Mangawhai Heads

Mangawhai Heads

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Photo By:

Sids1

If you’re driving or RVing to Northland in New Zealand, you’ll probably spend at least one night in Whangarei. You can probably make Whangarei in a couple of hours if you don’t take the scenic roads or get stuck on the Nippon Clipon . Hopefully you drive faster than I write. I left you somewhere around Wellsford on July 11.

Just north of Wellsford, the road forks. SH1 heads for Whangarei. You’ll take SH1 if you want to cut across to the west side of the North Island on SH12. The scenic route to Whangarei– all good road– drops off to the right where you’ll find Mangawhai Heads. About 51 miles from Auckland, you can make it in about 90 minutes, spend the day, and continue to Whangarei 30 miles away– or stop over in Waipu or Ruakaka. Mangawhai Heads, a point break with a sandy beach, is popular with surfers. I’ve walked the beach, but never surfed– and probably never will since they remind you to "Take care of rocks and sharks." If you’re a surfer, you can find a

Surf Forecast and Surf Report. They’ll also give a snow forecast and a list of nearby ski resorts– which aren’t nearby. You’ve come to Northland for sun and surf. It’s sub-tropical.

If you didn’t come to New Zealand to make friends with a shark, take a two-hour walk along the cliffs where you’ll see offshore the nearby Hens and Chickens, a popular diving area, or the Hauraki Gulf Islands. You can also enjoy the Heads and stay dry by paragliding from the cliffs. This short DVD gives you a view of Mangawhai Heads.

Mangawhai Heads

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Photo By:

Sids1

Around the point on the north side, Bream Bay stretches in an arc from Langs Beach to Marsden Point. Some estuaries are wildlife refuges for shorebirds and waders including the protected NZ dotterel and variable oyster catcher. You’ll see many unfamiliar birds. If you like birds, pick up Geoff Moon’s Common Birds in New Zealand mentioned in For the Birds.

Langs Beach and Waipu Cove are good spots to stop for a picnic on the beach while enjoying swimming surfing or fishing.

Bring a torch and cool off in nearby Waipu Caves. The caves are wet and slippery, so wear good shoes. The main cave is 175 meters long and you’ll find stalagmites, stalactites and glow worms. If you want to explore some of the deeper caverns, be sure you tell someone where you’re heading, or hire a guide.

Maybe caves are not your cup of tea–just too dark and cold. The Waipu Caves Walkway (signposted on Ormiston Road) climbs a ridge through farm land then wanders through a scenic reserve to the cave area.

Piroa Falls, just south of Waipu is a 10 minute walk up a steep zigzagging path to a beautiful swimming hole. Just keep your eye out for "Flying Kiwis" jumping off the top of the falls. You’ll end up with a headache if one lands on you.

Whether you take the straight shot up SH1 or the scenic route along the cliffs and beaches, you’ll end up at Waipu. Concrete parking is available for 4 $NZ (free if just overnight) at Waipu Cove Reserve Camp on Cove Road.

If you have a self-contained RV and want to spend your money on Lion Red Beer and a good dinner, you might find free parking behind the hotel in Waipu– please ask first.

Lyn Harris
RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

Kawau Island

Pohutakawa Tree

by

Jonathan

Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand which I posted about in the Kowai Coast is a good place to see birds up close. Catch a boat from Sandspit Wharf near Warkworth to Kawau Island. The Island has kiwi birds and also two thirds of the North Island wekas. Another chunky flightless land birds, wekas have reddish brown feathers and walk with a flicking tail. Wekas are nosey, so it’s not too hard to spot one. The wekas and birds in For the Birds are all native birds.

New Zealand has a lot of tourist over-stayers– people that like New Zealand so much they hang around after their visas expire. They also have many feathered and furred tourist over-stayers. When the Maori arrived from the Society Islands in the 14th century to escape food shortages and war, they found plenty of food, though not much good red meat. Other than two species of bat, there were no land mammals. The flightless Kiwi birds and wekas dug around on the forest floor for their dinner.

In 1862, Sir George Grey, Governor of New Zealand, bought Kawau Island and remodeled the existing mine manager’s house into the Mansion House and surrounded it with botanical gardens and a zoological park. Grey also brought in five species of wallabies. Cute little pests, they tore up the native vegetation along with the not so cute possums, another pest. The wallabies destroyed baby pohutakawa trees so there can never be any mature trees. In many areas, the ground is also often bare, leaving the birds without food or shelter. Even the surrounding marine water has silt carried across the bare ground by rainwater.

Pohutakawa Blossum

By

Webmink

Pohutakawa Trust New Zealand is an attempt by the private landowners to reverse the damage by reducing the number of wallabies and possums so more native birds can survive. Pohutakawa’s, which the trust is attempting to save on Kawau are the bright red "New Zealand Christmas Trees" you’ll see in bloom if you visit New Zealand in the holiday season.

Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand

For the Birds

Kiwi Bird

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Photo By:

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Umbar

If you like birds, you’ll find plenty of birds in New Zealand. I like birds so much, one Chapter in RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand is "For the Birds." New Zealand birds seem to have a sense of humor just like the Kiwis. Don’t expect a Kiwi bird to wander into camp mooching food. They’re nocturnal. Good sized birds, bigger than a chicken, with brown bristly feather, dark legs and a long pointy beak, they poke in the dirt in search of insects or fallen fruit.

The best place to see a Kiwi bird is in a bird sanctuary. If you’re near the Waitomo Glo Worm Caves, try the Otorohanga Kiwi House. In the South Island, try DOC’s Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre. Birds are in their native environment. You walk along the paths and climb platforms in the trees. The birds are not looking for a handout or trying to impress you.

The Moreporks are also nocturnal. These small owls have a distinct call. If you’re traveling by auto try a motel in a rural area. Open your window at night and listen to the Kiwis and Moreporks. If you’re RVing, flip open the vent over the bed, watch the stars and listen to the birds call back and forth through the bush.

My favorite bird is the Fantail. About the size of a chubby sparrow with an apricot breast and white ear patch, these show-offs, often in pairs or groups, tag along through the bush, zip past your nose, then sit on a branch and flip open their fan tail. Tell them how pretty they are and they’ll hop around so you can see the back view. It’s hard not to smile with a Fantail flashing you.

Tui birds, good singers, about the size of a crow, are dark greenish black with a metallic sheen,. They have a big white-feathery bump on their throats and white patches on their wings. These nectar stealers often hang around the motorparks, riding a big bouncing flower.

The Kea lives in the South Island high-country forests. About the size of a hawk, this olive green parrot with orange underwing is a good-looking bird– that’s a pest. Nosey and destructive, they’ll mess up anything you leave lying around. The stories told about these little buggers are funny, if it’s not your equipment they’ve destroyed.

If you like birds and want to learn more about them as you travel through New Zealand, buy Geoff Moon’s Common Birds in New Zealand. They’re inexpensive paperbacks and available at most bookstores or Visitor Information Centers. And don't be afraid to tramp through the bush with the fantails-- remember there's no creepy crawly things to bite you in New Zealand.

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Lyn Harris

RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand