more
- 6waterfallsAwana Waterfall, Kauri Falls and 4 more
- 7ruins and archaeological sitesKauri Dam and 6 more
- 1waymarked walking routesAotea Track
- 7campsitesAwana Beach Campsite, Akapoua Bay Campsite, Harataonga Campsite and 4 more
- 8hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 5restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Great Barrier Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Great Barrier Island, each with its own numbers.
6beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
21.0°C
Medlands Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
6 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Whangapoua Beach21.0°C
- Stony Beach21.0°C
- Overtons Beach21.0°C
- Palmers Beach21.0°C
- Medlands Beach21.0°C
- Kaitoke Beach21.0°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 125 m above the sea. 79 % of it is below 200 m.
- 26 %0–50 m
- 54 %50–200 m
- 20 %200–500 m
- <1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 20 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 |
| Night low (°C) | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| Sea (°C) | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 |
| Rain (mm) | 55 | 63 | 72 | 76 | 107 | 105 | 111 | 106 | 80 | 66 | 48 | 70 |
| Wet days | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| Sun h/day | 10.2 | 8.9 | 8.0 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 7.4 | 8.9 | 9.6 | 9.5 |
| Wind (km/h) | 22 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 23 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.1 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +0.3 |
| 2021 | +0.6 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +1.4 | +1.9 |
| 2022 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +1.1 |
| 2023 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +1.6 | +0.9 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.1 |
| 2025 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +2.2 | +1.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1363130) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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