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| Wenderholm |
Auckland is New Zealand's biggest city and it is not fun to drive through or around—having congested motorways and busy roads. Of course, there are city things to see and do in Auckland but we prefer the fringes, where we can park Tangaroa and if necessary take the car to get about.
The Auckland district has over thirty regional parks, and
self contained motorhomes can stay in many of them. We have spent time in several and plan on
visiting more in the future. The only
drawback is that the sites have to be pre-booked. When we arrived at Wenderholm (our first
Regional Park), we realised that we needed a code number for the gates. We had to go back to the council's web page
to get the phone number so we could be given the code. Meanwhile Tangaroa
was half blocking the road because we couldn't get through the gate. No-one had mentioned the code when I booked
for the night. That said, the parks
enabled us to stay in some amazing spots.
Leaving Whangarei, we coast-hopped south towards Auckland. Our first stop was the DOC camp at Uretiti,
where we found a sheltered spot in the dunes for Tangaroa, then took the car to explore Waipu. This little town is unusual because it was
settled by a group of Scots who arrived after originally emigrating to Nova
Scotia. They were led by a charismatic
and fearsome man, the Rev. Norman McLeod, who ruled the tight-knit,
Gaelic-speaking community in a way that seems remarkable today.
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| Uretiti Beach |
Waipu Museum calls itself 'New Zealand's Best Small
Museum' and it was full of interesting displays explaining the history of the
early settlers. The story began with the
clearances of the Scottish highlands and went on to explain the failed
settlement in Nova Scotia and the long sea journeys the people then
endured. There is a tall memorial
outside the museum, topped by Scotland's lion rampant, which lists the ships
that arrived in Waipu and the settlers who arrived in them. The town celebrates its heritage by holding
Highland Games every New Year.
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| A quiet corner of Waipu |
We left SH 1 to make a loop past the pretty seaside
settlements of Waipu Cove, Langs Beach and Mangawhai Heads. We had heard of a scenic, three-hour walk
between Waipu Cove and Langs Beach (and back) that even some locals do not know
about. The track was made by early
settlers and passed limestone rocks that are similar to the famous ones at
Punakaiki in the South Island. These
rocks are unique on the North Island's coastline and made the pretty walk
something out of the ordinary.
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| On the Langs Beach walk |
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| On the Mangawhai walk |
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| Mangawhai |
At Mangawhai Heads
there is another coastal walkway—this one much better known and equally beautiful. This walk takes two to three hours, returning
along the same track or along the beach if the tide is out. We began this walk on the beach then went
steeply uphill for about half an hour.
From there it was an easy, flat walk above the cliffs, through forests
of pōhutukawa, nīkau and taraire.
Because it was low tide we were able to walk back along the
beach—through a rock archway, past rock pools, then along the sand.
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| Te Arai point |
Te Arai Point was our next stop, another of Auckland's
Regional Parks. Te Arai is off the
beaten track—it is accessed from a gravel road—and we had the place pretty much
to ourselves overnight. There were
beautiful views along sandy beaches and out to the Hen and Chicks Islands.
Mangawhai Road looped around back to SH1, then, a few
kilometres south, we turned onto a wild and windy road. This took us to Leigh and Goat Island Marine
Reserve. Goat Island is known in Māori
as Te Hāwere-a-Maki, and has spiritual significance to the local iwi because
their waka landed nearby when they arrived in New Zealand. It is fitting that (in 1975) the waters
around the island became New Zealand's first marine reserve. The waters now teem with aquatic life and
visitors can snorkel, dive, hire kayaks and clearyaks, or take a trip in a
glass-bottomed boat. Unfortunately the
weather wasn't good when we were there so we just explored the rock pools at
low tide and vowed to return another time.
Goat Island is close to Matakana, an area popular with
Aucklanders, so can get very busy. Nevertheless,
we parked Tangaroa near Matakana and
explored Omaha, Tāwharanui Regional Park and Sandspit.
