Around Kaitaia

We stopped at Kaitaia when we dropped back down from Cape Reinga past Ninety Mile Beach. Kaitaia in Far North, New Zealand has more than just a motorsports track where little kids throw dirt clods at cars to help their favorite driver. We’ll be taking Hwy 1 through Omahuta Kauri Sanctuary, but first, let’s check out the area around Kaitaia.

Entrance to Walkway at Cape Reinga

Photo By: beejayge

Much of New Zealand’s early history around Kaitaia centered around kauri logging and later gum digging. In the early 1800's, most of the kauri trees were stripped from the land by timber-cutters. When a kauri tree is injured, sap dribbles down the tree then hardens into gum. Through the years, it collects at the base of the tree then petrifies under the forest debris. Kauri gum color varies from clear to almost black or dark red. Young gum is easily melted and can’t be polished. It’s called kauri gum. As it ages, it’s called kauri copal. A sub-fossilized resin hundreds to thousands of years old, kauri copal can be polished. New Zealand amber is rare. Fully fossilized, it’s considered a gemstone. For a look at New Zealand’s kauri logging and gum digging days, visit Far North Regional Museum. At Gumdigger Park, 20 minutes north of Kaitaia, you’ll find a gumdigger village display. In this old gum digging site, two ancient kauri forests are buried. You can touch logs over 100,000 years old. Kauri and kauri gum crafts are for sale in their gift shop.

Gumdigger's Huts

Photo By: beejayge

I’ve been suggesting ways to see New Zealand by RV or auto. There’s another way to see New Zealand from Cape Reinga in the north to Bluff on the bottom of South Island– if you’re in good shape and have the time. The 3000 kilometer New Zealand Walkway will be open in 2010. The walkway runs down the coast, through forests and farmland, over volcanoes and mountains, beside rivers and on green paths through seven cities. If you don’t have enough vacation time to walk 3000 kms, at least spend a little time on nearby Kaitaia Walkway. You can brag back home you walked The New Zealand Walkway.

Gumboot Fence

Photo By: beejayge

Just a little south of Kaitaia, you’ll find the entrance to the walkway. Called an easy bush walk through shade trees in the summer, it’s a 30 minute walk to the path junction. From there, it’s a 20-minute return climb to a kauri grove or a 15-minute return to the lookout over the forest. You won’t get your feet wet on either route. Stream and river crossings are bridged. If you plan to continue on the rest of the Kaitaia Walkway, don’t expect an easy bush walk with dry feet. The track is marked, but you’ll wade through rivers. DOC calls it, “suitable for people with above average fitness. High level back country skills and experience, including navigation and survival skills.” There are three camp sites. Maita Bay and Rarawa Beach are near Kaitaia. Raetea North Side is in Raetea Forest, a lowland coastal forest.

If you’re looking for a little night life, pack a picnic and spend an evening with the Glow worms. Eighteen kms south of Kaitaia off SH 1, Glow Worms Nocturnal Park is not as popular as the Waitomo Caves, but a fun place to get up close to a glow worm. At the Waitomo Caves, you step in a small boat with other tourists, float through the caves, then step out at the other end and get out of the way or get run over by the next boat load of tourists. In the Glow Worms Nocturnal Park, eat your picnic or wander around and wait for the glow worms to wake up. The paths are lit with fairy lights so you don’t trip and smash a worm.

Ahipara

Photo By: beejayge

Ahipara is on the Tasman Sea, a little south of Kaitaia. On the windy side of the island, you’ll find more sand dunes, a buried kauri forest, fishing, and surfing– around the reef at Tauroa Point. The information center in Kaitaia will give you exact directions to these and more places to spend time in the area. They can also help you find a place to stay. Kaitaia Hotel is down town if you’re looking for something historical. Ahipara Motor Camp is on the Tasman Sea. Kaitaia Motor Camp is where you’d expect it to be-- in Kaitaia. There are many motels and even a BBH backpacker lodge if you’re saving a few dollars for a kauri gum souvenir. The weather’s warm in this part of New Zealand. You’re surrounded by history and outdoor activities. Stay a while and enjoy yourself around Kaitaia.

All photos are by Bryan Goddard who lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Brian has more than 1,000 photos uploaded on flickr. Click back on his links and you’ll find a slideshow of 94 photos around Kaitaia and up the peninsula to Cape Reinga. On BeeJayGe, his website, you can find more photos of his New Zealand travels and a link to his blog.

Lyn Harris

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