Te Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier Island

Size: 3070 hectares

Area description

Te Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier Island lies at the northern end of the Hauraki Gulf between Aotea / Great Barrier Island and Leigh on the mainland. This is Aotearoa / New Zealand’s largest island nature reserve north of the subantarctic islands. 

The forest-clad Te Hauturu-o-Toi was originally formed by a large volcano. It rises steeply from sea cliffs up to 250 metres high to the highest point at 722 metres above sea level.

Maraeroa, Te Hauturu o Toi.
The stoney beach at Maraeroa, Te Hauturu o Toi.
Photo credit: Jane Andrews 2017

Key ecosystems

Te Hauturu-o-Toi is considered to be one of the most important nature reserves in the world. It is possibly Aotearoa / New Zealand’s most intact, undisturbed ecosystem. The island supports the country's most diverse native bird and reptile communities.

There is a diverse range of ecosystems on the island including:

  • boulder beaches on the shoreline (SA4)
  • steep coastal cliffs and coastal forest (CL1 and WF4)
  • regenerating scrub and forest on the hillslopes (VS2 and VS3)
  • a number of forest types including kauri, podocarp, broadleaved, beech forest (WF12).

The island supports one of only two examples of kauri, tōwai, rātā, montane podocarp forest (MF25) in Auckland. The other is on the high peaks of Aotea / Great Barrier Island.

Walking track of Mt Hauturu.
Species of Astelia line this track which leads to the summit of Mt Hauturu on Little Barrier.
Photo credit: Jane Andrews 2017

Key species values

There are populations of many threatened species on the island including:

  • tuatara
  • wētāpunga
  • both species of pekapeka (native bat)
  • native birds and plants no longer found on the mainland.

For seabirds, Te Hauturu-o-Toi is extremely important. It is currently the only known breeding site for the New Zealand storm petrel. Approximately 98 per cent of Cook’s petrel nest on the island. There is a small but significant number of takoketai (black petrel) also nesting there along with:

  • kororā (little penguin)
  • ōi (grey-faced petrel)
  • kuaka (diving petrel)
  • pakahā (fluttering shearwaters).

Te Hauturu-o-Toi is the only place that hihi (stitchbird) are able to survive without human assistance. It also provides a vitally important refuge for a number of other threatened native species introduced to the island including:

  • kākāpō
  • kōkako
  • tīeke (North Island saddleback).
Summit of Mt Hauturu.
The view from the summit of Mt Hauturu on Little Barrier, Great Barrier Island can be seen to the east with the tip of Coromandel Peninsula to the south.
Photo credit: Jane Andrews 2017

Conservation management

Te Hauturu-o-Toi was less impacted by animal pests than other parts of Aotearoa / New Zealand, with only cats and kiore (Pacific rat) establishing. These were eradicated from the island by 1981 and 2006 respectively. Native species populations continue to recover following these eradications. 

Biosecurity protocols are essential for preventing new pests from arriving. This includes ongoing vigilance to avoid further unwanted weed species from establishing.

Te Hauturu-o-Toi was inhabited by Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Rehua and Ngāti Wai until the island became Aotearoa / New Zealand’s first nature reserve in 1895. In 2012, Ngāti Manuhiri were formally recognised as kaitiaki or guardians of Te Hauturu-o-Toi in a Treaty of Waitangi settlement. Ngati Manuhiri gifted the island to the people of Aotearoa / New Zealand and now co-govern the reserve with the Department of Conservation.

The Department of Conservation strictly regulates visitor numbers and movements to protect the island's biodiversity.

Te Hauturu o Toi.
Large kauri crowns emerge above the canopy across the repeating sequence ridges and valleys.
Photo credit: Jane Andrews 2017

Related ecosystems

Cliff ecosystem

Pōhutukawa treeland, flaxland and rockland ecosystem (CL1)

This ecosystem occurs on coastal rock faces and eroding hill-slopes around the Auckland coastline and on offshore islands. It contains a mosaic of different plant communities including herbs, flax, shrubs and trees.

Threat status
Vulnerable

Mild forest ecosystem

Kauri, tōwai, rātā, montane podocarp forest ecosystem (MF25)

Found on steep volcano summits, this ecosystem experiences high rainfall, long periods of cloud cover, high to gale-force winds and occasional snowfall.

Threat status
Endangered

Coastal saline ecosystem

Shore bindweed, knobby clubrush gravelfield or stonefield ecosystem (SA4)

Gravelfield and stonefield ecosystems are rare in Auckland, developing on beach ridges. The diversity of plant communities that establish here depend on the age of the gravels and proximity to the shoreline.

Threat status
Endangered

Regenerating ecosystem

Kānuka scrub and forest ecosystem (VS2)

Found throughout New Zealand, kānuka dominated forest establishes readily after fire. It's diverse range of flowering and fruiting shrubs and trees provide habitat for a wide range of invertebrates, birds and lizards.

Threat status
Least concern

Regenerating scrub

Mānuka, kānuka scrub ecosystem (VS3)

This ecosystem is abundant in the Waitākere Ranges and on Great Barrier Island. It establishes after disturbance events, such as fires. It occurs across a wide range of soils, altitudes and latitudes and provides habitat for many native fauna.

Threat status
Least concern

Warm forest ecosystem

Kauri, podocarp, broadleaved forest ecosystem (WF11)

Once widespread across the Auckland region, this warm forest ecosystem contains a range of podocarp and broadleaf trees on different landforms. It is an ideal habitat for birds, bats and lizards thanks to an abundance of fruit and nectar.

Threat status
Endangered

Warm forest ecosystem

Kauri, podocarp, broadleaved, beech forest ecosystem (WF12)

Steep hill-slopes like those found in the Hunua Ranges are where this warm forest ecosystem, home to a wide range of birds, lizards and bats, can be found.

Threat status
Endangered

Warm forest ecosystem

Tawa, kohekohe, rewarewa, hīnau, podocarp forest ecosystem (WF13)

This warm forest ecosystem occurs on inland hill country where kauri is absent. It is home to a wide range of common and threatened fauna. In Auckland, species such as kōkako thrive in this ecosystem where pest animal control is undertaken.

Threat status
Vulnerable

Warm forest ecosystem

Pōhutukawa, pūriri, broadleaved forest ecosystem (WF4)

Scattered along Auckland's coastlines, this broadleaved forest ecosystem provides an important source of food for kererū. They are also important seed dispersers for many species in this ecosystem.

Threat status
Endangered

Warm forest ecosystem

Taraire, tawa, podocarp forest ecosystem (WF9)

This forest ecosystem occurs across a range of landforms. In a healthy system where pollinators such as native birds are present, it provides habitat for a diverse range of fauna and flora.

Threat status
Endangered