Ethicare Resourcing
Weekends

Two coasts & the water

Northland Guide · Chapter 9 of 9

This is what Northland is for. Two coasts, two hundred beaches, the oldest forest in the country, and the founding place of the nation — all within an easy drive of wherever you live.

What’s close

15 min · Whāngārei Falls & the kauri parks
A twenty-six metre waterfall on the edge of the city, and the A.H. Reed park with a canopy walkway through mature kauri. Both are ordinary after-work destinations, not expeditions.
25 min · Whāngārei Heads
The harbour road out to Parua Bay, Ocean Beach and Mount Manaia — a steep, short climb with one of the best views in the north. Surf, sheltered swimming and boat ramps all along the way.
40 min · The southern beaches
Ruakaka and Waipu Cove — long, safe, patrolled surf beaches. Waipu Caves nearby have glow-worms and cost nothing to visit.
1 hr · Tutukaka & the Poor Knights
The Poor Knights Islands are among the best dive sites in the world, reached from Tutukaka. Even if you don’t dive, the coast road out there is worth the drive.
1 hr 15 · The Bay of Islands
Paihia, Russell, Waitangi and 144 islands. Sailing, dolphins, the Treaty Grounds, and the country’s history in one bay. The region’s centrepiece.
1 hr 30 · Waipoua Forest
Tāne Mahuta, the largest living kauri, and a forest that has stood since before human settlement. Moving, and a short walk from the road.
2 hrs · The Hokianga
The west coast harbour — giant sand dunes at Ōpōnoni, the Rawene car ferry, and a quiet, deeply Māori part of the country that feels a world away.
4 hrs · Cape Rēinga
Where the Tasman meets the Pacific, and in te ao Māori where spirits depart. Ninety Mile Beach on the way. A long day, and everyone does it once.
A kererū, New Zealand's native wood pigeon, perched on a mossy trunk
Kererū in the bush reserves — ordinary here in a way they aren’t in most of the country. Photograph by Emad Kabiri, anaesthetic technician

On the water

This is the thing that most distinguishes Northland from anywhere else in this guide. Boat ownership here is ordinary rather than aspirational — a modest trailer boat is within reach on a clinical salary, ramps are everywhere, and the sheltered east coast is forgiving water.

Fishing is good and accessible; snapper off the Heads is a normal Saturday. Diving at the Poor Knights is what people travel for. Kayaking the mangrove estuaries, sailing in the Bay of Islands, and swimming from October through to May in water that stays warm long after the rest of the country has given up.

If you have never been a water person, Northland is where you become one. If you already are, this is probably the best region in New Zealand for it.

History you can stand in

Waitangi is forty minutes from Kerikeri, and the Treaty Grounds are the most significant historical site in the country — the meeting house, the waka, and the ground where Te Tiriti was signed in 1840. Kerikeri has the oldest surviving buildings in New Zealand, the Stone Store and Kemp House, on a river basin that has barely changed.

Russell, across the water from Paihia, was the country’s first European settlement and briefly its capital. Ruapekapeka pā south of Kawakawa is one of the best-preserved battle sites of the New Zealand Wars.

For clinicians working in a region where te ao Māori shapes practice daily, understanding this history is not a tourist activity. It is context for the job.

Four ordinary weekends

A summer Saturday
Early to the Heads, swim, fish or surf, back for the market, and a barbecue while it’s still light. The whole day costs almost nothing.
A winter Saturday
Waipoua or the A.H. Reed canopy walk in the rain — the forest is better wet. Then Town Basin for lunch.
A Bay of Islands day
Kerikeri market, the Stone Store, the ferry to Russell, and back over the hill in the evening light.
A long weekend
The Hokianga and the Kauri Coast, or the whole run to Cape Rēinga and Ninety Mile Beach. Two nights is enough for either.
Being sensible outdoors
  • West coast beaches are dangerous — strong rips, steep drop-offs, and often unpatrolled. The east coast is far safer. Swim between the flags where they exist, and treat the Tasman with real respect.
  • Clean your footwear at every kauri dieback station. The disease is spread on soil, the forests are irreplaceable, and this is taken seriously here.
  • The subtropical sun is fierce. The UV index in Northland is among the highest in the country and burns happen fast, including on overcast days.
  • Heavy rain closes roads. Check before you set out in bad weather, particularly heading west or into the Far North.
The Milky Way over Northland on a clear night
No city glow to speak of — the night sky is one of the things people who move here mention first. Photograph by Emad Kabiri, anaesthetic technician

What you give up

Glow worms lighting the ceiling of the Waipu Caves
The Waipu Caves glow worms, forty minutes south of Whāngārei

Northland has almost no live music, theatre or nightlife by city standards, and what exists is concentrated in Whāngārei. Big concerts, exhibitions and international sport mean Auckland. Sunday in a small town is very quiet.

And the region empties and fills with the seasons. January is crowded, roads are busy and everything is booked; June is beautiful, empty and a little melancholy. Some people love that rhythm and some find the winters long.

If you remember three things
  • Two coasts, warm water half the year, and the best accessible boating and fishing in the country.
  • The forests and the history are on your doorstep, and both are worth taking seriously.
  • Culture and nightlife mean Auckland. If that’s central to you, weigh it carefully.

Download this guide as a PDF →