Every Wellingtonian should visit these two islands

Tuesday, 27 January 2026

You know you live in the world’s coolest little country when you can catch a ferry from the capital to not just one, but two, primordial-looking island paradises in under an hour and a half.

Islands where rare and endangered native birds rarely - or never - found on mainland New Zealand sing uninterrupted songs from gnarly old trees, seals and dolphins play in the surrounding waters, and, in the case of one, the last living survivors of an ancient order of reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs still roam freely.

Predator-free Kāpiti and Matiu-Somes islands look much as they would have when legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe, whom Māori oral traditions identify as the first person to discover Aotearoa, and Captain Cook, the Englishman often credited with doing so, first reached our shores. Their secret weapon in this age of environmental destruction: local iwi who act as their kaitiaki (guardians) in partnership with the Department of Conservation, ensuring their taonga (natural treasures) stick around for generations to come.

One of New Zealand’s oldest and most important nature reserves, Kāpiti Island is owned by Porirua-based iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira, whose ties to the island date back to the early 19th century. A protected reserve since 1897 and predator free since 1996, the 1965-hectare island is now home to a cacophony of birds, many now extinct on the mainland. You could come across cheeky red-crowned kākāriki sliding down the corrugated iron roof of The Whare, an old homestead dating back to the 1860s, or little spotted kiwi rummaging around on the forest floor after dark.

John Barrett, whose whānau has lived on the island for eight generations, particularly enjoys keeping an ear out for the haunting calls of the kōkako, believing “their song is unmatched in the New Zealand forest”.

His favourite wildlife encounter was coming across a group of chubby New Zealand fur seal pups exploring the coastline a few kilometres from their home patch, saying “they looked just like a group of teenagers out on an adventure”.

A 20-minute ferry ride from Paraparaumu Beach, itself a 40-minute drive or 50-minute train ride from Wellington, the island can only be visited with Barrett’s Kapiti Island Nature Tours. Visitor numbers are capped at 100 a day, helping to minimise the human impact on the environment.

Barrett says the kaitiaki role is “a tribal obligation and responsibility of significant interest to our three iwi (Te Ati Awa and Ngāti Raukawa also have a long history with the island) and represents a connection to the generations of whānau/hapū that have occupied the island since the 1820s.

“The kaitiaki responsibility has enabled our extended whanau, on behalf of the three tribes, to demonstrate kaitiakitanga through involvement in conservation and cultural activities.”

He is particularly proud of their involvement in the two major possum eradication projects in the 1980s and 1990s that enabled the island to become predator free, along with the establishment of the Kāpiti Marine Reserve - a hot spot for divers who might run, or rather swim, into everything from seals to subtropical fish - in 1992.

“We are also proud of the nature tours business that we have been able to establish, enabling visitors to engage in a very deep and more meaningful way with the island, the environment, wildlife and people,” he says.

Visitors can join a guided tour or explore the island, with its small network of coastal and bush walks, independently. One of the most popular tramps is the two-hour (one-way) Wilkinson Track, which features a steady uphill climb to the 521-metre summit with a feeding station for rare hīhī (stitchbirds) along the way.

Take the tougher Trig Track, which also takes about two hours one way, to the top and you’ll see why the stone memorial seat en route is Barrett’s favourite spot on the island.

The Rangatira Loop Track promises an easier, 1.5-hour walk through regenerating forest and coastal shrubland via the historic whare and old whaling artefacts.

To experience one of the loudest dawn choruses you’re ever likely to hear, spend the night in a glamping tent, cabin or bach-like beach bungalow. The soundtrack keeps cranking throughout the night with moreporks, kākā, pūkeko and penguins among those contributing their distinctive calls. Overnight stays include chef-prepared meals, evening drinks, a guided walk at night through bush home to some 1200 little spotted kiwi, and return ferry tickets.

Sitting pretty in the centre of Wellington Harbour, Matiu/Somes Island has been occupied by successive Māori tribes for centuries. Now owned by local iwi Taranaki Whānui, administered by Iwi-Crown partnership, The Harbour Islands Kaitiaki Board, and managed by DOC, it serves as both an historic and a scientific reserve, offering a scenic insight into a little-known slice of New Zealand history.

The island’s tracks will take you past a monument to those who lost their lives while quarantined there between the 1870s and 1920, buildings built to accommodate animals quarantined in the century from the early 1880s, WWII gun emplacements erected when the island served as a camp for enemy internees, and a lighthouse built in 1900.

Since 1981, thousands of volunteers have worked hard to return Matiu/Somes to how it looked when iwi first used it as an island sanctuary. The eradication of rats and other pests in the 1980s have enabled many native plants, birds, reptiles and invertebrates to thrive. Matiu/Somes is a critical habitat for the world’s smallest penguin, the kororā, and it is also home to kākāriki, kingfishers, silvereyes, several species of wētā, skinks and geckos.

The island’s original tuatara population was wiped out in the mid-1800s but more than 50 were successfully introduced in 1998. They’re masters at camouflage but the eagle-eyed have a fair chance of spotting one.

If you’re lucky enough to have your own boat, you can land at the main wharf or nearby beach in the island’s northeast. Otherwise, you’ll need to book a trip from Wellington’s Queens Wharf or Days Bay with East West Ferries, who can also arrange overnight stays - your best bet for spotting tuatara, giant wētā and kororā.

Fact file:

Getting there: Kāpiti Island is a 20-minute boat ride across the Kāpiti Marine Reserve. Matiu/Somes Island is about a 25-minute ferry from Queens Wharf. See: kapitiisland.com; doc.govt.nz