Tāwharanui was
home to Māori for over 800 years before being farmed from the late 1800s. In 1973 the Auckland Regional Council
purchased the peninsula and it became the country's first pest-free, open
sanctuary. Large gates across the road
join the predator-proof fences that keep out rodents and other creatures that
prey on indigenous species. Once through
the gates, we drove to the car park and, after strolling onto the white sand
beach, set off on one of the park's many walks, the Ecology Trail. This led us through native bush, wetlands and
pasture—an easy two hour stroll.
In Matakana itself we made sure to visit the Saturday
foodies market and the craft market nearby.
There was a lot to see in the area.
At Brick Bay Winery we walked the sculpture trail, where we saw a
variety of quirky objects. My favourite
were the ones by the lily pond where, standing on a wooden jetty a pair of
otters waited to be picked up—complete with hat and handbag, newspaper, and
luggage. In the still waters of the pond
delicate curved structures were reflected, creating a beautiful symmetry
amongst the water lilies.
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| At Brick Bay |
We had lunch at the cafe at Morris and James
Pottery. Then we looked through the
showrooms marvelling at the brightly coloured pots. There were some so big you could lose a child
inside. Not the sort of thing to carry
around in Tangaroa.
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| Scotts Landing |
Leaving Matakana, we headed down the Mahurangi Peninsula
where we found two Regional Parks, Scandrett and Mahurangi. These parks have walks giving the usual
amazing coastal views, beaches and old homesteads. We loved Scotts Landing at the tip of the
peninsula. There is an old homestead
here—in the 1800s it was a hotel—now it has been lovingly restored. From here we could see Mahurangi West
Regional Park across the harbour on the mainland. This is another pretty place where self
contained vehicles can stay, but we continued a few kilometres south and
stopped at Wenderholm.
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| Wenderholm |
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| Couldrey House |
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| Beautiful views from the walk... |
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| ... and a beautiful beach |
We thought Wenderholm the best of the Auckland Regional Parks
we visited. The park juts out into the
Hauraki Gulf—with the Puhoi Estuary sheltered behind a sandspit at the north
side, while to the south there is the Waiwera Estuary. We parked Tangaroa
and walked beside the Puhoi River to the sandspit and around to a sandy beach
where I had a relaxing swim in the shallow, warm water. When the park closed for the night there were
just a few self-contained vehicles left.
We enjoyed the lovely evening light and sunset as if the place was our
own private retreat.
The next morning we visited the historic homestead,
Couldrey House. This Victorian-Edwardian
building is tucked behind the beach and beside the steep, bush-covered
headland. We took a tour of the house,
which is set out as a family home with furniture and artefacts of the era. The first house was built in 1857 but the
building has been moved and altered over its life, finally being purchased from
the Couldrey family by the Auckland Council.
From Couldrey House we wandered up to the lookout which
gave us views down to the house and estuary beyond, also out into the Hauraki
Gulf. We followed the perimeter track,
through forest that seemed full of tui and kererū, until we came to the
road. We had come prepared for a swim so
walked across to Waiwera and spent the afternoon soaking in the hot pools there. People have travelled to 'take the waters' at Waiwera
since 1848—it became the Southern Hemisphere's first spa at a time when water
cures were all the rage around the world.
Carbon dating has shown the water in Waiwera's geothermal aquifer is
between 10,000 and 15,600 years old and it is claimed to be the oldest water in
the world. Waiwera artesian water was
first bottled in 1875 and is still produced 140 years later, its glass bottle
modelled on the original design. It was
bliss to soak in the hot water whilst watching birds swooping over Wenderholm's
bush-clad hills. (Note: Wenderholm Hot Pools are currently closed)
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| At Shakespear Regional Park |
Shakespear
Regional Park, at the end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula, was our next stop. We parked Tangaroa
at Te Haruhi Bay and spent two hours in the morning walking the Tiritiri track. I had a swim in the afternoon and in the
evening we wandered along the beach to explore the rocks at the base of the
cliffs. There was quite a bit of
birdlife at Shakespear because of the park's
proximity to Tiritiri Matangi Island, a wildlife sanctuary. Being bird-lovers we decided on a visit to
Tiri, so moved Tangaroa to Gulf
Harbour—freedom camping opposite the ticket office, where we booked the ferry
for the following morning.
