The Mokohinau Islands (Pokohinau) are a small group of

islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

that lie off the northeast coast of

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 ...

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. The islands are 100 km (62 mi) northeast 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 ...

, northwest 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 ...

and approximately east of

Bream Head Bream Head is a promontory on the east coast of Northland in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the end of a 30 kilometre-long peninsula, the head juts into the Pacific Ocean to the southeast of Whangārei. The Hen and Chicken Islands ...

. The main islands of the group include Fanal Island (Motukino), Burgess Island (Pokohinu), Flax Island (Hokoromea), and Trig Island (Atihau). Most of them are managed by the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

nature reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

and

wildlife sanctuaries A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. Landing is not allowed without a permit, with the exception of Burgess Island, much of which is managed as a scenic reserve by the

. The remainder of Burgess Island is

Crown Land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

and is administered by the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government age ...

. The total land area of the Mokohinau Islands is .

Geology

The islands are volcanic stacks sitting at the edge of the continental shelf. Mokohinau formed between 10 and 8.5 million years ago, as a part of the Coromandel Volcanic Zone, which has since moved southwards to form the modern

Taupō Volcanic Zone The Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a volcanic area in the North Island of New Zealand that has been active for the past two million years and is still highly active. Mount Ruapehu marks its south-western end and the zone runs north-eastward thro ...

History

The islands were often visited seasonally by Māori for

muttonbirding Muttonbirding is the seasonal harvesting of the chicks of petrels, especially shearwater species, for food, oil and feathers by recreational or commercial hunters. Such hunting of petrels and other seabirds has occurred in various locations since p ...

, harvesting the chicks of

petrel Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. Description The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group (all except the albatross f ...

s for food and oil. Today, the main attractions for the rare tourists are the very clear waters teeming with wildlife. Like many neighbouring

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,Mokohinau skink The Mokohinau skink (''Oligosoma townsi''), also known commonly as Towns' skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand. Etymology The specific name, ''townsi'', is in honor of Kiwi herpetologist ...

, the

robust skink The robust skink (''Oligosoma alani'', formerly ''Cyclodina alani'') is a large, rare species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand. Geographic range ''O. alani'' was once widespread throughout the North Isl ...

and the Mokohinau stag beetle as well as a number of endangered plant species. Burgess Island is also the location of the

Mokohinau Islands Lighthouse Mokohinau Islands Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Burgess Island, one of the Mokohinau Islands, which lie off the northeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand. The lighthouse sits at the entr ...

, one of the most distant lights from the mainland. The light was built in 1883 and was one of the last in the country to be fully automated in 1980.

References

External links

Mokohinau Islands Scenic & Nature Reserves (Department of Conservation Website)

held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. * ttps://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/auckland/mokohinau.pdf Map of the Mokohinau Islands, (Department of Conservation Website) {{Coord, 35, 55, S, 175, 07, E, region:NZ_type:isle, display=title Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Islands of the Hauraki Gulf Nature reserves in New Zealand Islands of the Auckland Region

Geology

History

See also

References

External links