.
Drive west to Rawene, with its historic buildings cantilevered out over the Hokianga and catch the car ferry across the harbour to Kohukohu. Drive north on SH 1 through the forest clad Mangamuka Gorge and across the Maungataniwha Range to Kaitaia where you can book bus tours to Cape Reinga as well as checking out the Far North Regional Museum before heading to Ahipara on the coast.
Northland is rugged, with forest clad ranges feeding numerous rivers that flow into the long harbours that stretch inland from it's west coast. These harbours are part of the legacy left as a result of rising sea levels that followed the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. When the first humans arrived, Northland was covered in the tallest and most ancient forests on earth. When the Maori came to the entrance of the Hokianga Harbour, where surf pounds over perilous shoals, they named the surging waters Kaiwaka, the canoe devourer. European settlers followed, also braving the wild seas as they travelled inland in search of kauri for their ships and houses. The gumdiggers followed in search of kauri gum and today the ancestors of these early Maori and later Europeans settlers can still be found in the many small towns and settlements that lie hidden along the coast and spread across the farmland further inland. Today this is a relaxing and peaceful landscape to take a drive through on your way north. There are plenty of places to explore along the Hokianga Harbour and out on the west coast at Ahipara, so make sure that take the time to stop and relax along the way.
The statue of Opo at Opononi.
1OPONONI
Opononi is 3.6 km northeast on SH12 from Omapere.
Opononi was made famous in the mid-1950s by Opo, a friendly dolphin that regularly visited the beach, froliking in the shallows with the many children and visitors who flocked to the area to swim with it. Opo is commemorated by a Russell Clark sculpture and further along the road, at Pakenae, is a monument to the legendary Maori voyager Kupe, who is said to have departed from the Hokianga (Great Return) Harbour to return to Hawaiki. Today you can relax and wander along the white sandy beach that stretches all the way to Opononi Wharf. You can still see pods of dolphins and occasionally orca in the harbour and you can also catch a water taxi to the giant sand dunes on the other side of the harbour to experience the thrill of dune surfing on boogie boards. Fishing trips can also be arranged at the wharf.
SAND BOARDING
From the Opononi Wharf you can take a boat trip on the Hokianga Express across the harbour to the giant sand dunes.
Its a short trip across the harbour to climb the 30 m high dunes on the north head for spectacular views back across to Opononi and along the coast. If you are in the mood for some thrill-seeking, this is a perfect location for sand boarding down the dunes. The north head also features some remarkable wind sculptured sandstone rock formations while across the harbour, you can see why the headlands at the south head were regarded by the early Maori as a mythical sacred guardian creature (taniwha) named "Arai Te Uru."
Rawene on the Hokianga Harbour.
2RAWENE
From Opononi, drive east 15.1 km on SH12 and turn left into Rawene Road. Drive northeast 4.5 km and continue 1.9 km on Parnell Street into Rawene to the car ferry terminal. The vehicular ferry crosses the harbour between Rawene and the Narrows on the
northern side of the harbour, allowing
travellers on SH 12 to take a direct route to
Kohukohu. The car ferry operates between
7.30 am and 8 pm daily.
With its fascinating buildings supported on poles over the waters of the Hokianga Harbour, Rawene is steeped in history. The oldest historic home, Clendon House, was built in the 1860s for the areas resident magistrate, the courthouse and the Masonic Hotel, both date back to 1875 and the Methodist Church was built in 1876. A walkway through the mangroves provides views of a wetland habitat and utilises boulders originally brought out from Sydney as ballast in a sailing ship. New Zealand’s third oldest European settlement, Rawene received its first shipload of English settlers in the 1820s, but it rained so relentlessly that they refused to stay and instead, sailed on to Sydney. Back when small settlements were first being established along the shores of the Hokianga, some of the first buildings were cantilevered out over the water because at the time there was no land available for sale.
3KOHUKOHU
From the Narrows, drive northeast 0.5 km on West Coast Road and then continue 2.8 km on Kohukohu Road to reach Kohukohu which is on the left.
One of the interpretations of the name Kohukohu is ‘misty basin’.
Augustus Earle, the first European artist to spend several months in New Zealand, visited the Hokianga in 1827. He wrote " looking up the river we beheld various headlands stretching into the water and gradually contracting its width, 'till they became fainter and fainter in the distance and all was lost in the azure of the horizon". Today it’s worth taking the time to stop and take a look around Kohukohu. Although it looks like a classic example of a small New Zealand town, this was once was the largest centre in the north, often with several vessels tied up in its bustling port. Established in the 1820s, the settlement developed and prospered from the timber trade over the next ten years. A regular steamship service between Kohukohu and Auckland began in 1879 and the first power timber mill began operation that same year. By 1888 the Kauri Timber Co. had developed what was to become the largest mill in the Southern Hemisphere. It only takes a few minutes to drive up onto the hill, where you will find some fascinating historic buildings looking out across the Hokianga Harbour. Over the decades, a number of these 19th century commercial buildings have been lost to fire, but a number of well-preserved kauri colonial buildings still remain, including the old Police Station and the Masonic Lodge.
4MANGAMUKA
From Kohukohu, drive north on Kohukohu Road 14.4 km, turn right onto Mangamuka Road and drive east 10.4 km. Turn left onto SH1 and drive north 17.5 km to the Mangamuka Gorge Scenic Reserve. The main walking track is on the left near the top of the ridge before you descend towards Kaitaia.
