Image: Shaun Lee | Creative Commons
Australasian sea cucumber
Rangitoto and Motutapu High Protection Area

Located in the Auckland region

This area features large boulders, lava flows, sedimentary shelves and reefs.

This is a high protection area (HPA). Make sure you know what you can and can’t do in this area.

Limited commercial ring-net fishing is permitted for authorised operators in Rangitoto and Motutapu HPA.

On land there are walking tracks, including trails that lead to Rangitoto’s summit and across Motutapu.

If going ashore, check your bags for stowaways and weed seeds as these pest-free islands are home to numerous endangered species. Visiting pest free islands

There is a DOC campsite at Home Bay with toilets and potable water but no showers - bookings essential. 

Rangitoto is 8 km from Auckland’s mainland and visitors can travel there by ferry, private boat, water taxi or kayak. Motutapu is connected to Rangitoto on land by a causeway.

View a map and co-ordinates of Rangitoto and Motutapu High Protection Area.

This is a High Protection Area. 

Make sure you know Hauraki Gulf protection area rules and how you can help preserve this precious ecosystem.

What you can and can’t do in this area.

Limited commercial ring-net fishing is permitted for authorised operators in Rangitoto and Motutapu High Protection Area.

Report illegal or suspicious activity

Don't take, disturb, kill or damage anything within the protection areas. It is illegal. If you see people taking anything from the reserve, report it as soon as possible.

Call 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224) or 0800 DOCHOT (0800 362 468).

It is an offence to pollute, litter, discharge fire arms and erect structures.

Report pests

Find-A-Pest lets you report potential pest species, including marine, plant, animal and fungal species.

If you come across something out of the ordinary, upload a picture to the app and a specialist will help identify it. If it's a biosecurity threat, this will be forwarded to Biosecurity New Zealand. If possible, take photos and record the location and name of the vessel.

Or call the Ministry for Primary Industries' Pest and Diseases hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

Prevent pests from spreading

Minimise the spread of pests on land and in water by thoroughly checking and cleaning your boat and gear. Keep your favourite spots pest-free for future generations by following these guidelines:

  • clean your hull out of the water before you leave, including the propeller and anchor - see guidelines for hull cleaning
  • clean all recreational and boating gear
  • if leaving Auckland, check the marine pests website for biodiversity rules for other regions.

Check the marine pests website for more marine biosecurity information.

The waters around Rangitoto and Motutapu are considered a Marine Significant Ecological Area in the Auckland Unitary Plan.

This HPA has been created to provide protection to habitats and ecosystems of the gulf. It provides easy access for scientific research and monitoring.

The area is home to many vulnerable bird species. Dogs are not permitted on the island.

Pest-free on the land, there are numerous planting, weeding and ecological restoration projects taking place on the islands, with hundreds of thousands of trees propagated and planted in recent years.   

Large areas of regenerating forest and bush can be found on Rangitoto and Motutapu, including the world’s largest pōhutukawa forest.

The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park/Tīkapa Moana/Te Moananui-ā-Toi has a rich history of human settlement. It includes the earliest places settled by Māori.

The area has supported the physical and spiritual wellbeing of mana whenua for centuries. Mana whenua use tikanga/customs that care for and protect the environment when collecting kaimoana/seafood. Mana whenua is the iwi or hapū that has customary authority in an area.

Rangitoto’s full name is ‘Nga Rangi-i-totongia a Tamatekapua'. This translates to 'the day the blood of Tamatekapua was shed'. Tamatekapua was the chief of the Arawa canoe that arrived around 1350. Māori were living on Motutapu before Rangitoto erupted from the sea, making it one of the earliest Māori settlements in the Auckland region.

At 178 million years old, Motutapu is the oldest island in the Hauraki Gulf. It is attached to the youngest island, 600-year-old Rangitoto, by a causeway that was built by American soldiers during World War II.

During World War II, Motutapu, Rangitoto and other Gulf islands were fortified to defend Auckland Harbour from attack. The guns have since been removed. Many of the concrete bunkers and underground structures are still intact.

Protection areas

These protection areas began in 2025. They were initiated from the Government response to the Sea Change – Tai Timu Tai Pari Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan. Sea Change was developed collaboratively by tangata whenua, environmental groups, and the fishing, aquaculture and agriculture sectors of the Hauraki Gulf between 2013 to 2017.