The Chatham Islands – where the sun first rises over New Zealand

This is one of the most comprehensive Chatham Island itineraries, taking you to the remote corners to discover many of the unique bird flora and fauna that call the Chatham Islands home.

Many are endangered. Apart from the amazing native flora and fauna, meet the friendly locals and visit unique historical and geographical sites.

… the first place in the world to welcome the new day and a treasure trove of endemic species that have evolved in isolation and make these islands one of New Zealand’s most biologically important regions.

Originally colonized by the Moriori people who created a unique lifestyle and society on the islands while living in isolation from the outside world on the abundant natural resources of the sea and land.

Later European and Maori arrivals brought their own history and traditions which have melded together to create the culture of the Chatham Islands. Today many locals are descended from Moriori genealogy, a history and culture that you can discover during your stay.

Welcome to the Chatham Islands – there’s a photo opportunity around every corner

Our local tour guide extraordinaire works in conjunction with us.

Dependent upon the season you will find the famous native Chatham Island forget-me-nots are in bloom – a very much more robust cousin of the garden variety, these island flowers are hardy specimens and drop dead beautiful. They’re found throughout the island. Cyclone Pam took out five metres of this part of the beach and many of the forget-me-nots with them in 2015 but they don’t give up all that easily and they’re coming back to this coastline.

Back on the tour, head to the nikau reserve – 19 hectares of lowland broadleaved forest on the north-western shore of the huge Te Whanga Lagoon. These forests were common on the fertile soils on the Chatham Islands. This nikau stand is the largest remaining.

The Tour Company have been operating tours to the Chatham Islands for over 20 years.

Tour Inclusions

Includes:

TOMMY SOLOMON MEMORIAL STATUE, BASALT COLUMNS, HISTORIC STONE COTTAGE, SPLATTER ROCK, SEAL COLONY, MORIORI TREE AND ROCK CARVINGS, KOPINGA MARAE, ADMIRAL FARM AND GARDENS, MORIORI, MAORI AND EUROPEAN HISTORY, CULTURE, GEOLOGY, BIRDLIFE, UNIQUE ISLAND FLORA AND FAUNA. 

Touring as per itinerary, local guide, return airfares, transfers, time to explore, share twin accommodation, attractions and meals as per final itinerary.

Excludes:

Optional refreshments, other items not stated as included on the final itinerary.

“The tour was great. Its fabulous learning the history and culture of this remote part of New Zealand. We also enjoyed the amazing local food and hospitality.”  Shirley

“Every Kiwi must visit here! We covered all the must do places on Chatham Island and had a great time. One of most memorable tours we’ve done.”  Andy & Chris

Register for this tour

Seafood bounty

Hunting, diving and fishing are massive drawcards out here. The crays are on steroids, as are the kina and paua. There are no supermarkets. The sea is their larder.

Our guide points to some of the many kina and paua gripping to the rocks as the tide starts to come in. She collects a feed and makes the point that even though there’s an abundance of kaimoana on these shores, just taking what you need for a feed is the best way to sustain the food source for future generations.

We head back before she cooks the paua up with onions, butter and cream over a fire as the sun dips.

Spiritual home

The next day we take a trip up to the north east of the island around the lagoon to the Rākau momori – a stand of 600 year-old kopi trees with unique Moriori carvings etched into them.  There were more than 1,000 trees etched with stylised human figures but tree rot and various other factors have dwindled these down to about 130.

Relics of Moriori are sometimes still found on the island. After the 1835 invasion by displaced Taranaki iwi  Ngāti Mutunga  and  Ngāti Tama  the peaceful Moriori were decimated. Their numbers declined from around 2000 to just over 100 by 1862.

Itinerary

THE FOLLOWING ITINERARY IS A PROGRAM WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN MANY TIMES HOWEVER THE ORDER OF VISITS OR AVAILABILITY AT TIME OF INTENDED VISIT IS LIKELY TO VARY.

WHILE EVERY EFFORT WILL BE MADE TO COVER HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR CHATHAM ISLAND VISIT, THIS ITINERARY IS CONDITIONAL UPON THE ACCEPTANCE OF CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE AND IS DEPENDENT UPON MINIMUM NUMBERS, WEATHER, CLIENT TIMELENESS AND MOBILITY, ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY.

Day 1 –  Welcome to the Chatham Islands

  • Arrive to the Chathams
  • Quick stop enroute to take photographs
  • Check in at our accommodation
  • Admiral Gardens entrée followed by dinner at the hotel
  • Special welcome dinner at Hotel tonight.

Day 2 –  The Wild West

  • Breakfast 7 am – 9 am
  • Stone Cottage
  • Waitangi West cattle station
  • Picnic lunch
  • Splatter Rock
  • Dinner at Hotel

Day 3 –  Owenga Fishing Village

  • Breakfast 7 am – 9 am
  • Moriori Marae
  • Tommy Solomon memorial statue
  • Visit to Toni’s Chatham Island Honey Centre
  • Dinner at Hotel

Day 4 –  Waitangi town / South Coast

  • Breakfast 7 am – 9 am
  • Museum Visit
  • Tiki Tiki hill & town walk
  • Cottage Gift Shop
  • River Onion Art Gallery lunch
  • Lunch
  • South Coast scenic drive
  • Dinner at Hotel

Day 5 –  Kaingaroa Fishing Village

  • Breakfast 7 am – 9 am
  • Kiangaroa Harbour and Fishing Village
  • Nikau Bush Walk
  • Ocean mail reserve
  • Picnic lunch
  • Muirson’s Farm & Seal Colony
  • Hapupu (Tree carvings)

Day 6 –  Te Whanga Lagoon and Port Hutt

  • Breakfast 7 am – 9 am
  • Te Matarae
  • Basalt Columns
  • Port Hutt
  • Picnic lunch
  • Shark teeth hunting
  • Henga Scenic Reserve
  • Dinner at Hotel

Day 7 – Time to say farewell 

  • Breakfast 6.30 am – 8 am
  • Bus departs for the airport

Tour dates:
Departures from November to March. Enquire for availability.

Pricing:
Price for our Chatham Island Tour including return airfares, transfers, accommodation, meals (as per itinerary), transportation, guide for touring and time to explore is from only $6,595 per person.