The boat slices through the calm waters of Lake Rotorua. Ahead, I see the humpbacked silhouette of Mokoia Island rearing from the lake's centre. As we draw nearer, the island's beauty comes into sharp focus: scrubby green native bush blankets the 175m high peak; tall punga trees rise up, dotting the skyline; and tiny specks - unidentifiable native birds - can be seen darting from the trees to soar over the lake.

We alight from the boat to the sound of a chirruping bird; its sharp, repetitive call cuts through the crisp air. "That's the tui," explains Josephine, our guide and a descendent of the island's settlers. "He's the boss around here."

As well as the bossy tui and his extended family, Mokoia houses North Island robins, eight brown kiwi, over 500 pairs of tieke (saddleback) - and eight rare kokako. Pukeko and weka stalk across the grass in every direction, shags perch on rocks and enormous hawks circle overhead.

At just 263 hectares in size, it's hard to believe that thousands of people once resided on Mokoia Island. The Maori settlers, members of the Te Arawa tribe who arrived in the 1400s, were joined in the 1800s by European missionaries and traders. By 1901, 2000 residents called Mokoia home.

Today, the island is uninhabited by people. Managed by the Department of Conservation and the Te Arawa trust landowners, Mokoia Island is now a natural wildlife sanctuary, filled with over 39 species of endangered birds and the legends of residents past.

As we stand admiring the scenery a man in a swinging flax skirt with a face full of swirling tattoos launches himself towards us. His wooden spear swings violently from hand to hand. He barks short Maori words in our direction. We stand in silence as he approaches - tongue bared, eyes menacingly wide - and places a gift of a feather at the feet of our nominated 'chief'. Acceptance of this gift announces that we come in peace.

Mokoia hasn't always enjoyed such peaceful interaction as this. In pre-European times, the island was the scene of many ferocious battles between local Maori tribes.

The fierce conflict was purportedly abated with the daring union of Hinemoa and Tutanekai - two young lovers whose story still runs deep in the cultural veins of Mokoia Island and the wider Rotorua region.

Here on the island, the setting for their story, the pair's presence is almost tangible. Josephine tells us how Hinemoa - desperate to be with Tutanekai, her forbidden love - floated across the lake to Mokoia Island one moonless night. During the 1.3km journey she was guided only by the mournful tune of Tutanekai's flute. When Hinemoa arrived at Mokoia Island she slunk into a hot pool, where she was soon discovered by Tutanekai. Instead of inciting war, as the pair had anticipated, their flagrant union brought their tribes together and instilled a sense of long lost peace to the region.

"It's not a myth," says Josephine as she guides us beneath a carved, red archway depicting the famous young lovers entwined forever. Their painted eyes watch as we wander through.

We follow Josephine onto the Matua Tonga track - named for the god of kumara and fertility. A stone Matua Tonga statue sits alone - looking very Buddha-like - at the start of the track. Josephine explains that, traditionally, this lichen-covered figure acted as a sort of sun dial, letting his people know when the time was right to plant kumara.

"Now," says Josephine, "we're going where the kiwis walk." After the bright sunshine and crisp air of the lake edge, the canopied forest track is dim and still. Sun mottles the thin path that winds through tall native mahogany trees and past horopito, kawakawa and piko piko plants.

Josephine indicates a small bank of earth that has been poked and prodded to the point of erosion by the island's resident kiwis. A tiny, fat black robin bobs along branches at eye-height watching us curiously. The vibrating laugh of the tieke taunts us from on high.

Mokoia has had a tumultuous conservation history. The island's settlers burned and cleared most of the original native bush to plant kumara and other crops in the fertile soil. The contribution of Europeans included poplar and fruit trees and the introduction of Norway rats. Mice, cattle, horses, pigs, goats and cats all had a stint on the small island and in the 1950s, a pheasant farm was created.

With some serious eradication work, all mammals were eventually removed from the island, with the last of the Norway rats disappearing in 1997. Native bush has since had a chance to regenerate. "In 2050," says Josephine, "all our trees will be back to their original condition."

Our wander through the forest takes us past several examples of the different stages of regeneration before leading us to the remnants of ancient burial sites - both Maori and European. Further towards the summit, says Josephine, is the burial site of the island's most famous son, Tutanekai.

As well as this permanent reminder of Tutanekai, Mokoia is home to 'Hinemoa's Pool'. Actually called 'Waikimiha' or 'looking for water', the steaming hot pool at the edge of the lake is another nod to the local love story. "This is where Hinemoa bathed when she first arrived on Mokoia Island," explains Josephine.

We strip our feet bare and dangle them in the steaming, soothing, historic waters of Waikimiha. Josephine hands round traditional Maori rewena (potato-based) bread, delicious beetroot and horopito chutney and a TeeKawa beer, containing the kawakawa herb. Wandering wekas watch from afar. Tieke serenade us from the surrounding trees. I nibble contentedly and think, for paradise like this, I too would be happy to float from the mainland on a moonless night...

Amelia is Content Editor for the New Zealand travel and tourism website

Amelia experienced the Ultimate Island Experience courtesy of Mokoia Island Wai Ora Experiences (www.mokoiaisland.co.nz) and www.fourcorners.co.nz.