Aroha Island Holiday Accommodation, Campground & Eco Centre — Hotel in Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community

We recently stayed two nights at Aroha Island in one of the cottages. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. ||We had a visitor from overseas staying with us and wanted t show her some of the beauty of Northland and the Far North. Thought Aroha Island would be a great place to stay and give us all the chance of seeing kiwis in the wild. As it turned out we did not see any kiwis although we heard them around us. There was no moon those nights so little light to see by and shining flashlights only keeps them away. Our hosts did provide red filters to put over the torches which was some help.... but young eyes would certainly help. :-)||The cottage we stayed in slept 4 (one queen, 2 single beds) and was clean, fresh, and airy. Had all the amenities to cook or BBQ. There are also camping facilities there too.||The island is small and easy to navigate. Nice bush walks, and you can swim at high tide. Close enough to Kerikeri to access the shops and restaurants there. Also close to Opito Bay where you can swim all tides. ||The hosts were very friendly and helpful. There is a common area at reception that shows the great work they are doing towards protecting and conserving kiwi. The staff are very knowledgeable and happy to talk about kiwis and the local wild life.||Although we did not see kiwis ourselves this visit we are planning to return for another look. ||Remember: This is not a hotel/motel but a unique opportunity to see kiwi in their...

A really lovely space to relax. Has accommodation, powered campsites, unpowered campsites, outdoor BBQ cooking / eating area, indoor kitchen space (shared fridge, mircowave, toaster), cold showers or $1 per 5min hot showers, free wifi, power to charge your things. Everything is cleaned daily. Plenty of open space so you don't have to camp too close to others (providing the place isn't too busy). At low tide you can walk out onto the rocks and pick oysters, muscles, various shellfish. A decent place for fishers to launch dingy boats or kayaks. There are short bush walks where you can spot the various bird / plant / insect life and at night if you're lucky you'll see the resident kiwis up close, which is a fantastic experience! You can hire a guide to help you spot the kiwi, hire kayaks or soak up the information in the main center, books and information all over the walls. This place is a gem, a unique campground with a genuine goal of sharing and protecting the wildlife and the area. I have been wwoofing here, I recommend that if you are interested, they take people all year the current managers are lovely and the work is...

After a couple of nights hunting I had the enormous thrill of seeing a kiwi in the wild. This was an unforgettable experience, thank you so much for your work in the park and allowing this to happen.

My advice for others looking for kiwi is:

-use a very dim torch with a few layers of red cellophane - the kiwi hid when I first illuminated him, but then with my torch on the lowest setting, he was indifferent to the light and came within half a meter or so.

-Stay perfectly still. Sit for 5-10 minutes listening, then move a few hundred metres and try again. As soon as I took a single step to follow him, he scuttled off, so they're very sensitive to noise.

-Go alone or in a pair when there's no one else around. I saw him at 1.30am after about four hours. If they're not disturbed they make surprisingly loud breathing and scratching noises that you'll hear from quite far away, but others walking around will scare them off.

-Be patient! I didn't see anything on the first night, and was close to giving up on the second, when suddenly there he...