Great Mercury Island is a privately owned, pest-free farm island about 8km off the Coromandel coast. You can only get here by boat, and there’s no set track, just open farmland, stunning beaches and the freedom to roam. It’s one of the best coastal walks in New Zealand, if you’re lucky enough to get there.
| Distance | 5.6km return |
|---|---|
| Time | 1.5–2 hours |
| Difficulty | Easy to Moderate |
| Track Surface | Gravel road, beach, open farmland, grass hillside |
| Start | Parapara Bay, -36.603161, 175.782972 |
| Access | Boat only, no ferry or water taxi |
| Dogs | No |
| Facilities | None |
| Mobile Coverage | Good |
| Nearest Town | Whitianga (12nm) |
Great Mercury Island is one of those places most New Zealanders have heard of but very few have actually set foot on. It’s a 1,872ha working farm and pest-free sanctuary about 8km off the Coromandel coast, owned by businessmen Michael Fay and David Richwhite. No ferry, no water taxi, no tour boat dropping you off. You get here by your own boat, or someone else’s. We anchored in Home Bay and dinghied ashore at Parapara Bay to start the walk. The cows were completely unbothered.
The beaches are genuinely some of the best I’ve seen in New Zealand. Crystal clear water, white sand, and the kind of quiet you only get somewhere this hard to reach. If you ever get the chance to go, take it.
Great Mercury Island is privately owned but public access is allowed, excluding residential sites and the planted pine forest. The public is welcome to come ashore providing you take only pictures and leave only footprints. The other six islands in the Mercury group don’t permit landing, so don’t try it.
There’s no scheduled transport. You need a boat. Home Bay at the northern end provides is a perfect anchorage in all tides. That’s where we anchored. A short dinghy ride to Parapara Bay and you’re away. From Auckland it’s around 60 nautical miles. From Whitianga about 12nm.
From Parapara Bay, head up onto the farm track behind the beach. Join a gravel road that takes you around the headland and along to a big beach, then past the cow sheds. Cross the paddock heading east and you’ll reach Coralie Bay on the other side of the island. Walk to the end of Coralie Bay beach, then take the hill track up to the headland for the views. Return the same way back to Parapara.
The total distance is about 5.6km return. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours depending on how long you linger on the beaches, which you will. Swimming is amazing.
There are no marked tracks and no signage. You’ll need to duck under at least one electric fence and climb over a gate. Wear something you don’t mind getting a bit agricultural.
The island is 1,872 hectares of plantation forest, farmland, native bush and thick scrub. The coastline delivers something different around every headland, rocky coves, wide sandy bays, turquoise water so clear you can see straight to the bottom.
Legend suggests it was the white cliffs of Great Mercury Island that Māori first saw when approaching New Zealand, 180-metre-high walls of chalk incandescent in the rising sun. The island was one of the earliest sites of human settlement in New Zealand and in pre-colonial times had at least 20 pā. You’re walking through a place with deep history, even if there’s nothing to mark it.
Since the island was declared pest-free in 2016, following a major eradication programme funded jointly by the owners and DOC, the birdlife has been recovering. It’s noticeably quiet out here in a good way, the kind of bush quiet that’s increasingly rare.
Coralie Bay is the highlight of the walk. That turquoise water in a wide sweeping arc of sand, green hills rolling down to meet it, and the Coromandel Peninsula laid out on the horizon. It’s genuinely stunning. Have a swim if the conditions are right. There’s no one here to tell you to hurry up.
From the end of the beach, the track climbs the headland. It’s short but steep in places and the ground is uneven. The views from the top are worth it.
Anyone lucky enough to have access to a boat. The walking itself is easy to moderate, open farmland, beach, one short hill at Coralie Bay. Suitable for most fitness levels and families with older kids. The main challenge is the remoteness and the complete absence of facilities. You need to be self-sufficient.
It’s not suitable for dogs. Leave them on the boat.
Summer is the obvious choice, when anchorages are calm and the water’s warm enough for a swim. No matter what the wind direction, there is always a bay on Great Mercury Island in which to shelter. That said, check the forecast carefully before you commit, particularly if you’re in a smaller vessel. The island is exposed enough that conditions can change quickly. We did have a couple of rolly nights in one of the bays.
No facilities whatsoever. Bring everything, take everything home. No marked tracks, so navigation is by eye and GPS. Respect the private residential areas and pine forest. Tell someone your plan before you leave the boat. Duck under the electric fences rather than touching them, and close any gates you open. Leave the cows alone and they’ll do the same for you.
This is a genuinely special place. The beaches are as good as anything I’ve seen in New Zealand, the water is extraordinary, and the whole experience of arriving by dinghy and wandering freely across this remote island is something you don’t get anywhere else. The working farm with its cows and cow sheds just adds to the charm of the place.
It’s not a walk you plan a trip around on its own. You’re there because you’re out on a boat and lucky enough to be passing. But if that’s you, don’t miss it.
Once you’re back on the Coromandel side:
