.
Take a ferry trip out to Kawau Island, explore the reefs and experience the marine life snorkelling or from a glass bottomed boat at the Goat Island Marine Reserve, then head north to the Brenderwyns and drive west through a string of historic country towns to the fascinating Kauri Museum at Matakohe. Head north through the kumara country past volcanic peaks to Dargaville.
Coppermine, Kawau Island.
1KAWAU ISLAND
From Elizabeth Street in Warkworth, turn right onto Sandspit Road and head east 7.5 km to the Kawau Ferry at Sandspit. There are regular ferry services operating to the island and if you have time there is an interesting display of pioneering relics in the Sandspit Motor Camp.
There are a number of walking tracks on Kawau Island leading through the exotic forests that surround Mansion House, including an hour walk out to the old copper mine on the southern coast. Manganese was discovered first on the island in the 1830s and was mined by a Scottish Company until 1842 when a node of copper was found. They hauled out around 3,000 tonnes of copper before abandoning the mine in 1855. The copper mine descended to below sea level and you can still see the chimney from the pumphouse that was used to stop the mine from flooding. You can also see the blue-green malachite staining in the rocks near the chimney. The weathering of copper-bearing minerals often produces a wide halo of staining (called a gossan) by secondary minerals associated with the copper . Prospectors often look for copper staining, but the presence of economic amounts of ore can only be determined by drilling down into the lower levels of unweathered rock.
MANSION HOUSE
A short ferry trip from Sandspit along the Mahurangi River and out to Kawau Island, will take you to Mansion House Bay which has been a popular stopping place for ‘yachties’ en-route to Great Barrier Island and north to the Bay of Islands, since the late 1880s. Built in 1846, Mansion House was once the residence of former New Zealand Governor and Premier, Sir George Grey. He had the old copper mine managers house transformed into a colonial mansion and planted extensive gardens with an array of exotic species. Grey introduced wallabies, tree kangaroos, peacocks, pheasants, quail and geese to the island and today you can still see peacocks and wallabies in the grounds around Mansion House. This magnificent home has been fully restored and is open to visitors.
Mathesons Bay, Matakana.
2MATHESONS BAY
Return to Warkworth and drive northwest 8.8 km on Matakana Rd and continue 11.8 km on Leigh Road. Turn right into Grand View Road and drive 0.6 km south to Mathesons Bay.
Mathesons Bay is a secluded, sandy beach, sheltered by a small reef, that is often overlooked by holidaymakers. This is a great place to stop and spend an afternoon away from the crowds only a few minutes drive south of Leigh. Nestled on the edge of a small inlet, Leigh is a quiet little fishing village and a great place to enjoy freshly caught fish and chips. On the horizon off the coast to the east, you can see the distinctive shape of Little Barrier Island which is now a wildlife sanctuary.
The popular Marine Reserve at Goat Island.
3GOAT ISLAND MARINE RESERVE
Return to the Leigh Road, turn right and continue 0.2 km onto Hauraki Road, continue 0.5 km and turn left into Seatoun Ave, drive 0.3 km, turn left onto Pakiri Road, drive 1.6 km, turn right onto Goat Island Road and drive 1.5 km to the carpark above the marine reserve.
Established in 1975, the Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve, popularly known as Goat Island, was New Zealand's first marine reserve. The best way to experience the reserve in summer is with a mask and snorkel. You can explore the extensive reefs, underwater cliffs and canyons, populated by a diverse range of marine life including gorgonian fans, lace corals and sponges, some of which are hundreds of years old. There are some very large crayfish and numerous reef fish, as well as pelagic species like snapper, many of which are quite tame. You can also experience the reserve all year round by taking a tour in a glass-bottomed boat, weather permitting.
4SHEEP WORLD
Return to Warkworth and drive northwest 4.4 km on the Great North Road and SH1 to the entrance to Sheepworld on the right.
Sheep World is open daily, providing an in-depth look into New Zealand's sheep farming and wool industry. Visitors can watch live action sheepdog displays, sheep-shearing and try bottle feeding pet lambs. Wool processing is also demonstrated and there are a variety of woollen and sheepskin products on display in the craft area.
5KAIWAKA
Drive 13.5 km northwest on SH1 to Wellsford and continue 2.8 km on Rodney street through the township. Continue 17.8 km on SH1 to Kaiwaka.
Today the appearance of Kaiwaka with its charming little historic church, belies it turbulent past. This was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Musket Wars, when Nga Puhi warriors led by Hogi Hika, clashed with Ngati Whatua in February 1825. Over 170 died in the battle at Te Ika-a-ranga-nui. The area was first settled by Europeans in 1859 and by the 1880's one of the largest stands of kauri in the North was being felled and conveyed by tramline from the area around Pukekaroro Mountain, to the Kaiwaka River. Dairy farming followed the logging, with cream going to the Hakaru Dairy Factory, which was established in 1902. The Great North Road from Auckland to Whangarei was just a dirt road, and in places only a line on a map for many years, but by the early 1900s the worst parts between Kaiwaka and Whangarei had been metalled. The railway reached Kaiwaka in 1913 and following the Second World War, the Government developed large blocks of unproductive land, passing them to returning soldiers in the early 1950s.
