Whangarei

Whangarei Harbour

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imagesnzimages

Water, water, everywhere. You’ll soon find that out if you’re traveling New Zealand by RV or auto. We found so much water, I left one chapter to water adventures in my book RV in NZ: How to Spend Your Winters South in New Zealand. The Port of Whangarei is at the head of Whangarei Harbour, the Hatea River winds through town and empties into that harbour, and you’ll even find a nearby waterfall. But, you can manage to stay dry if you don’t step off the dock or get caught in a rain shower.






Located in a broad valley with hills to the east and west, Whangarei is the largest town in Northland. The Town Basin is home to many international yachts. Larger ships dock at the deep-water wharf. You’ll want to spend time around that Town Basin– I mentioned in the last post where to find free over night parking there if you have a self contained van.

Whangarei Town Basin

Yacht Harbour

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whangareiviews

In the Town Basin you’ll find: Clapham’s Clock Museum, the largest collection of clocks, time pieces and music boxes in the Southern Hemisphere, and the Museum of Fishes– a place we wandered through several times since we always liked to hang out around the sailboats, visit the unusual shops, and have lunch in one of the cafes. On the water side, you’ll find the yacht club– not very fancy, but friendly. Hang around outside for a while, figure out who’s off one of the boats and not another tourist, strike up a conversation, and you’ll probably get invited to join a pot luck. Many of these sailors are holed up for hurricane season, waiting for a good weather window. You’ll find people from all over the world wandering that area– many serious sailors. It’s a 21 day trip from Tonga to even reach Opua in the Bay of Islands. If you see someone from a sailboat flying a foreign flag– that’s a serious sailor.

Everybody Do

the

Whangarei Walk

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simoRRR

There’s plenty to see besides sailboats around Whangarei. At AH Reed Kauri Park, you’ll find the remains of a kauri forest and a tree-top boardwalk in the 500 year old kauri trees. At Whangarei Museum and Heritage Park on Hwy 14 on the road to Dargaville, you’ll find artifacts of Maori and European history, an 1886 kauri homestead, a chapel, and the Native Bird Recovery Centre for injured birds. New Zealand attracts many migratory birds. Some, warn out from the long trip south, can’t make it home and end up permanent residents along with the local fantails and Tui birds. This is also your change to see one of those big brown kiwi birds in the Heritage Park. The Quarry, a collection of studios and workshops near the city center is open to visitors. It’s home to an intensive summer art school and welcomes artists worldwide.

If you’re a golfer, Whangarei has seven courses. Dave and I play the Whangarei Golf Club. You need to watch that overhanging tree on the 6th tee. It’s easy to tee off and end up with the ball fifty yards behind you. If you have a self-contained RV and don’t tear up their greens, ask if you can stay overnight. It’s pavement parking, but the facilities are great– nice hot showers. If you’re a golfer, many rural golf courses will let you stay over night if you ask. Occasionally, a caretaker lives nearby, but usually everybody goes home and you’ll have the course to yourself. Some courses provide RV electrical hookups. They do this as a courtesy, not to make money, so they’re not advertised. When we play golf, we ask permission to stay and have always been welcomed. The manager asks if we need the facilities open all night. The women’s facilities have fancy flowers, fancy towels and good smelling shampoo and bath products. The women’s facilities only. Dave says it’s always ‘Bring your own soap and no flowers’ on his side.

You can drive up Memorial Drive to Mount Parihaka Lookout and look down over Whangarei and the harbour. Each night the War Memorial on the summit is lit and can be seen from the town below.

Whangarei Falls, one of the most photographed waterfalls in New Zealand, is 5km out of town. We’ll be passing nearby on our next stop– Tutakaka.

Lyn Harris

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

The Kowhai Coast

Mansion House

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Kawau Island

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Dunk the Funk

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In New Zealand, just a little north of Orewa on SH1, Waiwera is also a good place to stop if you’re RVing and want to relax in the mineral pools. Next door to the Wairewa Thermal Pools, a Holiday Park has campsites, chalets and cabins. If you’re traveling by auto and want to save a little on lodging, these campgrounds are ideal– remember to bring your own bedding for a reduced rate. Since you’re still fairly close to Auckland, the Thermal Resort with its 26 mineral pools and water slides is crowded in New Zealand’s summer– particularly on the weekends.

If you’re looking for something lower priced and lower paced,

Wenderholm Regional Park is nearby. Tent camping sites are available and there are a few sites for RVs. Both Orewa and Wenderholm Regional Park are on the Hauraki Gulf if you like sand and sea.

In the middle of the Kowhai Coast, Warkworth is about 1 l/2 hours north of Auckland on SH1. Warkworth is a town of a little over 3,000– not counting tourists. The Mahurangi River runs through Warkworth and drains into Mahurangi Harbour on the Gulf. The river is the home to many, many ducks. If you’re hiking along the river– watch where you step.

