Mokohinau Islands
The Mokohinau Islands are a small group of islands that lie off the northeast coast of New Zealand's North Island. The islands are 100 km northeast of Auckland, northwest of Great Barrier Island and approximately east of Bream Head. The main islands of the group include Fanal Island, Burgess Island, Flax Island, and Trig Island. Most of them are managed by the Department of Conservation as nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries. Landing is not allowed without a permit, with the exception of Burgess Island, much of which is managed as a scenic reserve by the Department of Conservation. The remainder of Burgess Island is Crown Land and is administered by the Ministry of Transport. The total land area of the Mokohinau Islands is.
The islands are volcanic stacks sitting at the edge of the continental shelf. Like many neighbouring Hauraki Gulf islands, the group is free of mammalian pests and being left to naturally regenerate. The Mokohinau Islands are home to a number of New Zealand's smallest endangered species, such as the Mokohinau skink, the robust skink and the Mokohinau stag beetle as well as a number of endangered plant species.
Historically, the islands were often visited seasonally by Maori for muttonbirding, harvesting the chicks of petrels for food and oil. Today, the main attractions for the rare tourists are the very clear waters teeming with wildlife.
Burgess Island is also the location of the Mokohinau Islands Lighthouse, 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.
