Built in 1998 for this one crossing and still owned by the council, the Kohu Ra Tuarua carries the road over the Hokianga Harbour, leaving Rāwene at half past most hours and the far ramp on the hour. The ramp it crosses to is not Kohukohu itself but The Narrows, about 4 km short of the village.
Standing timetable published by Northland Ferries (read 29 September 2026) and the Far North District Council (page last updated 21 July 2025); no end date and no separate summer timetable — at peak times shuttle mode can replace it — checked 29 September 2026 Northland Ferries – Hokianga Ferry timetable · 2026-09-29
The Kohu Ra Tuarua was designed for this one crossing. According to a 2005 Northern Advocate report, Ship Constructors Ltd built her in Whangārei in 1998, a double-ended monohull of 146 tonnes, owned by the Far North District Council. Operators have changed since — the same report names Impact Services Ltd — but the arrangement has not: today Northland Ferries sails her on the council's behalf, with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi support, seven days a week.
The timetable is simple once you see the pattern. From Rāwene, after a cluster of early boats at 07:30, 08:15 and 08:45, departures fall at half past the hour until the last one at 19:30. From The Narrows they fall on the hour until 20:00. On working weekdays each side adds an earlier boat, 07:00 north and 07:15 south.
Fares are paid on board, in cash or by EFTPOS, Visa or Mastercard; there is nothing to book. A car is $20 NZD each way and the fare covers the driver, while everyone else in the vehicle pays the $2 passenger fare, exactly as a foot passenger does.
Two things are easy to miss. Heavy vehicles are charged $15 for every axle, not per vehicle, and a campervan counts as a campervan — $40 — only if it has a bed and weighs over 2500 kg. The Bay of Islands frequent-user card is no use here: the council runs a separate payment system on the Hokianga.
| Light vehicle, under 2500 kg, up to two axles | $ 20 |
| Campervan with a bed, over 2500 kg | $ 40 |
| Heavy vehicle, per axle | $ 15 |
| Motorbike | $ 5 |
| Standard passenger | $ 2 |
| Community Services Card holder | $ 1 |
| Child under 12 | $ 1 |
Fares shown identically by Northland Ferries (29 September 2026) and the Far North District Council (last updated 21 July 2025); GST treatment not stated Northland Ferries – Hokianga Ferry fares · 2026-09-29
The crossing is short — fifteen minutes by both the operator's and the council's reckoning — from the ramp in Rāwene across the harbour to the ramp at The Narrows, where Kohukohu Road carries on to Kohukohu and beyond. Without the ferry, a trip between the two ramps becomes a drive round the harbour; when the boat was out of the water for maintenance in 2005, the Northern Advocate reported some motorists facing two hours by road each way.
Northland Ferries gives the southern departure point simply as the wharf at the end of Parnell Street, and the council calls it the south terminal. Heading south, this is where you come off the ferry for the road on to Opononi, Ōmāpere and the Waipoua Forest. There is no ticket office to find: you pay the crew once you are on board.
Northland Ferries names the northern terminal as the ramp on Kohukohu Road at The Narrows, and the council's own page calls it the north terminal. Kohukohu village is about 4 km further on by road, and Kaitaia, Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga lie beyond it. The Narrows is also where the ferry was hauled out on a specially built slipway in 2005, so that it could be surveyed and repaired without leaving the harbour.
At busy times the timetable can be suspended and the ferry runs continuously. No booking is needed, so just join the queue.
Low tides can dictate when extra-large vehicles cross. Northland Ferries suggests buses and truck-and-trailer units travel within two hours either side of high tide, and asks oversize or overweight drivers to call 0800 222 979 first.
The 07:00 from Rāwene and 07:15 from The Narrows run only on working weekdays. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays the first boats are 07:30 and 07:45.
The final crossing north leaves Rāwene at 19:30 and the final one south leaves The Narrows at 20:00, every day.
On the vehicle ferries animals stay inside your vehicle; if you are walking on, they need a lead or a carrier.
Northland Ferries posts delays and service changes on its Hokianga Ferry Services Facebook page rather than on the timetable page.
The 2005 report is also the best account of what the ferry means to the harbour. Maritime New Zealand required a full out-of-water hull survey, and the council built a slipway at The Narrows so the work could be done locally. For ten days in October that year a launch carrying up to 19 passengers ran the timetable for a dollar a head, while Rāwene Hospital's operators warned that patient transport, lab work and supplies would be stretched. Residents interviewed at the time said they welcomed the chance to repair the ferry close to home, having long worried about what would happen if it broke down.
Two details of the published timetable deserve care. Northland Ferries prints the midday sailing from The Narrows as 12:00am; the council's version of the same timetable makes the rule explicit — every hour on the hour until 8pm — so it is a noon boat, not a midnight one. And both call the service Rāwene to Kohukohu in places, while the operator is precise that the ramp is at The Narrows, 4 km south of the village.
To The Narrows, on Kohukohu Road about 4 km south of Kohukohu. The council's page describes the service as running between Rāwene and Kohukohu, but the northern ramp is at The Narrows, and you drive the rest of the way.
Roughly hourly in each direction, with extra early boats. From Rāwene it leaves at 07:30, 08:15, 08:45, then at half past each hour to 19:30; from The Narrows at 07:45, 08:30, 09:00, then on the hour to 20:00. A 07:00 and a 07:15 are added on working weekdays.
No. It is the noon sailing. Northland Ferries' table prints 12:00am, but the Far North District Council's timetable says boats leave The Narrows on the hour, every hour, until the last sailing at 8pm.
$20 NZD one way for a light vehicle under 2500 kg with no more than two axles, driver included. Each extra person pays $2, a Community Services Card holder or a child under 12 pays $1.
No. You pay on board in cash or by EFTPOS, Visa or Mastercard. At peak times the ferry may shuttle continuously instead of keeping to the timetable.
Low tides can limit extra-large and overweight vehicles. Northland Ferries recommends crossing within two hours either side of high tide and asks you to phone 0800 222 979 to confirm first. Heavy vehicles pay $15 per axle.
No. Northland Ferries runs the Hokianga ferry for the Far North District Council, and fares there are handled separately from the Bay of Islands boats, so that card is not recognised.