D'Urville Island

Rangitoto ki te Tonga, D'Urville, is about 150 square kilometres at the outer edge of the Marlborough Sounds, separated from the mainland by French Pass and its tidal race. Around fifty people live on it, mostly farming, and there is no public road network - tracks are private, movement is largely by boat, and there is no shop, no fuel station and no reliable phone coverage. Getting there means driving the long unsealed road to French Pass and taking a barge or water taxi across. What visitors come for is the diving and fishing, which is exceptional because the water is clean and the pressure is low, and for a few walking routes and DOC campsites on the coast. The island has one of the country's important argillite sources, quarried for adzes and traded widely in pre-European times. Accommodation is a handful of lodges, booked well ahead.

History

The Māori name Rangitoto, "blood-red sky", is an ancient name brought from Hawaiki, later lengthened to Rangitoto ki te Tonga, "of the south"; the English name honours the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville. The island was a traditional source of argillite for stone tools, especially in the Archaic period of 1300-1500, and from the 1600s to the early 1800s it lay within the rohe of Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri (Wikipedia, D'Urville Island).

What's there

• The road-free island - private tracks, movement mostly by boat.
• The diving and fishing - the main reason people make the trip.
• The argillite quarries - the stone source traded across the country.
• The DOC campsites - coastal, basic, reached by boat.

When to go

November to April. Book the barge or water taxi and accommodation well ahead - both are limited. Crossings depend on the tide at French Pass and on the weather.

Things to know

No shop, no fuel, patchy coverage - arrive fully stocked. Land is private and permission matters. Getting there is a long unsealed drive plus a tidal crossing, and this is a multi-day trip rather than a detour.

Nearby

French Pass is the mainland crossing point; Nelson and Havelock are the nearest towns.

Key facts