A brilliant week of beaches, dunes and harbors at the top of this incredible country
Doubtless Bay is situated on the east coast of the Northland Region, extending from the Karikari Peninsula in the north to Hihi in the south, and filled with rocky headlands and extensive beaches, including Coopers Beach and its small town where we are staying this week.
We chose it for the ease of walking to the beach (5 minutes) or into town (3 minutes) and also for its easy access to Cape Reinga, the wonders of the tip top of NZ and the kiting paradise of the KariKari, which has coasts for every wind direction. And bonus, Coopers is beautiful in its own right, although seems crowded and hectic (with its massive population of 1600 in the whole Bay area!) compared to our oasis the week before.
And in case you are wondering about the name, in 1769 James Cook sailed past and noted that it was “doubtless a bay …” (brilliant, eh? And these guys get to be called the “discoverers” of NZ?!?) Of course there were already Māori living in the area, with this being their first landing spot almost a millennium earlier.
By Māori tradition the first man to arrive in New Zealand in 900AD was Kupe. His canoe or waka, made its landing in Doubtless Bay at Taipa, a name referring to the fence built to divide the rich shellfish beds between two contending Māori chiefs. Europeans later came as whalers and sealers, then moved on to timber and Kauri gum mining before settling into the farming that dominates the region now, side by side with holiday homes (bachs as they call them here.)
We stayed in a bach that overlooks the bay from its massive deck which we enjoyed for breakfasts and sunsets most every day.
We had another incredible week, exploring everywhere we could fit into six days and discovering delights around every bend. The focus was beaches of every variety, size, shape and color, with some great hiking and kayaking thrown into the mix. (Details and pictures below.)
We LOVE Northland and are having a hard time imagining that there will be parts of NZ that are more suited to us. Of course we will be happy if we are proved wrong in the months ahead.
Monday – Move day
Packing and cleaning in the morning to be out at 10, though we hated to leave Erin’s Place on Parua Bay.
We drove north to Kawakawa for the Twin Coast Cycle Trail, where we first checked out the famous bathrooms (designed by Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser) which seem to be this small town’s greatest asset. A detour on the trail took us onroad with two big hills but the rest of the way was a nice rail trail along the water to Opua, Bay of Islands. Fun to stroll the marina and see boats from around the world before riding back and carrying on our way.
Next stop was Paihia, the main tourist town for Bay of Islands and definitely not our scene, but good for a quick beachside picnic. Highlights of the day came next with a beautiful loop drive including a stop at Matauri Bay (home of the memorial for the Rainbow Warrior – a surprising and disturbing bit of recent history) and then Mahinepua for a gorgeous cape walk to a trig overlooking the Cavelli Islands and the coast stretching north and south.
We arrived at our next home in Coopers Beach just before sunset. The house feels huge compared to Jerrad’s, Frances’ and Erin’s (our last three airbnbs) which are much more our size, and the town feels busy and trafficky compared to Erin’s, but is really a quiet little beach town. We had a gorgeous view over rooftops to the whole bay and Karikari peninsula.
Tip: To see enlarged pictures and descriptions from the gallery blocks, just click on the first picture and a window with larger images will open that you can click through in slideshow mode.
Tuesday
A perfect blue sky and sunshine day with no wind and we are up early and off to Cape Reinga which is about 2 hours north. No stops on the way – flatter and less winding driving than we’ve had yet – very rural with mostly pastures but a few farms and small towns.
Cape Reinga is awesome, and I mean that word in its true sense, not the Americanized usage. The peninsula is beautiful, with green cliffs and the bluest water. On the short walk to the lighthouse, we stopped constantly for views and to watch the waters of the Pacific and the Tasman collide. Very special.
From there, we headed south and stopped at Te Paki dunes – thinking it would be overrun with cars driving in the stream and tour busses, but again, it was not. A few cars and campervans in the lot, but very quiet and we only saw two vehicles and four people once out walking. Awe inspiring dunes with a lovely spring fed tannin stream walk beside them to the Tasman Sea, which is the color of the Caribbean.
A gravelly drive took us over to the other side of the peninsula for a picnic at Spirits Bay (Kapowairua), which is one of the most perfect white sand beaches we have seen. This scenic bay is sacred to the local Maori who say that the spirits gather at the bay before departing to the afterlife. It must be 6km with only one or two other people on it (sometimes none like when we swam) and rocky pastures rising up behind the beach filled with a herd of horses who we watched running through the fields. Perfect.
Pretty drive home, sunset on deck.
Wednesday
Cloudy day, short walk on Coopers Beach, and then off to the Karikari peninsula, which is the upper arm of Doubtless Bay where we are staying. It’s a unique peninsula in that it is shaped into a right angle and has beaches that face all directions. Of course we had to check it out for kiting, but also for curiosity and multiple listed hikes. What an incredible place.
We drove out to the very end and walked along Matai Bay and Merita Bay trying to find a DOC track, but never did. Enjoyable stroll anyway, then over to KariKari beach for a picnic and we absolutely loved it. Miles (kilometers) of long white sandy beach covered in seashells of every kind, with the highest number of large scallop shells I have ever seen.
