Northland Region

 

Framed by the five jagged volcanic peaks of Mt Mania, overlooking the entrance to the Whangarei harbour, Northland's largest city is located less than 30 minutes drive from a spectacular stretch of coastline. The jagged shapes of a string of shadowy volcanic peaks stand like sentinels above Whangarei , looking out across a landscape that at one time was part of the ocean floor. According to Maori legend, the volcanic peaks of Mt Manaia to the east of the city are people turned to stone. These spires that dominate the landscape are the remnants of ancient volcanoes that have eroded to reveal their central lava cores, creating dramatic natural rock sculptures that stand silhouetted against the sky. Off the coast lie more impressive volcanic peaks. The pinnacles of the Hen and Chickens group, were named by Captain James Cook in 1770. To the south stretch are beautiful white sand beaches that run from Ruakaka to Waipu Cove and from the Mangawhai Heads south to Pakiri. It is here along this stretch of coastline in the small township of Waipu that you will find the story told in the local museum of the pioneering Scots who came to this part of the coast in the 1850s.

 

Clapham Clock Museum, Whangarei.

1WHANGAREI

The tour starts from Water Street near the Whangarei Town Basin.
Northlands largest city has retained its rural character and features a number of attractive parks and gardens. Set beside a small stream that runs though the centre of town, the Cafler Park and Rose Garden features an array of colourful flowerbeds, while at the Maggie Maddren Fernery and the Snow Conservatory nearby, you can see over 80 varieties of New Zealand native ferns. The Whangarei Town Basin features a glass-blowing studio and a number of galleries on Water Street along with the Whangarei Art Museum, while nearby on the quayside you will find the Clapham Clock Museum. Open daily, the museum is packed with clocks, time-pieces and music boxes that are part of the largest collection of this kind anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere. The best place to get an overall view of the city is from the summit of Mt Parahaki which can be reached by walking track or road. This volcanic cone was once the largest fortified pa site in the country and still retains many of the excavations and other visible features which are identified by explanatory signs. The A.H. Reed Memorial Kauri Park on Whareroa Road has more bush walks including two 500 year old kauri along with numerous  kauri rickers. At Onerahi, you will find the Waimahanga Walkway which follows an old railway line across a timber truss bridge and through mangroves swamps along the edge of the harbour. The complete walk takes 2 hours.

 

Clarke Pioneer Homestead.

2WHANGAREI MUSEUM AND KIWI HOUSE

From Water Street in the centre of the city, head southwest 3.8 km on Maunu Road to reach the Whangarei Museum and Heritage Park which is on the right on SH 14.
Located at Heritage Park, the museum features a range of heritage buildings including the Clarke Pioneer Homestead, which was built around 1886, a small turret dating back to 1908, which was used as a study by famous New Zealand novelist, Jane Mander, and the Riponui Pah School which opened in 1898. The Whangarei Womens Jail dates back to 1900, while the octagonal shaped Oruaiti Chapel, built from a single kauri log in 1859, is the smallest Methodist chapel in the country and was relocated here from Doubtless Bay. There is also a collection of Maori artifacts including a rare burial chest and some superb feather cloaks. You can see live brown kiwis in the Kiwi House. The museum also has a range of vintage machinery, including a steam locomotive that runs on a 3 km line during the summer months on the Live Days that are held monthly at the park from Labour weekend until April. There is also a variety of rides including bullock sled rides, tractor and hay cart rides along with rides in a fire engine and on a miniature train.

 

Ocean Beach, Whangarei.

3MT MANAIA

Return to Water Street and drive northeast 0.3 km, turn left at Bank Street, continue 0.4 km turn right at Dent Street and drive 0.3 km to Riverside Drive. Drive east on Riverside Drive 4.3 km and continue on Onerahi Road 1.9 km turning left to continue on Whangarei Heads Road 21.9 km. You can park in the Manaia Club’s lower car park and walk up to the start of the track just above the car park. Mount Manaia looks across Taurikura Bay.
Mount Manaia is one of a 10 km long cluster of jagged, forest covered peaks that stand watch over the entrance to the Whangarei Harbour. It takes 90 minutes to reach the 403 m summit of this impressive volcanic peak, the track climbing steeply through regenerating native bush to the top where you are rewarded with spectacular views across Bream Bay and out to the Hen and Chicken Islands. This massive expanse of water on the coast south of Whangarei is dominated by the 495 m peak of Bream Head in the north, while Bream Tail marks the southern end of the bay, overlooking Langs Beach, Waipu Cove and Ruakaka. The volcanic summit of Bream Head can also be reached via a track that starts out at the Ocean Beach, climbing a long ridgeline past an old Second World War radar station to the top of Bream Head (Te Whara) before continuing down the other side to Peach Cove. The track passes through some of the best coastal forest in the North Island and will reward you with incredible views across Bream Bay and along the coast to the north and south but you will need to allow 5 hours to make the return trip.

