Great Barrier Island: Encyclopedia II - Great Barrier Island - Population and communications

Great Barrier Island - Population and communications

It has a permanent population of around 900, primarily in coastal settlements such as Tryphena, Okupu, and Whangaparapara and at Claris and Kaitoke.

There are airfields at Claris (Kaitoke) and Okiwi and natural harbours at Port FitzRoy, Tryphena, Whangaparapara, and Okupu. During the summer there are regular passenger ferries to Tryphena and a regular freight barge service all year to Tryphena and once a week to Port FitzRoy. Aircraft reach Claris' grass airfield in about 30 mins from Auckland airport and Northshore airport while the fast ferries take about three hours from Auckland. The barge service takes approximately 8 hours from downtown Auckland to Tryphena, and returns to Auckland from Port FitzRoy.

The largest settlement on Great Barrier is in Tryphena Harbour, at the southern end of the island.

The population of the island has decreased significantly in recent years, although house values have increased. The most significant increase in values has been at Kaitoke, where the white sandy beaches (Kaitoke and Medland's), nearby hot springs, and the central location on the Island, with the adjacent airfield, have allowed for a burgeoning vacation centre.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Population and communications", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki