Corona: On the Road
Thanks to Corona four friends and I were lucky enough to spend what was probably the best days Auckland had over summer on beautiful Great Barrier Island. I met up with a few mates at the airport to find Savannah had already been there an hour and a half in preparation for the domestic flight. She clearly didn’t get the memo that even though we’re crossing water, we are technically still in Auckland; that being said she was more than ready to get on the plane. However, we didn’t quite realise how small it would be.
The Hauraki Gulf glistened as the early morning sun shone down on the glassy water surrounding the scattered islands. Within a quick half hour which felt like five minutes, we were overhead our beautiful island escape. With all of us being Great Barrier first-timers, the most we knew about the island was that there is no central power, a population of under 1000 and some fun waves when the elements align. As we crossed over the tail end of the island to the aerodrome you could clearly see this was a place full of pristine, untouched wilderness, screaming with native bush and classic New Zealand landscapes.
Touching down, we met up with Chris, our Barrier guru who introduced us to the mighty Corona Landrover. First stop was a waterfall Chris suggested. We followed an old tramline track down to Awana stream, once serving the Kauri Timber Company during the 1920s and 1930s, during Great Barrier’s peak logging operation. Here we were greeted with an abundance of waterfalls winding through fallen boulders. We stayed for a good chunk of the day watching the boys outdo each other’s trick jumps and exploring crevasses along the stream.
The evenings on Barrier were stuffed with much-needed burger consumption from a great little local shack called Swallow in Claris, washed down by a few cold Coronas back at our insane setup. Our camp was nestled at the southern end of Kaitoke Beach, the longest ocean beach on Great Barrier with three kilometres of pristine white sand and sun-soaked water. We watched as the last of the small planes took their final take offs to the mainland and the sun set over the mountains towards the centre of the island.
It was here after a few Corona’s I suggested the thought of climbing Mt Hobson for the sunrise, the highest mountain on Great Barrier; this meant a 4 AM wake up, which would be significantly difficult for one particular mate who ideally rises no earlier than midday. Thankfully fomo was a big enough motivator to get everyone onboard with the idea. A blanket of clouds meant it was exceptionally dark and we had no idea of our surroundings till the sun slowly made its appearance. We made our way to the top and stood in silence, taking it all in as the sun exposed neighbouring mountains and distance beaches we’d yet to have seen. The walk back down revealed caves and cliff faces we had unknowingly walked passed on our way up.
Unfortunately, the elements hadn’t aligned while on Barrier to provide us with one of the most expensive waves to access in Auckland (unless you have a sailboat). However, it’s not hard to find alternative things to occupy the time. We swam out to Pitokuku Island right off Kaitoke Beach. Upon scaling the rocks around the small island we came across a rather large sea cave, yet another place Jonny could backflip off into and a great place to free dive and explore the cave walls and all who inhabit it.
Great Barrier Island is a place, which within thirty minutes from the biggest city in New Zealand, takes you back in time to a very pure, untouched landscape. It provides you with that off the grid feeling. Being the 4th largest island in New Zealand, there’s a lot of land to explore. However, from the mountains and bluffs to the rivers and beaches, you could never be bored or unimpressed by its natural beauty and picturesque vistas. It’s certainly a place I cannot wait to get back to.