Travelling - Northland, New Zealand

This trip to Northland obviously happened before the lock down started, but I thought it would be nice to have some pictures of the outside world for us to look at.  It was only a four day visit as, unfortunately, that was all the time that we could put aside this time.  However, even though the Northland is not given as much advertising as a tourist destination in New Zealand, I really wanted to see it.  Due to the distance there was quite a lot of driving, which isn't my favourite way of seeing places, but needs must.

On the first day we started off a little late as we needed to sort out our gear first, but we wanted to get quite far north that day to make sure we made our main goals possible on day two.  So that night we stayed at Paihia, which has some nice gift shops and what looks like nice places to eat, but the main thing us was the view into the Bay of Islands.  We decided to just grab some snack like foods for dinner and sit in the car parked at the bay to enjoy the scenery whilst we ate.  It was a little murky and dull that day, but still beautiful.

The main attraction of Paihia is the Waitangi Treaty Ground, but that was a little bit out of our budget for this trip so we contented ourselves by walking over the bridge to the area and having a bit of a wondering around the neighbouring park. 

The second day was all about the original European capital of New Zealand, Russell.  First stop was the flag post at Maiki on the Flagstaff Hill Historic reserve to see the site where the British flag post was cut down four times by Hone Heke, chief of the Ngapuhi, over the fact that the treaty had not brought his people prosperity and the increasing control of the area by the British.  It does seem like quite a legitimate reason to cut down the symbol of the British Government in that area and the fighting that followed really showed the in-experience of the British and the experience and honourable behaviour of the Maori, they did far more to protect the local British, non-military population then their own Government did.

We then walked back to Russell through the Kororareka Point Scenic Reserve.  The tide ended up being a little higher then we expected, so the final beach walk ended up being a scramble over the rocks in our flip flops - always fun.

Then it was time to have a good look around Russell itself.  The main streets still contain quite a few of the older buildings and it has quite a nice relaxed feel to it without all the touristy shops that you would normally expect.  In fact it had quite a few pre-loved and craft shops for the size of the place.  We made sure to stop at the museum, which was small but full of information, and the church where you can still see holes on the outside musket balls on the outside and to whom Charles Darwin actually donated money to the building of.

To get to Russell and back we took the ferry (which is pedestrian only), and it's a really nice way to first see Russell and the bay.  Probably beats the long, winding round you would otherwise have to take any way.

After a lovely morning pottering we carried on the drive north.  We made a pretty quick stop (and by quick I mean I almost did an emergency break, but decided to control myself) at the Living Nature factory shop.  I love their products so was keen to see the place where they are made.  Unfortunately we couldn't see the factory that time, but I had a good nosy through all the products in the shop.  Then we stopped at Kerikeri to get supplies and visit the Kororipo Pai.  There isn't a lot still visible at this Pai, but you can see the terracing that once supported the wooden palisades that make up these fortresses.  We also took a quick leg-stretching break to see the Rainbow Falls.  The waterfall was beautiful, but we didn't get to see any of the rainbow colours they are names after, probably because the lighting was a bit off that day.

Our stop for the night was the most northern campsite in New Zealand, the DOC owned Tapotupotu Campsite.  This is a really beautiful campsite and there was enough space for us to get a spot away from other people, but there was a warning about blood sucking insects (thankfully it was very windy that night so we were left alone).  The best part about it was that we were able to have a swim in the sea first thing in the morning and then have a little rinse off in the river that was right beside our tent.  It was a little chilly, but still a really good way to start the day.

The main aim of this trip was to visit Cape Reigna, the most northerly point that you can physically reach in New Zealand.  This is the most sacred site in Aotearoa to the Maori as it is believed to be the launching point of a deceased person's spirit as they return home and you are asked to not eat or drink whilst visiting.  The actual point is an 800 year old pohutukawa tree that you can see clinging to the side of an outcrop of rocks, but this point can't be visited by anyone from the living.

It is a beautiful spot and the views were amazing, helped by the great weather we had that day.  Definitely worth driving this far north to get to see this site.  The location also has lots of really good plaques everywhere telling you about the site, why in is sacred, and about Abel Tasman the Dutchman who was actually the first white man to discover New Zealand.

We had decided to drive back down the west coast instead of taking the same route back, choosing a route that would take us through Kohukohu, known for it's beautiful Victorian buildings.  It did not disappoint, they were gorgeous and a very good example of Victorian buildings done the New Zealand way (which mainly means using wood).  We then took the ferry to Rawene (the third oldest European settlement in New Zealand), which also had a lot of beautiful old buildings and many, many, many churches.

Of course, we had to stop off in Waipoua Forest to see Tane Mahuta, named after the Maori forest god.  It's the largest kauri tree still alive and it probably around 1200 to 2000 years old. Am absolute beauty which was lucky enough to be missed by loggers in the not to distant past.

That night we stayed at this amazing campsite at Kai Iwi Lakes, not surprisingly called Kai Iwi Lakes campground.  As with Tapotupotu Campsite we had a lot of space to choose with not many people looking for spot.  This is probably due to the fact we were visiting a little out of season and Northland was dealing with a drought at that moment.  This lack of water had meant that we weren't able to stay at the campsite we had originally planned on, mainly because they offered kiwi tours during the night, but this campsite definitely made up for that disappointment.  Just look at that view!

The next morning we went for a swim in Kai Iwi Lake and it was a slightly odd experience.  This lake has no in-lets or out-lets and the amount of water found in there is determined by the amount of rain water it received and how much evaporates off.  Without the usual salts and minerals that is was a much harder to float and swim in that water.  It was also strange to open your eyes under the water, with everything much more blurry then in other waters I've swam in.  It was absolutely beautiful to swim in.

After our morning swim we carried on down south through Dargaville were we wanted to see the museum there.  This museums differ from other ones I've been to in New Zealand in so far as most of the European settlers in the area were actually from Croatia and the main industry was gumdigging.  This was an interesting museum, which also contained information about the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, that was blown up by the French in 1985 whilst at Auckland Port as they were planning to protect against French testing nuclear arms at Moruroa.  The masts are mounted outside the museum in memorial of Fernando Pereira who died on the boat as it sank.  It also turned out to be a good place to end up around lunch time as we found a vegan cafe called Taste and See.  The food was really good, the prices were really good, and it contained a small shop with natural food and beauty products in it.

And then we headed back down to Auckland.

Northland is a really beautiful area and there was definitely not the same level of tourisms here I've found in other areas of New Zealand.  This ended up making it a really good place to visit and, despite the fact this is not usually high on most people's list of places to visit, it should be.  Definitely worth going to and we'll be returning to see more as soon as we can.