My Town: Aotea Founder Tama Toki’s Guide To Great Barrier Island

The Aotea skincare founder talks to Viva about growing up on Great Barrier and finding success at home, sharing insights into his nature-fuelled life and the island’s hidden gems.

A lifelong resident of Aotea Great Barrier, Tama Toki had an atypical upbringing compared to most Kiwi children. Raised in paradise without a utility power grid or a mains water supply, “even things like watching TV” were routinely out of reach for the man who went on to found therapeutic skincare company Aotea.

“As a kid, I always got jealous of all the things you can do in [Auckland City] but not on the island,” says Tama (Ngāti Rehua, Ngāpuhi). “The older I get, the more I realise how special the place is.”

Despite its technological shortfalls and acute isolation, lying at the outer reaches of the Hauraki Gulf roughly 90km from Auckland’s CBD, there’s no questioning why he’s remained on Great Barrier.

Great Barrier is home to sprawling beaches, kauri forests, a Dark Sky Sanctuary, and myriad outdoor activities cherished and protected by the 1200-odd community – including hapū Ngāti Rehua of Ngāti Wai, tangata whenua of and kaitiaki over the island – and enjoyed by visitors.

It’s a tight-knit society, but there’s nothing more like home for Tama. His immediate family live on Great Barrier, along with “the wider community and hapū on the Papakāinga on the northern side of the island.”

Aotea, founded by Tama in 2017, takes its name from the Māori name for Great Barrier. He speaks of the island as the company’s “namesake, and where we are from”, adding that Aotea derives its practices and teachings from “mātauranga Māori [Māori knowledge]“.

Tama says mātauranga Māori ”manifests itself” in Aotea’s products, using traditional Māori herbal remedies and extracts from flora like kawakawa and harakeke seeds for their therapeutic skincare range.

Tama and his hapū’s broad depository of mātauranga Māori has seen him leverage Great Barrier’s natural resources while encouraging their regeneration, creating products that embrace rongoā Māori (the traditional Māori healing system).

Active compounds and healing ingredients from native flora grown on the island are extracted for use in the products, which are formulated and bottled by hand.

When he’s not busy working, Tama makes the most of the island’s unique offerings and active way of living.

Here are Tama’s top tips for making the most of the best parts of Great Barrier Island.

If you want to venture out to Great Barrier, the best way to get here is definitely by plane. The boats can be quite a mission. It’s four to five hours by ferry and then it’s about an hour and a half driving from Tryphena to where we are from at Motairehe.

Something I wish people knew before they visited Aotea is how its waste disposal system works. The island has a bit of a rep for sustainability and a lot of people actually don’t know that you’re supposed to take your rubbish home with you. It can be quite a mission if you’re not prepped for that.

My favourite cafe/restaurant on Great Barrier is My Fat Puku for the egg muffins, beers, pizza and atmosphere.

For a special occasion or to celebrate, head to any of the pubs on the island; they all tend to have the same feel as most rural pubs throughout the country. Good beer and interesting locals.

My favourite place to buy groceries is the Fitzroy shop because I grew up so close to it.

When it comes to interesting food trucks, markets or pop-up businesses on the island, I’d say it’s better to look at what’s open over your visit. There are a ton of little nooks with food being served, you’ve just got to find the right time because they’re not open regularly. The Burga Shak at Claris has some of the best burgers around.

My favourite thing to do on Great Barrier is to be near the water – whether it’s driving, fishing or surfing.

There are too many great spots for a hike to pick just one. Any of the walks on the island are pretty world class. Harataonga or Hirakimata tracks are heaps of fun.

The most prized beach on Aotea? Nothing can beat Whangapoua Bay.

The best road for a relaxing drive? Anywhere on the island.

If I’d like to listen to some tunes, I’ll head down to any of the clubs (Tryphena, Fitzroy or Claris). The Currach Irish Pub often has lots of good live music too.

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