Summertime in Northland

Our first stop is Muriwai Beach to visit the gannet colony nesting on a headland. We continue up the West Coast to lunch in Matakohe and visit the amazing Matakohe Kauri Museum. North of Dargaville we take a short, flat walk in the Waipoua Forest to see Tane Mahuta, the God of the Forest and the largest kauri.

We continue northwards and around the southern shores of the Hokianga to Omapere. Our hotel is on the water’s edge with wonderful views across to the golden sand dunes. Take a walk on the beach before we dine in at the hotel this evening.

From Rawene we catch the ferry across the Hokianga Harbour. There’s time to wander the waterfront at Rawene and see the art and craft galleries in Kohukohu on the northern shore of the harbour. We continue north to Mangonui for lunch at the famous harbourside fish shop.

This afternoon Win Matthew’s shows us his fascinating and immaculate collection of vintage and classic cars and trucks. We stay two nights across the road from Taipa beach at Ramada Resort Reia.

Today we drive as far north as the road will take us to the iconic lighthouse at Cape Reinga where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. We have plenty of time to enjoy the magnificent views from the pathway out to the iconic lighthouse.

We explore along the way, taking side roads to Houhora Harbour and beautiful Tapotupotu Bay where we stop for our picnic lunch.

We return to our Taipa hotel in time for a swim before dinner.

On the historic trail today we visit Jan Ferguson’s historic house, garden and whaling museum at Butler Point on the the southern shores of Mangonui Harbour.

Also on the itinerary are Kerikeri’s Stone Store and Kemp House built in 1822 for the Kerikeri Mission followed by charming Te Waimate Mission House.

Arriving in the Bay of Islands, we stay two nights in waterview rooms at Copthorne Waitangi.

Step on board at Paihia to take a dolphin-watching cruise past islands and golden sand beaches to Cape Brett and the famous Hole in the Rock. Disembark at Russell to meet up with your Kiwi guide and lunch at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel.

We take a guided tour of Pompallier House and printing press and wander in Russell before we drive to Long Bay with its view of the outer Bay of Islands. Then we drive back to catch the vehicular ferry to Opua and return to Waitangi.

We take a guided tour of Waitangi Treaty House and its excellent museum. In Kawakawa we check out the famous toilet block created by the artist Hundertwasser. We call into the Whangarei town basin and visit a very special place, Robert and Robyn Webb’s Native Bird Recovery Centre, to see talking tuis and Sparky the daylight kiwi close-up.

We continue south down the highway with views out to the Whangarei Heads and over the Bryndrwyn Hills returning to Auckland in the late afternoon.