Northland Roadtrip

Destination: Cape Reinga (northern tip of North Island, NZ)

Dates: April 22 – 27th, 2014

Places we stayed: Ngunguru (B&B), Waitangi Holiday Park, Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 (Karikari Peninsula), and Tapotupotu Bay DOC campground.

 

Our trip started out with an awesome place to stop for lunch: Waipu Bay. It seems like a popular surfing destination. The waves are perfectly calm. As is common in New Zealand, picnic tables and restrooms are available. A must stop if it’s lunchtime!

The next on our loose to-do list was Waipu Caves. Another must. It’s free. It’s awesome. And you have to bring a bright torch. The underground world is something else, that’s for sure.

Next we discovered this little gem of a restaurant in Whangarei, NZ. Shotgun Betty’s. I don’t even think I need to elaborate. Cowboy theme, wild wild west, great Tex Mex food, and a new local fav. We got two incredibly tasty burritos for $20. Can’t beat that deal.

  

 

We stayed at Melva and Hilton’s Riverbank B&B, where we received the warmest hospitality a B&B can give. They are incredibly generous, wonderful people. We got to see a monarch hatch, a banana tree, and we tasted many of Melva’s homemade jams, honey, ginger beer, and buckwheat pancakes. Yum!

Then on to Whale’s Bay on-route to the Far North. The look-out is a quick 15 minute walk but a must on a nice day. The view is spectacular…but spectacular views aren’t hard to come by in NZ.

This is a little bay near Whale’s Bay. Cute little beach. It’s common in NZ to have your own beach since there are so many beautiful beaches.

We stopped at Hilltop Cafe for coffee and were greeted with this view overlooking a beautiful forest and the Pacific Ocean. The art gallery is great too.

The route we took from Ngunguru took us to Russell, which is the first capitol of NZ. It’s a quaint town, has a few restaurants, and is fun to walk around. We then went onto Paihia, which is actually quite the tourist attraction. It has tons of restaurants, shops, and is buzzing during the day and at night.

Fish and chips are as traditional to Kiwis as burgers are to Americans. We got to indulge in some fish and chips in Russell. Greeeeesy! That’s definitely not going on my website Revivingtraditions.com.

After Waitangi we drove farther up north to camp out at Whatuwhiwhi. The picture below is of Maitai Bay…which is beautiful and has a DOC campground.

The next day at Whatuwhiwhi we took on a challenge presented to us by our friend Joe from Boston, MA. The dare, called the Polar Bear Plunge for Charity, consisted of us jumping into the bay and videoing the episode. If we didn’t do it we’d have to pay $100 to charity. Since we did it, Joe has to pay $60.

 

Cape Reinga

We made it. This trek is a must for anyone in NZ. Cape Reinga is simply stunning on a nice day. My pictures don’t even do it justice. More about the significance of Cape Reinga here at the NZ GOV site.

Do you see the meeting point?

It’s where the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east meet to form the white waves. It’s a pretty cool site. Two bodies of water coming together!

Two bodies of water coming together behind us (the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean).

We ate lunch at the top.

 

Watched the sunset.

 

Then went back to our campsite. Simply beautiful.

The next day we took highway 1 home. It took us somewhere between 6-7 hours to get home. Was the drive worth it? Absolutely. I recommend breaking the trip into 4-5 days.

Another great roadtrip in NZ. One of my personal favs to date.

Cheers.