4RUAKAKA

Return to Water Street and continue southwest 0.8 km on Maunu Road, turn left onto Otaika Road and continue 3.6 km onto SH1. The turn off to Ruakaka Beach is on the left 26.6 km south on SH1. You can also follow the Marsden Point Road to the Oil Refinery from here.
You can get to the white sandy beaches of Bream Bay from Ruakaka which is also the location of a small campground near the mouth of the Ruakaka River. In the sands of the wildlife sanctuary nearby are the nesting grounds of the New Zealand dotterel, fairy tern and the variable oystercatcher. On Marsden Point Road you will find New Zealand’s only oil refinery which features a detailed scale model and display explaining the operation of the refinery.

5WAIPU

Return to SH1 and drive southeast 6.5 km and turn left onto Nova Scotia Drive. Continue 2.8 km to Waipu.
Located on the Waipu River 2 km inland from the coast and Bream Bay, the town was founded in 1853 by 120 Scottish Highlanders who were moved out of their homes during the 'Clearances'. After unhappy attempts at settling in Nova Scotia and then Australia, they eventually established themselves in Waipu before being joined by joined by more Scots from Nova Scotia and Scotland. In the main street a small museum called the Waipu Heritage Centre, contains relics from the early days of settlement, and the nearby church features stained-glass windows commemorating the Rev Norman McLeod, the charismatic preacher who led the doughty immigrants. New Zealand writer Fiona Kidman lived for two years among the descendants of Norman McLeod’s followers at Waipu during her teenage years, later researching and writing a novel ‘The Book of Secrets’ (1987) about the lives of women in a moralistic community. Scottish traditions have been maintained in this small rural town, including the annual Waipu Highland Games, which have been held every year since 1871.

 

Langs Beach looking towards Bream Head.

6WAIPU COVE

Continue east 7.7 km on Cove Road to Waipu Cove. Continue southeast 4 km on Cove Road to reach Langs Beach.
Dominated by the Pacific Ocean, an idyllic stretch of coastline runs from Waipu Cove to Langs Beach. With its white-sand beaches and views across Bream Bay to the volcanic spires of the Hen and Chickens group of islands, the older village beachside style setting of Waipu Cove contrasts with the more architecturally focused development at Langs Beach, lined with pohutukawa trees. Nearby the estuary that runs from the mouth of the Waipu River, is the home of a number of shorebirds, including the variable oystercatcher, the fairy tern and rare New Zealand dotterel.

 

Mangawai Estuary.

7MANGAWHAI HEADS

From Langs Beach continue southeast 7.7 km on Cove Road then continue 1.6 km on Mangawai Heads Road, turn left onto Wintle Street and continue 1.4 km east to the carpark above the beach.
Looking out from the Mangawai Heads across the distinctive white crystalline sand beach, across the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean towards Tauranga Island, you will immediately realize that you are on one of the most scenic parts of the North Islands eastern coastline. From the short 5 minute walk up onto an old pa site behind the beach, there are great views out across the heads as well as the sand bar which claimed a paddle steamer in 1893. The boat-building industry thrived here in the 1870s when large quantities of kauri gum and timber were being shipped out of the harbour. Today Mangawawhai is a popular surf beach and if you are keen, the Mangawhai Walk offers a 3 hour return journey along the beach and cliffs to the north. After following the beach for about 20 minutes the track progresses steeply up the cliffs overlooking the coast with views to Bream Head in the north, east to the Mokohinau Islands and Little Barrier Island, as well as south to the Hauraki Gulf. You can walk down to the beach from the end of the track and return along the coast at low tide.