Kaikoura Island (formerly known as Selwyn Island) lies in an irregularly-shaped bay on the western side of
Great Barrier Island
Great Barrier Island ( mi, Aotea) lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and fourth-largest in the main chain. Its highest point, Mount Hobson ...
in the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,[New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...](_blank)
, north east of
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. Kaikoura Island is the seventh largest island in the Hauraki Gulf. It is 80 metres from Great Barrier Island at its closest point and forms the natural harbours of
Port FitzRoy
Port Fitzroy is a harbour and coastal community on Great Barrier Island in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf.
It is the largest natural harbour in the Gulf, with Kaikoura Island guarding the entrance to the harbour and providing shelter for yachties i ...
and
Port Abercrombie. Its biota includes the endangered
brown teal
The brown teal (''Anas chlorotis''; mi, pāteke) is a species of dabbling duck of the genus ''Anas'' native to New Zealand. For many years it had been considered to be conspecific with the flightless Auckland and Campbell teals in ''Anas auckla ...
duck, the
North Island Kākā and many native trees and shrubs.
In 2004 it was purchased from private ownership by the government's
Nature Heritage Fund
The Nature Heritage Fund is a funding body of the New Zealand Government set up in 1990 for the purchase of land which has significant ecological or landscape value.
It is administered by the Department of Conservation, but controlled by the Min ...
, other government agencies and private trusts to become a public reserve. The Motu Kaikoura Trust was set up to restore, control and manage the island.
See also
*
List of islands of New Zealand
New Zealand consists of more than six hundred islands, mainly remnants of a larger land mass now beneath the sea. New Zealand is the seventh-largest island nation on earth, and the third-largest located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. T ...
References
External links
Motu Kaikoura TrustKaikoura Island
{{coord, -36.1771, 175.3266, region:NZ_type:isle, display=title
Islands of the Hauraki Gulf
Islands of the Auckland Region
Uninhabited islands of New Zealand