The Island Diaries: Exclusive Footage - Great Barrier Island

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Just across the Hauraki Gulf from New Zealand, Great Barrier Island offers a spectacular setting for a simple life, far from the drama of today’s consumer society and urban settings, and in harmony with nature. People can easily cut themselves off from the rest of the world here, but on the island, they’re part of a tightly knit community, which includes the indigenous Maori population. The Maoris account for 20% of the local population and they live in harmony with the other residents on the island, who are either modern pioneers or descendants of European pioneers. In fact, the Maori name of the island is Aotea, which means white cloud. Still very much alive and present on the island, the Maori culture is closely tied to nature and their ancestors, and deeply anchored in a unique spirituality based on community, mutual aid and tolerance.

A little less than 100 km from Auckland, Great Barrier Island is nonetheless part of the Greater Auckland region, which ensures the island’s postal services and waste management. Despite its connection to the city of Auckland, the island remains a world of its own and settling on it has always required a specific set of skills, like living without reticulated power and water supply. There are less than 1,000 people living on the island today, scattered throughout its marshes, forests and mountains in small settlements.

People do have electricity and running water on this island, but they have to generate it all themselves. They collect and consume rainwater, chop firewood to use for heating and cooking, and always keep a close eye on their power consumption that they get from generators and solar panels. On rainy days when solar energy runs low, doing laundry or vacuuming is off limits; using a dishwasher is almost unthinkable, rain or shine! Additionally, the island has no supermarkets and only a handful of very small convenience stores, which sell food at prices up to 30% higher than elsewhere in the country. Locals thereby resort to online shopping and have their groceries delivered from Auckland quite regularly. But above all, residents try to buy as little as they can and live off of what Mother Earth has to offer, like fresh fish and seafood, wild pigs and fruits and vegetables grown in gardens.

In this natural haven blessed with abundance, there are no industries or ATMs. There are no traffic lights and the roads only cover one third of the island, leaving ample room for nature to express itself in all of its glory. It’s not surprising that New Zealand’s fourth largest island is so coveted by sports aficionados. Its coast offers exceptional waves to surfers, and out west, divers delight in bays that offer some of the best diving sites in the country. Life is definitely delightful on this island, provided you’re ready to live off grid!

Want to learn more? Watch more of The Island Diaries at https://linktv.org/shows/theislanddia...