Waiheke Island Double Headland Coastal Walk

The guide seemed friendly and knowledgeable about the places we visited. However, the communication between guide and group members left a lot to be desired. During the tour, the guide lost track of one member of the group. Although the situation was eventually resolved, it was understandably concerning and could have been avoided. Also, it was up to the individual members of the group to ask for a water break or rest. Scheduled breaks for water or rest would have possibly eliminated the need to stop for a long period of time to recover from strenuous stair climbing. With better communication and greater awareness of the needs of the group, this could be a good experience.

So much fun. Great way to overcome jet lag! The packed lunch was amazing. Weather was perfect for the hike.

We had an amazing day with Justine! She was extremely knowledgeable about the area, shared facts we were interested in, and provided a flexible experience. We got to do two walks, explore the town with lunch and shopping, and ended with time to see a winery. We did several tours on our trip and this was one of our favorites!

I had such a great time with our guide. We were a small group (just two of us) and she was flexible and adjusted our tour based on our needs and wants. Such a lovely day!!

We had a fantastic day hiking the island and Renee guided us superbly. I recommend booking this company

Great .... Cindy was a fountain of knowledge abd we had a great walk on a lovely day ... Thx JD

Justine was an excellent guide. Her knowledge of the flora and fauna of the island was very interesting. We also enjoyed learning about New Zealand history as we were just starting our visit to NZ

We had a great tour with Renee! The tour was very informative and we saw some beautiful sights of Waiheke. Renee was really knowledgeable about the area. She also catered the tour to what we wanted when we wanted to explore a new area. Would highly recommend as a way to see the island!

We had a wonderful hike through Terra Tide with Renee! She was incredibly informative, sharing so much about the island’s nature and Māori culture in New Zealand. She was very mindful of our fitness levels and adjusted the pace perfectly for us. We had just arrived after 30 hours of travel, so we decided not to complete the second part of the hike and instead explored some quaint galleries in town. Renee was flexible and completely understanding. The lunch provided was delicious as well! Renee is an excellent guide — knowledgeable, warm, and professional. We would highly recommend her and Terra Tide to anyone visiting.

The Waiheke Double Headland Walk with Renee was amazing! She has a wonderful way of explaining the natural terrain, its evolution over time and its relationship with the people that have inhabited the island. I highly recommend this to tour company and Renee as a guide.

Rene was our guide for the day and did an exceptional job of allowing the walk to proceed at a pace well suited for everyone. The views are just spectacular and the information and history provided gave us a real sense understanding of the area. Excellent day.

We are a couple in early mid 60s and this tour was a bit challenging with +90 F degree heat. It was approximately 5 to 6 miles of up and down terrain. Most importantly about a 1/3 of it was walking on a residential road with nothing interesting to be viewed. The guide was nice enough but not enough interesting dialog about the area.

Where do I begin… My family arrived at Waiheke Island soon after receiving some very sad news. We were all feeling pretty emotional, but as soon as we met Liz, it was apparent that we were going to have a wonderful day alongside a kind, genuine, and knowledgable person. She quickly got us out of our funk, giving us some digestible history about the main villages on the island and a little bit about what life is like there. Once we got to the first of two trails, she encouraged us to take a moment to really take in the scenery around us and try to connect with the ancient energy and wildlife that we were entering into. From that moment forward, we felt like we were in a truly magical place. Waiheke on its own is something you have to experience, but Liz’s tour made it something we will never forget. She took such care in answering our questions, expanding upon them in every way she could. She let us know about all of the efforts that locals (herself included) are carrying out in order to protect the land and eliminate the non-native mammals from the ecosystem, restoring it to its original state as a haven for birds with no natural predators. She took us to an incredible lunch spot (Cafe Fenice) where we were able to further connect with the other members of our group. Liz has truly achieved a perfect balance of allowing for space to contemplate the nature and truly be present while also providing the necessary and fascinating context behind the island. As a resident of the island for more than twenty years, she has a deep understanding of both the natural and human history of Waiheke. At the end of it all, she offered to drop us at the winery we planned to visit, something which saved us both time and money. Hopefully one day soon we will return to Auckland and Waiheke, both to experience this magical place and run into our magnificent tour guide once again. From the bottom of the Czuj family’s heart, thank you, Liz!!!

Wonderful walk with friendly and knowledgable guide Robyn with her colleague Renee. Beautiful views, good balance of easy and hard walk. Good lunch (cold), and very adaptive to conditions (tide, heat/shade, our fitness ).

My wife and I had a fantastic day hiking Waiheke with Dell. The views were magnificent, the pace was great, and Dell provided us with a lot of great information about the wildlife and the area throughout the tour. Dell was wonderfully flexible about how we spent our day, and it was such a joy to share it with her.

Excellent trip. Couldn't ask for a better guide. Justine was kind, personable, knowledgeable and with a great sense of humor.

