Kawau Cruises & Kawau Water Taxis

Very cool cruise. Took the kids for the day. Picked a spot and had picnic, a swim and then a hike..was a good afternoon.Booking wad easy..make sure to be on time, don't fuss too much to race on to get a seat because there are cool places to stand and look out..and occasionally a chair will pop up so you can have a seat.The island is great..my second trip and thr kids want to do it again too.The water at the island was impacted by the storm but wait foe high tide swim in the middle and it's gorgeous or jump off the wharf.Cafe was open, I only used it for iceblocks but it wad busy..a few boats came in and had lunch ..really cool place

Great experience with my small family.I reccomend getting tickets in advanced, and check weather forecast.Also, there is parking not far from sandpit wharf, which is free all day.Bbq lunch is mainly paying for the experience, but I loved it.

Beautiful day on water. Perfect way to unplug and unwind. The weather was great and scenery even better.

Great cruise from Sandspit (North Auckland) to Kawau Island. Highlight of the cruise was going through the different bays as part of the mail run. Would recommend taking the later ferry home (usually at 4 or 4.30) so that you have plenty of time to explore the island.

Did this cruise a couple of weeks ago on a Monday, a beautiful day. Lovely booking ladies in the office, helpful and friendly. As it was a Monday they used a small ferry, the website describes their boats as luxurious, this boat was far from it, a morning start and the windows were so dirty with a build up of salt water could hardly see out of them, the boat smelled a bit fishy, cleaning gear piled up by front side window, in between join of seats dirty with crumbs etc. It was explained the sound system was broken so a crew member would come around every now and then to say what bay we were in, so there was no full commentary which was disappointing, I believe we only called at about 4 wharves. At 12 midday we were given the option to get off the boat or continue cruising for another 45 minutes, as we had prepaid for a BBQ lunch we chose to get off as the lunch would now be available at the cafe not BBQ. We had the choice of steak or salmon, the steak was very nice, it came with a small salad and bun plus a cold drink, although nice it wasn't what was described on the website. Most reviews of this cruise were good so would recommend to anyone considering doing it to ensure you are going on their bigger boat as probably more upmarket with tea and coffee facilities. I have been on a mail cruise from Havelock in the South Island and would highly recommend but would not recommend the Kawau Cruise from my current experience.

For what we paid as a family of 5, I was disappointed and didn’t feel that it was worth the price. For starters, being mid week (school holidays) in winter, the mail run cruise boat was downgraded to a smaller vessel, which was loaded up with deliveries to houses on the island leaving very few seats at the windows and there was no outdoor seating. The highlight was standing at the stern of the boat, but houses and bays on the island mail run stops are nothing spectacular to look at, so being on a mail run cruise offered nothing special. We only found out that the Mansion House was closed mid week once we arrived at the pier but fortunately (thanks to the advice of the staff at the pier) we managed to hunt down the local DOC worker who kindly gave us paid access to look inside the old house. The gardens are so-so but the peacocks offered a short round of entertainment. The lunch provided by the cruise operator was okay and it was good that they still attended to providing us a cooked meal. The staff were polite and attentive. It was nice to have to most of the place to ourselves but it definitely is not a winter activity for the family that I would recommend. While the Mansion House has some historical merits, I just think we could have better spent the $560+ price tag. Now I understand why Sir George Grey sold up and moved back to Auckland.

Wonderful experience, dropped post and food for the residents, and spent the day walking swimming and adventuring on the island. Highly recommended.

Good trip on the Mail run tour. We included lunch & chose salmon which was served at the Cafe on the island and was very nice. Peacocks keen to check out the food tables while sitting outside. Staff on board friendly and informative as we travelled around dropping off packages and people.

This is my second time visiting Kawau Island. The first time I visited was during the weekend and the cruise and the island was pretty busy but the second time I went during a week day and there was just a hand full of people! It was like your private Island. Perfect for a good picnic and plenty of spaces for the kids to run around. Couple of good walking tracks. The cafe in the island is closed so make sure you bring your own snacks. Never ever feed the peacocks on the island coz they will never leave ur side. Also just look where you place your mat, the birds seem to poop everywhere!