If you’re not rushing through the Kowhai Coast, spend a day on

Kawau Island– catch a small boat from Sandspit Wharf. The Maori lived on Kawau at one time. In the 1840's a manganese mine was established. Later copper was discovered and the partial ruins of the old copper mine are still on the island.

In 1862 Sir George Grey, one of New Zealand’s first governors, bought the island and turned the mine manager’s home into a mansion He also imported many plants and animals– including five species of wallabies. The wallabies still roam the island damaging the native vegetation. 10% of the island, including the Mansion House, are owned by the Department of Conservation (DOC). There are many native birds including wekas, bellbirds and Kiwis.

If you charter a sailboat in Auckland, you’ll probably visit the Kawau Island Yacht Club. If you’d like to spend a quiet night, bachs, holiday flats and bed and breakfast accommodations are available. Most are located on the water. The majority of the island has no roads. Book ahead in the summer season as this is a popular tourist area.

Lyn Harris

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

Huraki Gulf Islands

Yacht Racing

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Outside Images

From the Ferry Berth of Quay and Hobson Streets in Auckland or anywhere else along the waterfront on the east side of Auckland, you can look east to the Hauraki gulf. Auckland has more boats per person than any city in the world. If you’ve watched America’s Cup sailing in New Zealand, the yachts were in the Hauraki Gulf.

If you’d like to charter a yacht, the two best places to cruise in New Zealand are the Hauraki Gulf and the smaller Bay of Islands farther north. The Moorings has been in business many years and has a great reputation. I’ve chartered from them several times and always liked their service. Hauraki Gulf sailing is more open and challenging than the Bay of Islands. The Moorings doesn’t want you or their expensive yacht on a reef or at the bottom of the Gulf. They’ll check out your skills before turning you loose from their dock.

The Hauraki Gulf has 47 or 50 islands– depending on who’s counting. Many are reserves for day trips. Some offer snorkeling and diving sites. The inner islands are easy to reach and you can picnic, camp, or just poke around. The outer islands are mainly closed nature reserves for endangered bird species.

Great Barrier Island, 90 km northeast of Auckland is the largest island in the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. This partly forested island on the edge of the park has a population of 1100 in settlements around the coast. Residents provide their own power with generators. On Great Barrier Island you’ll find walks on good tracks, rare birds, long white surf beaches, fishing, and diving– there are two wreck dives. Port Abercrombie, Port FitzRoy, and Whangaparapara are sheltered anchorages. If you want to stay a while, there are holiday lodges, motels, camp grounds and DOC huts. Ferries depart for the island several times weekly. You can cruise the coastline or take a bus trip on a metal road from Port FitzRoy to Tryphena. You can also fly to Great barrier Island.

Only 35 minutes by ferry from Auckland, Waiheke, the second largest island in the Hauraki Gulf has a population of 7000. Waiheke means cascading waters. There are waterfalls in the Whakanewha Regional Park near Rocky Bay. From the "Stony Batter" where a maze of tunnels and concrete gun emplacements were built for defense by the army during World War II, you have a view of the southern end of the Hauraki Gulf. Waiheka has 22 vineyards, swimming beaches, and restaurants. You’ll also find sea kayaking, golf, diving, a large sea cave on Gannet Rock, a museum and a Forest and Bird reserve at Onetangi. If you’re staying over, you’ll find a variety of accommodations from resorts to backpackers lodging.

Rangitoto, a circular island visible from most parts of the mainland, appeared around 700 years ago during a series of volcanic eruptions. Connected to Motutapu Island by a causeway, Rangitoto has many species of plants and trees including the largest pohutukawa forest in the world. There are no overnight accommodations on Rangitoto. Adjoining Motutapu is a farmed reserve in the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park.

There are many more islands south off the Coromandel and also north as we travel up the east coast into Northland. Hauraki Gulf Islands provides a good map of the Gulf and more island information.

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

How I Got There

A former single-handed sailor, I spent several summers in the San Juan and Channel Islands on my Pacific Seacraft Dana. I later sailed down the Pacific Coast from San Francisco to Cabo and lived a few winters along the Mexican Coast from Puerta Vallarta to Zihuatanejo.

I met my husband in a marina in Florida and talked him into crewing for me through the Everglades to the Keys--I'm afraid of alligators and hoped he'd be gallant enough to go under and cut the prop loose if we tangled on a trap line. Another year, I agreed to dive with him in the Dry Tortugas if he'd crew for me to Cuba. When we dragged anchor one night and banged into a Cuban gunboat, I'm sure he regretted that day he helped me dock in Cape Coral.

After two more years varnishing, repairing rusty fittings and leaky water pumps, always checking over our shoulders for that next storm front waiting to rock and roll us, we sold our boats. We took a tiki tour of New Zealand and figured the price was right for our limited income. We returned the next year to buy a motorcaravan--and we've never dragged our movan into a Cuban gunboat in New Zealand.

Lyn