This was a beautiful and informative introduction to Waiheke - and NZ. Justine, our guide did a wonderful job pointing out the sights, scenes and 'finds' that were representative of NZ, the culture and the way of life. Justine adjusted the tour to suit our needs and kept us all safe, secure and satisfied. She shared great insights into the various features and practices. An amazing few hours. The lunch place served some of the best sandwiches and brownies.

Dell was great. Very knowledgeable and fun guide. We enjoyed the hike tremendously. The views were amazing and we even got to see some native birds.

Had an excellent hike with our guide Dell around double headlands. She also shared history of the island. Highly recommended.

We had an amazing experience with Justine as our guide! She was knowledgeable, flexible, and just so fun to be with. We hiked up hills and down hills and saw some lovely views of the bay with Auckland in the distance. We even stopped at Cable Bay winery for a tasting! This tour will not disappoint, and if you are lucky enough to have Justine, all the better!

Justine was a wonderful guide. She is fun, engaging and knowledgeable. 5* to her! We found her walk was a great way to stretch our legs after a long flight. The sandwich at lunch was a highlight too!

The walk was hosted by Cindy who was very welcoming on arrival at the ferry terminal. Her local knowledge was very useful for choosing the best paths for the group ability and weather conditions on the day. There was plenty of interesting information on the history and geography of the islands together with a wealth of knowledge of the native plants and the efforts made to regenerate the island‘s forests.

My husband and I had the best time walking with Lucy from Terra & Tide. We spotted several birds which included an Egret, Fantails, Kereru, Tui with baby chicks and an amazing brightly colored New Zealand parakeet ! Lucy brought us on back trails we would never of found on our own and she helped us identify all the important local foliage. We enjoyed amazing lunch on the beach. On the way back to the ferry, we had enough time to taste local island wine! It was a beautiful day thanks to Lucy from Terra & Tide !

Justine Steel was superb. She adjusted to our abilities and interests. We had a simply wonderful day. We can recommend her highly, without reservation.

This was our first stop on our honeymoon in New Zealand and our guide was Maria. I had done a lot of research on New Zealand and was really wanting to know more about the island of Waiheke. Maria was incredibly knowledgeable about all the animal and plant life and the conservation efforts for the island. This tour was a true highlight and she truly made this a magical experience as our introduction for New Zealand and it's ecology. It was truly unforgettable!

had an excellent day hiking around the headlands with Lucie!!!! Had a nice orientation before we headed out and spent the morning hiking around the beautiful headlands of the Island. Then we had a great lunch on the beach followed by some time in town to have coffee and peruse the shops (your choice) before heading back on a hike to the ferry. Saw beautiful sights, birds, plants, and learned a lot about New Zealand!! Would definitely recommend.

Had a wonderful experience and time with Justine. We were able to see beautiful sites and experience wine tasting too. Justine was always checking in and giving choices on which paths or places to go. We even saw a Blue Penguin!!! Amazing views.

Dell was amazing. Turn and pivot to make our tour amazing. Great sites. Great walk. Great education. Great wine! Thank you Dell for a great tour of Waiheke island!

We really enjoyed the stunning views and bays of Waiheke isl. Tyler guided us during the walk and shared her great knowledge about the beautiful nature. Towards the end of the hike Tyler got us a nice lunch so we got our energy boosted for the last hills to a beautiful 360* view of the island. We'll certainly come back for another adventure.....

Lucie was super informative and fun to be with. She made our first full day in NZ really special.bShe knew a lot about Waiheke and was able to give us a very full understanding. In addition to the walk, she was able to then do a driving tour with us to more thoroughly see Waiheke.

Really enjoyed our time w Justine. She came prepared w walking sticks for us (we’re 65 & 63). The weather was a little iffy but she allowed us to do whatever we felt comfortable with so the excursion ended up being a great experience for my wife & I.

Fabulous walk around the coastal headlands - great way to see Waiheke with great guide Gabrielle - loved the Maori history and information about the birds and environment and so fantastic to hear about all the work being done to care for Waiheke environmment by the community and the Terra and Tide team

As one of the first things I decided to do after the lockdown, Waiheke was on top of the list. After searching a bit I found Walking by Nature and I decided to book this walking tour. The whole process was pretty straightforward! I had the pleasure to have Gabrielle as my tour guide. She took the time to explain to me things that otherwise I wouldn´t have the chance to know - I think that makes the difference because it gives you a different perspective. It was an amazing experience, the landscape is just astonishing! I highly recommend them!

Low tide so we couild walk along the beach to start our headlands tour. Justine was our guide and she did a great job. By the time we fished the first headlands walk we were exhausted, so Justine found a cafe where we had lunch and then took us to a winery. So overall a great day. If you want to walk both ends of the island (double headlands) then be prepared for a good 5-6 hours of hiking with significant elevation dhange. Fantastic views of the gulf on our hikWould highly recommend Walking By Nature

We recently did the walking tour with Tracy and had a great experience! Everything ran on time and the walk was exactly what we were looking for. We got some good exercise in and also learned a lot about the island. We did a few hours of walking in the morning, followed by a delicious lunch on the beach that we picked up from the supermarket on the island, and then a shorter walk in the afternoon. Absolutely recommend regardless of your fitness level, as the guides will tailor the tour to you!

Our guide, Tracy with Walking by Nature did an excellent job!! She shared history of the island, guided us through trails on the Headland Coastal area, through forest trails, and several beaches. She was very knowledgeable about life on the island, birds, trees and plants. We visited the Mud Brick Vineyard, and had our lunch on a beautiful beach in the village. She customized our trip for our interests and abilities. We definitely recommend this tour and Tracy, as our guide!! Ann and Charlie from North Carolina. USA/

I had the opportunity to do the Double Headland Coastal Walk - it was an amazing trek through local bush as well as opportunity to see stunning vistas, both across the coast as well as inland. My guide was a joy and made sure I got the most of the out walk and tailored it based on my interests. I would highly recommend this walk for anyone who likes hikes that are a little challenging but also offer unforgettable sights.

The island is beautiful, the hike was very diverse, lovely look-out points, definitely worth it! The guide was awesome, knew a lot, talked a lot. Highly recommend!

My family and I did this tour on our second day in Auckland and had an amazing time. The island is absolutely beautiful and our guide, Tracy was very knowledgeable about the island, nature, and wildlife. She was so sweet and made the experience very enjoyable. The walk itself had some hills but was very doable (I wore jeans and was fine). Nonetheless, the tour can be customized based on the needs of the group. Overall, we all had a great time and would definitely recommend!

We had a beautiful walk on Waiheke Island. Our guide Justine was like an old friend by the time we reached the end - very personable and interesting to talk to - full of local knowledge of the island and it’s people. She was wise enough to realise we’d never finish the full walk because of our speed (or lack of it) and adapted the distance. But we still so much more than we would have on our own. Thank you Justine.

Justine was absolutely fantastic and made the day so enjoyable. It ended up being just me on the walk, which was great that they still take people out despite having a small group. The hike itself was gorgeous - not too difficult, but there are definitely some areas with stairs and/or a steeper incline. Justine was personable, knowledgeable and allowed me to customize the walk slightly since it was just me. So glad I did this day trip and highly recommend it to others considering it!

Our first day out after arriving in New Zealand was this beautiful hike around Waiheke Island with our lovely guide, Justine. She set a lively pace and checked on us often to make sure we were comfortable. Be sure to know this more of a hike than a walk, but no better way to see the magnificent view near the top! We had lunch at an adorable cafe near the beach and then an easy walk back to the ferry. Justine was so friendly, easy to talk with and had excellent knowledge of the island. Highly recommend.

Waiheke Island is a stunning place and this hike enables you to see and feel some of the best of it. Michael was an excellent guide and is incredibly knowledgeable about the area from the flora and fauna to local attractions and great information on the island community - environmental initiatives and political "challenges". Michael shared all such information freely which made for a really entertaining and educational walk. Michael was able to tailor the walk to different abilities as required. Thoroughly recommend a walking tour as a way to get a real "feel" for the island and close to the beautiful coastline rather than just being shipped around on a driving tour. Australians will appreciate the joy of no snakes in New Zealand when hiking through the long grass - what a treat!

Gabrielle is a passionate guide and did her absolute best to give me the best experience possible. The hike is quite long but very scenic! She is very knowledgeable and has a very positive attitude!

My tour through New Zealand could not have started better than this. Michael was a great guide and taught me a lot about the local flora and fauna. He also gave me the best tips for the rest of my journey and some insides about Waiheke and the art scene. The tour on Waiheke was beautiful with amazing views and a great nature. Definitely one of my favorite tours in New Zealand with the best guide!

I can highly recommend the Double Headland Walk - Michael was a great guide and his affection and knowledge of his island made it a most enjoyable day. Do try this!

The double headland tour was AMAZING. I was the only one to have booked that day and Louis was completely gracious about it and made it the perfect, personalized walking tour. Views are unbeatable, walking was a great way to see the island and Louis was very knowledgeable about history/natural resources of the island. Have done a lot of traveling and this was one of the best tours I’ve ever done. A must do dat trip from Auckland!

What a great way to spend a summer day! On a gorgeous island and with the amazing Louis. A highly knowledgeable and the nicest guide I ever met. Louis was born there and made this walk entertaining and interesting. Showing pathways and artefacts that would be missed by going solo. Furthermore, the overall process and organisation was perfectly handled. In brief, that is a must and it is worth every penny.

We had a great walk with Louis. He met us at the ferry dock and showed us around the island with great knowledge about the wildlife, plants, culture and local life. Highly recommended and a great way to experience beautiful Waiheke Island.