The drive northeast from Kohukohu leads through farmland to the tiny settlement at Mangamuka Bridge where SH 1 crosses the Mangamuka River. In 1829 the famous Nga Puhi chief, Hongi Hika was shot in the lungs during a minor engagement near this place, the wound eventually killing him. Slightly south on SH1, is the Omahuta Road which leads into the Omahuta Kauri Sanctuary established in 1952. A number of giant kauri trees survived the logging era in the forest around Mangamuka and are now protected in the reserve. North on SH 1, lies the Mangamuka Gorge Scenic Reserve at the base of the Maungataniwha Range. There is a long walking track through the forest.
Motupia Island - Ninety Mile Beach, Northland.
5KAITAIA
Continue 18.8 km north west on SH1 to Kaitaia.
The European settlement of Kaitaia began in 1834 with the establishment of a mission station followed by rapid growth in the 1880s and 1890s when thousands of gumdiggers came to the area in search of kauri gum. Late in the nineteenth century most of the inhabitants of both Kaitaia and Ahipara had some connection with the gumdigging industry, and today many of the Bohemian and Dalmatian people living in the district are descendants of these pioneering immigrants. St Saviour’s Anglican Church on Church Road dates back to this period having been built in 1887. Agricultural institutions like the Kaitaia Agricultural & Pastoral Show have been running every year for over a century. Kaitaia is the last big town at the top of the North Island so it’s a good place to stop and get supplies if you are heading north towards Cape Reinga. Guided tours leaving from Kaitaia include Sand Safaris and the Harrisons Cape Runner bus tours to Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach, which include tobogganing on the sand dunes in the Te Paki Stream Reserve. The Dune Rider also runs a similar tour in four-wheel drive coaches from Paihia, stopping to pick up passengers in Awanui.
THE FAR NORTH REGIONAL MUSEUM
Located at no.6 South Road Kaitaia.
Displays feature moa, kiwi and flax snails as well as gum digging, textiles and the history of early forms of transport and communication. The extensive Northwood Photographic Collection is the work of Arthur Northwood and his brothers who took the old dry plate cameras into the field to capture hundreds of images of pioneer activity early in the last century. The museum also contains woven flax items and carved Maori ornaments. There is a replica of the Kaitaia Carving, the original of which was found at Lake Tangonge, just west of Kaitaia in the 1920's. Dated at between 1200 & 1300 AD, it is the oldest Maori taonga (treasure) in existence.
DE SURVILLE’S ANCHOR
One of the huge wrought iron anchors from French explorer, de Surville’s ship, St Jean Baptiste, is on display in the Far North Regional Museum. Made in around 1750, this anchor was discovered and preserved in 1974 by Mike Bearsley and is one of the earliest European relics left in New Zealand. A second anchor was found by Kelly Tarlton and also preserved by Mike Bearsley. The St Jean Baptiste had left India in 1768 and by the time she reached Peru in 1770, she only had two of her six anchors left having lost three in New Zealand. The Frenchmen had sighted land south of Hokianga in December 1769, but breakers barred the entrance to the harbour so they sailed north to Cape Maria van Diemen and rounded the northern tip of New Zealand, passing the English Captain, James Cook in the Endeavour, who was heading in the other direction. They continued without sighting each other, the French explorers sheltering in Doubtless Bay where they lost two anchors in a storm. De Surville charted parts of Northland’s coasts and discovered New Zealand’s northernmost point, now named the Surville Cliffs.
6AHIPARA
Turn left onto Redan Road from South Road in Kaitaia. Drive east 2.2 km and continue 8.5 km on Kaitaia Awaroa Road to the Wainui Junction. Continue 2.5 km on Ahipara Road and then onto Foreshore Road 2.0 km along the beachfront.
Ahipara (sacred fire) is located at the southern end of Ninety Mile beach, the vast unspoiled stretch sand that curves northwards along the Far North’s western coastline almost as far as Cape Reinga. Renowned for its spectacular sunsets, Ahipara is a popular beach for body boarding, horse riding, dune riding, hang gliding, fishing, and gathering shellfish. St Clement’s church at Ahipara dates back to 1872 and along with a number of small stores, a post office, school and boarding house, was built to support the waves of settlers that were starting to arrive in search of kauri gum.
SHIPWRECK BAY
Shipwreck Bay, at the southern point of Ahipara Bay, is a paradise for surfers with one of New Zealand’s best left-hand point breaks. Featured in the classic 1960’s surf movie ‘The Endless Summer’, Shipwreck Bay is a great place to surf on all tides and when there is a big swell you can get rides that are several minutes long. The bay still contains a number of shipwrecks including the wreck of the Favourite, which is visible at low tide. Bullock teams once carted kauri gum down to the beach for transport by sea to Auckland.
a surfers paradise
Four-wheel drive vehicles can get around the rocks from Ahipara to the reef and Tauroa Point but only at low tide. Its 2 km south to Mokerau Beach which is the place to be when the big swells are rolling in from the Tasman Sea onto the windswept, black sand beaches of Northlands West Coast. The surf is sensational when southerly winds push up the waves with seemingly endless lines of ‘rollers’ stacked up to the horizon. The waves here can be twice as big as those at Shipwreck Bay with surfers achieving kilometer long rides. As you make the trip to Mokerau Beach you pass between the volcanic lava rocks at the tip of Tauroa Point, locally known as ‘The Reef’ and the collection of caravans and small buildings that make up a Maori fishing commune set against the backdrop of the Ahipara sand dunes. The dunes are incredibly steep in paces and it’s a popular place to go sand boarding.