Subtropical Sands & Soaring Spirits
Words and images by Paul Rush
Ilove to feel the crunch of pure silica sand between my toes, the warm caress of the sun on my back and the liberating sense of freedom that comes from walking bare-footed on the edge of a clear blue sea. Nowhere in this beautiful country of ours provides a better opportunity for this invigorating, recreative activity than the free and easy east coast beaches of Northland.
Spend time in the Far North and you’ll find there’s no limit to the fun you can have as well as the great gourmet experiences of fresh seafood, organic cheeses and fine wine from the country’s northernmost vineyards. Add to that Northland’s easy-going atmosphere, fresh air, friendly locals and warm temperatures and it’s easy to see why it has huge appeal for holidaymakers.
Heading north from the charming village of Kerikeri, past lines of shelterbelt trees and roadside fruit stalls, I arrive at one of New Zealand’s greatest coastal treasures, Matauri Bay. From the hilltop lookout I take in the breathtaking view of a serene expanse of sparkling blue water on which the sprawling Cavalli Islands seem to float in a mirage of shimmering light. Down below is a sweeping curve of golden sand enclosed by rolling green hills that tumble down to the coast.
The campground is right on the beachfront beneath a hill that carries the distinctive Rainbow Warrior Memorial. This bay has a great family-oriented fun feel to it; ideal for safe swimming, scuba diving, fishing, boating, kayaking and building sandcastles on the beach.
A little further up State Highway 10 is Whangaroa Harbour, which has been described as God’s gift to sailors seeking a beautiful sheltered haven. It’s pretty special for landlubbers too. I have always enjoyed exploring its curious coves and castle-like rock pinnacles with biblical names that punctuate the skyline.
This winding sheet of green water with its deep inlets has been a refuge for Europeans since the 1790’s. It’s so deeply indented you can liken it to the splendour of a fiord – a fiord that’s replete with oysters, scallops, clams and fish. The amazing thing is just how little it has changed since early settlement despite the depredations of whaling, kauri gum digging, logging and milling.
From a convenient base in the Kaeo motor camp I set out to absorb the timeless ambience of Totara North and the contrasting uber-affluence of Whangaroa Marina, the ‘Marlin Capital’ of New Zealand. Author Zane Grey was a founding member of the Game Fishing Club here in 1925.
From Whangaroa township, it’s a short drive out to the coast to a popular diving and fishing spot called Tauranga Bay. The holiday park is promoted as ‘an absolute beachfront experience’ with some justification, as you couldn’t get any closer to the glittering white sand beach and the crystalline sea.
Matching Tauranga Bay as its northern twin, straddling the Whangaroa Harbour entrance, is idyllic Taupo Bay, a mecca for surfing and surfcasting that has retained a quaint semblance of the classic 1950’s bach tradition. It’s a lovely Kiwi beach in transition between tradition and modernity.
Captain James Cook sailed up this coast in 1769, meticulously charting his progress. When he came abreast of the 70km span of Doubtless Bay, he peered through the miasma of sea spray and recorded that it was ‘doubtless a bay’. The name has stuck and today the area between Hihi Beach and Whatuwhiwhi is considered the ultimate Northland holiday destination, offering something for everyone.
All around Doubtless Bay are safe swimming beaches; some are exposed rocky coves, others sheltered, pohutukawa-fringed beaches, but all are visually sublime. Mangonui is a peaceful harbourside village famous for its its exquisite buildings on the heritage trail and for dining over the water on the reputed best fish ‘n chips in the land. Linger on the wharf and watch the fishing boats offload their catch or hook a fighting fish like kahawai or kingfish on your own line.
Just around the corner from Mangonui Wharf is glorious Mill Bay, an artist’s and photographer’s dream with pleasure craft bobbing at anchor. From the Rangikapiti Maori pa site, the harbour views across to tranquil Hihi Beach on one side are equally matched by the entire Doubtless Bay panorama on the other.
A short run up SH 10 from Mangonui you’ll find the strangely pink-hued sands of Cable Bay where the Pacific Telegraph Cable once came ashore. You’ll also find the long golden sweep of Coopers Beach, backed by an excellent shopping centre and a children’s playground.
The great explorer Kupe first set foot on the land he named Aotearoa at the place now known as Taipa. It’s a pretty seaside village with a sheltered estuary and an open ocean beach, giving families several options for recreation on the water. It’s a perfect place to surfcast at the mouth of the inlet and enjoy the peace and natural surroundings.
From Taipa an unbroken line of sand stretches 18km north along Tokerau Beach to a hidden gem called Whatuwhiwhi, nestled in the crooked elbow of the weirdlyshaped Karikari Peninsula. The Whatuwhiwhi Top 10 park is set in a stunning location and is my choice for a base to explore the rest of the peninsula; especially New Zealand’s northernmost winery, the Karikari Estate (try the cabernet and merlot) and my all-time favourite bright star of the north, Matai Bay.
The bay consists of two crescent-shaped coves divided by a rock outcrop with eye-catching vistas in every direction. Behind the dunes is a great back-to-nature Department of Conservation (DOC) campground, just minutes from a beach that feels more like a Pacific island with its turquoise waters lapping silver sands. Matai Bay is the epitome of undiscovered Northland – an ideal place to get away from it all.
Driving north to Awanui, I pick up SH1 again and steer for another highlight of the Northland holiday circuit, Houhora Heads. It’s best known for the safe harbour, historic Subritzky Wagener Homestead, exciting big game fishing the friendly village of Pukenui and the northernmost pub in the country.
From Houhora the road north bisects the long, narrow Aupouri Peninsula, passing the tentacle-like arms of Parengarenga Harbour. The waters are as calm as a millpond and reflective as a mirror. I take the turn towards Te Hapua and explore the margins of this scalloped ‘five-finger’ harbour, walking on its fine silica sand. It feels like I’m scuffing my toes through icing sugar.
Te Kapowairua (Spirits Bay) looms up at the end of the road, the gathering point for godwits on their annual flight to Siberia. From here I view North Cape at the Surville Cliffs, the North Island’s nearest point to the equator. Cape Reinga lies 24km due west of here and I wend my way there via the one last stunning bay on my northern sojourn, the peerless, ever-changing, and often malevolent Tapotupotu Bay.
From my campsite I gaze at wide-ranging views out over the Pacific and across scrub-covered hills patched with olive-green manuka, spiked cabbage trees and the variegated greens of mixed native bush. Both Tapotupotu and Kapowairua bays offer classic camping, with sites set under trees and skirting a shallow inlet. These are places of raw beauty with the joy of complete solitude and serenity.
My journey north has now morphed into a nostalgic form of pilgrimage, which is fitting as I approach Cape Reinga. Maori believe the spirits of the departed set off for the ancestral home of Hawaiiki from here, which historians believe is the Taputapuatea Marae on Raiatea Island in French Polynesia.
Between the photogenic lighthouse and the tumultuous meeting point of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, is a jagged outcrop of rock that miraculously nurtures an 800-year-old, lone pohutukawa tree whose roots provide the vital passage to the underworld for the restless spirits. This place is spoken of with reverence by kaumatua and huia all over the country when they refer to spirits of the dead travelling back home.
Cape Reinga is much more than a lonely lighthouse and a wave-lashed rock. This muri-whenui is the leaping place of the spirits, the tail of the fish pulled out of the sea by the legendary Maui. It is also the beginning of the Long Pathway, Te Araroa, the continuous trail that leads to Bluff at the bottom of the South Island.
This is also the place where I end my journey through the subtropical sands of Northland’s Eastern bays and beaches. But the great thing is, having acquired the spirit of the north it’s a place I will definitely revisit.