A big thank you to Sophia Crosbie from room 25 for sharing this great text about the Hauraki Gulf - I Iearned heaps!

The Hauraki Gulf

In the Hauraki Gulf there are lots of islands in all sorts of shapes and sizes,
but there are five extra spectacular islands that I would like to share with you.

There is Waiheke which is a pretty mammoth sized island that people can
live on and there are lots of sensational beaches there as well. And my
favourite bay on Waiheke is Oneroa, because there are lots of cool
places to tie the boat to.

Next we have Great Barrier Island which also has a very wonderful
Maori name...Aotea! I wish I had a lovely Maori name like that.
Great Barrier is only just in the Hauraki Gulf, as it is a pretty long distance
travel by boat.

There is the one and only Rangitoto Island/volcano, Where do I start.
Well first of all Rangitoto is a dormant volcano. It has not erupted for over 600 years
and hopefully won't erupt in our time. Secondly Rangitoto is only 700 years old, wow!

Time for Kawau Island, Kawau is a lovely island and one of my favourites.
It has lots of lovely places to go. You will never get bored, I can promise you
that. It has an average sized jetty for the big ferries and there is a little part
for small motor boats like my family's boat.

Last but definitely not least is Tiri Tiri Matangi but you can call it Tiri for short.
Tiri is a bird sanctuary and it is also pest free. There are endangered birds there.  
Some regular ones such as the takahe,the pukeko and the welcome swallow
are only three of the many species of birds on the green as can be island.

And that's just the islands…

Hauraki in Maori means north wind.

Did you know that the underwater wildlife in the Gulf is incredible compared to most countries,
and if we want it to stay that way we have got to respect our beautiful ocean.

Written By Sophia Crosbie

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