Starts at Rotoroa Island Exhibition Centre, Rotoroa Island
The north loop on Rotoroa Island is off the eastern end of Waiheke Island.
You can reach Rotoroa Island by private boat, or by taking a ferry from downtown Auckland. This path is signposted on the island as the North Tower Loop Track. The island is predator free, so all guests need to follow the island's biosecurity measures
Rotoroa Island is owned by the Salvation Army and was historically used as a centre for recovering alcoholics. It is now an open sanctuary nature reserve, featuring a range of re-introduced birds, including kiwi, takahē, pāteke brown teal, weka and saddleback.
There is a $5 landing fee which supports the island's restoration programme. This fee is included in the ferry ticket if that's is how you arrive. Overnight accommodation is available on the island. There is an informative visitor centre with interpretive displays about the history of the place.
Walking the island can be accomplished in a day trip, with the ferry arriving in the morning and leaving in the late afternoon.
The 40-minute north loop starts at the Exhibition Centre near the arrival wharf.
The track passes Ladies Bay, where the female inhabitants of the island would swim in private, away from the men. Beyond that is a pond which is home to the rare pāteke / brown teal.
On headland along the north loop, you will come across the island cemetery, with the first grave dating back to 1913.
The highest point on the island is on this path and provides wonderful views across the Firth of Thames to the Coromandel, across to Waiheke Island, and down Rotoroa Island itself.
From the North Tower at this high point, there are side-tracks down to the water, and to the Mai Mai Beach Lookout.
The north loop returns to the Exhibition Centre, from where you can embark on the south loop.
Check out the Rotoroa Island website for more information on visiting the island.
