The Mercury Islands, a group of ancient volcanic islands off the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, named as such by Captain James Cook in 1769, now are mainly famous as the attractive view for the madding crowds who visit Matarangi and Rings Beaches in summer.
The Islands' Maori heritage goes back much further, so now they are known as are rich pickings for archaeologists, and also now a safe haven for native species after the eradication of pests. This begun with the removal of all rats and rabbits in the 1980s and culminated in successful removal of all foreign pests in 2016.
Leaders of the ongoing archaeological digs here are Auckland Museum, along with Auckland University and Ngati Hei. The main concentration of their work is upon the biggest island of the group, AhuAhu or Great Mercury. The dig teams, who visit three times a year, have been rewarded with a variety of Pa Sites (at least 28), several middens, and some complex gardens and kumara storage pits. Moa bone fishhooks and tools made from a range of stone types are among the smaller finds. A storm helped uncover one of the middens, which included dog bones. Their efforts are detailed on their excellent website. One of the tentative conclusions is that Maori were here at least 800 years ago, the presence of moa and seal bones confirming that some of the excavation sites are over 600 years old.
The other islands in the group are named Red Mercury, Stanley, Korapuki, and the unimaginative 'Green' 'Double' and 'Middle'. All are subject to the conservation efforts. Korapuki was chosen for an intensive restoration programme, beginning with the repopulate with Suter's skinks from Victoria University, as well as Tree weta and darkling beetles which were also placed on Double Island. There are tusked weta on the smaller islands, and pycroft's petrels, both of which are thriving thanks to pest-free status.
The owners of Great Mercury/Ahu Ahu are currently the Fay and Richwhite families, who have contributed significantly to the conservation and archaeology efforts. They maintain a farm on one half of Great Mercury and have built two glamorous lodges, frequented by international celebrities as well as themselves. The lodges are said to be in Mediterranean style and come with an endless supply of toys like jetskis and quadbikes to amuse the visitors. Great Mercury was also used by Rocket Lab for one of their early, successful launches.
If you want to fish the Mercury Islands, there are opportunities to hook snapper, kahawai, kingfish, trevally, John Dory, golden snapper, pink mao mao, terakihi and grouper and maybe even Porae, blue moki and blue cod. A luminescent cod and the 'kiwi hatchetfish' are amongst the rare and odd species in the area. Crays are a plenty for divers. Daytrippers may visit all the islands by boat, including Great Mercury, but landing places are few, and pest free conditions must be adhered to and no rubbish left behind. Red Mercury is the place famous for hosting runaway prisoner-of-war Count Felix Von Luckner during WWI. At Koropuki the entrance to the lagoon is via a rock arch, and the whole group is famous for crystal clear waters.
Windborne Charters does a day trip by sail from Whitianga Wharf.
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