Great Barrier Island is a remote paradise where most folks go to get away from things. There is no fibre-optic cable connecting mainland New Zealand with Great Barrier Island so solar power is the main source of electricity. There are no street-lights so at night the Barrier becomes a very tranquil place indeed with an extremely low level of light pollution – allowing it to qualify as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary.
Power Supply
Great Barrier Lodge is powered by the sun and has a back-up generator in case of emergencies. Hairdryers and hair straighteners are best left at home as these are not kind to sustainable power systems and can sometimes cause outages. You’ll have the standard New Zealand 3-point pin power outlets in your room for charging devices.
Wi-Fi
Most importantly, wi-fi is available on the island. Claris Airport has a great wi-fi connection. Great Barrier Lodge has wi-fi access during the day and you’ll be able to use this from your room. Sometimes the service is turned off overnight to conserve battery capacity. There is intermittent service while we are out on the trails, but we can’t guarantee a sustained, strong connection. If you require access to important digital documents while on the island, we recommend you download these to your device before you leave home. A portable battery bank for your mobile phone is also an excellent idea!
Mobile Phone Network
Great Barrier Island is serviced by mobile phone networks. We’ve found that One NZ tends to be the better provider. With Spark, the service can sometimes be patchy and broken. If you need to leave a phone number with someone at home to reach you in an emergency, you are welcome to pass on the landline phone number of Great Barrier Lodge, which is 0064 9 429 0488.