We
planned to walk some of the longer tracks on the island doing some bird
watching as we did so. However, the
birdlife was so abundant, and there were so many opportunities to watch
bellbird, tui, kōkako, stitchbird and saddleback around the feeding stations
quite close to the wharf, that we actually didn't walk very far at all. We followed the track to the lighthouse with
many stops to watch and photograph the birds.
When we ate our picnic lunch we were accosted by takahē, much larger
birds than their cousins the pūkeko! The
size of their beaks was quite scary. We
took lots of photographs but it was here at Tiri when we realised we needed to
seriously upgrade our cameras if we were going to capture any decent shots of
birds.
Our
next stop was Ardmore on the southern side of Auckland. The NZMCA has a park here that we used as a
base, taking the train from nearby Papakura into Auckland city—to visit the art
gallery, museum and the delights of Queen Street and the waterfront.
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| At the Botanic Gardens |
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| The bird lady |
Not
far from Ardmore we found the Auckland Botanic Gardens. The 64 hectares of grounds are set close to
the motorway, yet we could have been a million miles away from the city. We spent a few hours wandering around,
admiring the plants and sculptures that are dotted around the grounds. Our favourite was the Bird Lady, a life-sized
avian-human perched on a park bench—the sculptor celebrating our land of
birds. On that note we returned to Tangaroa and took the road to the
seabird coast.
Places mentioned in this post - details correct at time of writing
Walks
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Waipu Coastal Walkway
www.wdc.govt.nz/FacilitiesandRecreation/WalksTrails/Pages/Waipu-Coastal.aspx
2 km, 1.5 hrs one way,
easy: walking track
Access: Waipu Cove or
Waterman Drive, Langs Beach
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Mangawhai Cliffs Walkway
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/northland/places/waipu-area/things-to-do/mangawhai-walkway/
5 km one way, 2-3 hr
return, easy: walking track
Access: Kaipara District
Council car park, Wintle St, Mangawhai
Places to visit
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Waipu Museum
36, The Centre, Waipu
www.waipumuseum.com/html/index.htm
Hours: 9.30 am-4.30 pm daily
Entry price: adult $10,
senior and student $8, child $5
- · Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre
160, Goat Island Rd,
Leigh
www.goatislandmarine.co.nz
Hours: 10.00 am-4.00 pm 1
December-30 April, 1 May-30 November weekends, public and school holidays
Entry price: adult $9,
senior and student $7, child $5
- · Goat Island Dive and Snorkel
142A, Pakiri Rd, Leigh
www.goatislanddive.co.nz
Various hire and guided
options
- · Clearyaks
150, Goat Island Rd,
Leigh
www.clearyak.co.nz
Hours: dependent on
weather conditions
Price: $60 (double canoe)
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Glass Bottom Boat
Goat Island Rd, Leigh
www.glassbottomboat.co.nz
Price: 45 minute
eco-tour, adult $30, senior $25, child $15
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Matakana Village Farmers
Market
2, Matakana Valley Rd,
Matakana
Hours: Sat 8.00 am-1.00 pm
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Brick Bay Wines and
Sculpture Trail
17 Arabella Lane, Snells Beach, Warkworth
www.brickbay.co.nz
Entry price: adults $12,
seniors and students $10, child $8
- ·
Morris and James Pottery
48, Tongue Farm Rd, Laly
Haddon Pl, Matakana
www.morrisandjames.co.nz
Hours: 9.00 am-5.00 pm daily
- ·
Auckland Regional Parks
Scandrett:
114, Scandrett Rd,
Mahurangi East
http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/scandrett
Gate opening hours: 6.00
am-9.00 pm summer, 6.00 am-7.00 pm winter
Mahurangi:
190, Ngarewa Drive,
Mahurangi West
http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/mahurangi
Gate opening hours: 6.00
am-9.00 pm summer, 6.00 am-7.00 pm winter
Shakespear:
1468, Whangaparaoa Rd,
Army Bay, Auckland
http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/shakespear
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