Eventually we left to go sample other beaches and found great ones everywhere. We loved the tiny hamlet of Rangiputa and then did an awe inspiring short hike up Puheke hill. This ancient volcano is right in the middle of the peninsula, surrounded on all sides by flat land, either beach or wetlands or pasture, and the views were incredible. Even on a cloudy day, the water was Caribbean like.
A stop at Tokearu (yeah, it’s actually called that) Beach to scope it for kiting and there we found our first overrun freedom camp. So many campers in the dunes (along with a big discarded fish carcass) that we decided we were happy to be heading home to a bach. Home late for a quiet evening.
Thursday
Light wind day so south to Whangaroa Harbour for kayaking. It was our first time out in our new double kayak and we really liked it – it rows well and is comfortable. Absolutely gorgeous paddle through the massive harbor, lined with coves, high hills and rock formations, and scattered with islands, but with almost no development at all. Just a house here or there that must have been built with materials brought in by boat. Mix of clouds and sun with beautiful green and blue water. Loved it.
Picnic at the Whangaroa Marina Park and then a very short drive to hike up St John’s hill. The high round rock is the remnant of an ancient volcano that rises up out of a similarly round hill and towers of the town and harbor. The climb up is steep, including the need to use chains anchored into the rock to reach the top, but oh so worth it to see the whole octopus-like harbor. Much more expansive than we realized since we didn’t go down every arm of it in the kayak.
Pretty drive home through rolling pastureland and then I walked on the beach and through the Taumarumaru Scenic Reserve while Hale relaxed on the deck. Sunset on the deck with a light sea breeze wrapped up another perfect day.
Friday
Cloudy and light wind day again so south again to Whangaroa Harbour, but this time for hiking on the Wairakau Stream/Lane Cove Track. Despite grey skies and occasional drizzle, we had a beautiful walk through fern forests with Kauri and many other trees and fragrantly flowering bushes. Highlights were the rock formations towering above us and the stream. The track ended at Lane Cove and its darling DOC hut, where a couple in a small sailboat was just arriving to spend the weekend.
Next stop was out to Taupo Bay for a picnic and beach amble. We shouldn’t have been surprised at the beauty of this spot, but we were with its towering cliffs and St Stephen’s island views. The beach is a protected nesting area for the endangered dotterel and the oyster catcher and we saw both.
By calling a vineyard we had driven by yesterday that listed “Tastings by Appointment,” we arranged to visit in just 30 minutes. Dancing Petrel Wines has a stunning setting on Paewhenua Island overlooking Manganui Harbour. We greatly enjoyed a relaxed outdoor tasting of their four wines (Viogner oaked and unoaked, Pinot Gris and Rose) on the home patio with owner Kim and labradoodle Harry. It was fun to learn about her buying the vineyard just a year ago after growing bored in retirement. Good wine and we took two bottles away with us to enjoy next week.
We wrapped up another amazing day with a walk around the historic whaling and trading town of Maganui.
Saturday
Finally wind is predicted for the afternoon, but first we spent some town time with a walk to Black Box Café for excellent flat whites (no difference from lattes per this barista) and then uphill to Doubtless Bay Saturday Market. Bit of a letdown with only two vendors, but the organic stall for the Bush Fairy Dairy had nuts, seeds, and fruits so we were happy.
Then out to the quiet KariKari Peninsula again. Hale dropped me at the north end of KariKari beach and I walked it south for four hours, followed by another hour of hiking over the headlands and coves to the Puheke carpark for pick up. I saw no one on foot and just two dune buggies towards the end of the beach walk. This is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, based on my limited yet fairly well informed view having spent five years on Caribbean and Bahamian beaches! White, white sand littered with colorful shells, arcing around the bay with a volcanic hill at one end, dunes full of song birds on one side and blue, blue water on the other. A tannin hot stream running into the ocean was a highlight as well as success gathering tuatua.
Hale had two great 12 meter kitesurfing sessions on Tokearu Beach, seeing just three other kiters.
We both came home exhausted and decided to save the tuatua for tomorrow’s dinner by soaking in salt water overnight. This will also help them filter out the sand.
Sunday
Catch up day for me (family, friends, bills, planning, laundry) plus walking on Coopers Beach and Taumarumaru Reserve then hiking to Rangikapiti Pa (a Pa is a historic Maori fortified settlement.) I seemed to have messed up my bad knee on Karikari so was nursing it a little, but still enjoyed the beautiful walks.
Another good kiting day for Hale at Tokearu Beach – one long session complete with rain and spooking a horse on the beach. Tuatua steamed in Pinot Gris for dinner was a fine way to wrap up our time in Northland.
Wrap
We hate to head south from this tranquil paradise, but so much of this amazing country awaits us. Still hard to believe we have six months to enjoy it…we are beyond lucky and appreciating that fact every moment.
Bonus: Kiting Gallery
Video Clip
Week 3 of our journey