6PAPAROA
Continue northwest 7.9 km on SH1 to the Brenderwyn Hills, turn left onto SH12 and drive west 5.4 km to Maungaturoto. Continue west through the township 2.1 km on Hurndall Street East and 0.7 km on Hurndall Street West then continue 10.6 km west on SH12 to Paparoa.
Paparoa is a quaint little village located on the Paparoa Stream, which flows into the Arapaoa River and into the Kaipara Harbour. Following Port Albert, Paparoa was one of a number of settlements established on the Kaipara by a religious group known as Albertlanders. Founded in 1863, Paparoa was connected by a road built to the port at Pahi in 1865 and by the 1870s, pottery was being made using local clay, brick and tile yards had been established and a factory was making rope and matting from flax. Steamers ran a weekly service across the harbour to Helensville from 1882. The area was a major boat building centre in the days when sailing boats plied the Kaipara Harbour, but today everything is far more relaxed, with several cafes, a village green and an excellent restaurant located in the historic National Bank building in the middle of the township.
Gumdigger display, Matakohe Kauri Museum.
7THE KAURI MUSEUM MATAKOHE
Drive west 1.6 km on Paparoa Valley Road through the township and continue west 4.8 km on SH12. Turn left onto Matakohe East Road and drive 0.5 km to the kauri museum at Matakohe.
The home of the first New Zealand born Prime Minister, Gordon Coates, Matakohe is steeped in history. The Kauri Museum at Matakohe was tells the story of the first settlers who came to Matakohe, Paparoa and Maungaturoto in 1862 and the pioneering days of the early nineteenth century when the great kauri forests of the far north were logged. The museum has one of the most interesting collections in the country, of memorabilia and photographs from this era as well as the largest collection of kauri gum in the world. There is a variety of restored machinery, including New Zealand’s earliest tractor, a 1929 Cat 60, which when used to haul logs, equaled the power of 112 bullocks, as well some large items of mill machinery, including a steam sawmill. Lifesize room settings are realistically fitted out with colonial furniture and household items and there are also displays of pit-sawing as well as a faithful recreation of a bush hut, depicting the hard life of the bushmen and gumdiggers over a century ago.
8TOKATOKA PEAK
Return to SH12, turn left and continue 14.4 km to Ruawai. Continue through the township 1.4 km on Freyberg Road and turn right onto Jellicoe Street continuing 1.2 km on SH12. Drive north 10.8 km on SH12 to Tokatoka Road on the right. Its 1 km to the start of the Tokatoka Peak track.
Heading north towards Dargaville you can clearly see the distinctive volcanic spire of the 180m Tokatoka Peak from the road. It takes 20 minutes to climb the peak which is the lava core of an ancient volcano.
In the pioneering days a river pilot lived at the base of Tokatoka, climbing the peak to watch for sailing ships in the Kaipara Harbour. The views from the summit are spectacular and on a clear day you can see Bream Head and the Tangihua range to the east, Dargaville to the north and south along the Kaipara. Maori mythology talks of Manaia, Maunga, Raho and Tokatoka, the mountains which once stood together in the ancestral land Hawaiki. Encouraged by Manaia, they raced across the ocean to New Zealand, but were frozen in place by the rising sun.
Dargaville Shipwreck Museum.
9DARGAVILLE
Return to SH12, turn right and continue north 15.6 km to Dargaville. Continue north 0.3 km on Grey Street and turn left onto Victoria Street for a good look at the old main street of the town with its historic buildings. Drive west 1.5 km along Victoria Street then turn right onto Edward Street and continue northwest 0.1 km and turn left to get back onto SH12.
Dargaville was once a thriving timber port, the kauri logs being brought down the winding Wairoa River to shipbuilders in the town and also shipped out across the treacherous Kaipara Bar and south along the coast to Auckland. Established by an Irish-Australian merchant, Joseph McMullen Dargaville in 1872, for a short time the town had New Zealand’s highest population. Today there are still a large number of fascinating historic homes and buildings in and around the old main street which runs parallel with the river. Many of the residents can trace their family history back to the Dalmation settlers, most of whom arrived between 1890 and 1930. These Yugoslavs from Dalmatia had arrived in Auckland and traveled north, working in gumfields, many of them later settling in these areas to farm the land. Today Dargaville has become known as the “kumara capital of New Zealand” because two thirds of the countries crop of this type of sweet potato is grown in the area. Special kumara shows are held at The Kumara Box, a kumara growing farm which also provides a history of Maori kumara pits and a number of kumara dishes.