Australasia > New Zealand > North Island > Auckland > Articles > Notes From NZ

Summer as adventure. Summer as hedonism. Summer as a journey in New Zealand along a coast which straddles both the wild and the mild.

This journey takes you north of Auckland along a 240km-long skinny finger of land, to the northernmost tip of the country - where the twin coasts become one and two seas meet. In Maori mythology this area is the tail of the North Island fish, hunted by Maui. For us it's a tale of a journey where the dramatically dangerous Tasman Sea in the west is never more than three hours drive (usually less) from the fluffy, tame Pacific on the east. To get the best of both, we're going to weave between them until we get to the narrow strip at the top where the two roads converge.

It takes a car, of course. Any old dunger (rattle-trap) will do but, for hoofing it on the beach on the way up, a 4WD is a must. Since I live in Auckland I take my own car, but if I have friends coming I always recommend Scotties Rentals Cheaper Cars Ltd because they're cheap and reliable. Prices start from about 16BP in summer for your average 1600cc, 4-door car. The owner, Keith Scott, says he'll give Real Story readers a free upgrade. Contact him at 0800 736 825, e-mail nz@scotties.co.nz or visit www.scotties.co.nz

Kauri Coast: Leaving Auckland, take the west route up to Dargaville. This is Kauri Coast country, whose heyday came and went 100 years ago when the first settlers came here and removed the huge kauri trees for construction and extracted the fossilised amber kauri gum out of the swamps, then used for varnishes, now prized as jewellery. It's a little forlorn and shabby but it's a blessed antidote to the palatial pastel plaster abominations you'd see on the opposite coastline.

It also has New Zealand's longest beach, which runs for 100km between the Hokianga Harbour and Kaipara Harbour. Four-wheel drive hoons can belt along this beach themselves (or do it with a tour company), gallop it on horseback or try a combined launch and bus trip. Rental car companies usually provide good maps for no extra charge but Jasons put out a good free Twin Coast Discovery Highway map which you can pick up at most tourist outlets - tourist offices, motels and at the airport. Also check out www.twincoast.co.nz for a basic map and info on the region.

Surf-cast fishing is a go here too and popular with locals but swimming, while exhilarating, is at your own risk. At any rate, the surf and sand double as an excellent exfoliant. My pick along this coastline is Bayley's beach.

Kai Iwi Lakes: Upwards and onwards past Dargaville to the Kai Iwi Lakes - all three of them. As lakes go, they're pretty warm and fringed with white sand so swimming is easy, but you can also hire jet-skis, waterskis or fishing gear here. Naturally walking round the lakes is an option or if you prefer something more rugged, hike (less than an hour) to the coast.

Trounson Kauri Park: You should stay a night in the area simply for the privilege of visiting Trounson Kauri Park. It's an island of pest-free native bush surrounded by farmland. Do it during the day and marvel at the slick muscular hides of the enormous kauri trees and the umbrella-like canopy of tree ferns. Do it at night with a guide and you'll hear, if not see, kiwis foraging in the bush, spot big black kauri snails, native wetas (a large native insect), native fish and crayfish and, by looking at the undersides of the tree ferns in the moonlight, see why the national emblem is a silver fern.

The night walk guide for Trounson Kauri Park is Herb Iles, also the manager of the Kauri Coast Holiday Park, 33km north of Dargaville on Trounson Park Rd. He has the Dept. of Conservation concession to run this walk but his holiday park is also a jolly good place to stay - basically a campground but also offering cabins, backpacker accommo-dation and motels at very reasonable rates. You have to meet him there to start the walk at any rate and he drives the group to the park. The guided night walk costs $NZ15 (about 4-5BP) per adult, children $NZ9 (just over 2BP). Contact Herb at tel/fax (09) 439 0621.

Not far from here is the largest remaining stand of kauri, Waipoua Forest, where the biggest tree - called 'Tane Mahuta' - is just a short walk from the road.

Poor Knight's Islands: But now we're going back to Dargaville and across country to Tutukaka, famous for its game fishing but also a terrific place to dive or snorkel. That's because an hour or so away are the Poor Knight's Islands - so named by Captain Cook. These rugged outcrops of rock in the middle of the ocean are now the focal point of a marine reserve. Warmed by currents from the Coral Sea, its sheer submarine cliffs, its tunnels and caves are home to tropical and subtropical species not normally seen around New Zealand.

It's just not summer for me if I haven't spent at least a day here snorkeling. This year I chartered a boat with friends. I always go on the MV Wairangi, with skipper Llew Ritchie (tel: 09 434 3350, fax: 09 434 3186 or write to Llew Ritchie, RD3 Whangarei) - partly because I love his old kauri-tug-turned-tour-boat but mainly because he's a knowledgeable and passionate marine biologist. Llew makes the underwater world come alive.

He'll take you to algal forests, sponge gardens and places where huge schools of blue maomao churn the sea into an opalescent whirlpool. The fish here aren't the tiny colourful tropical darlings many people are familiar with. They're bigger and more dramatic (schools of stingrays like underwater ballet) but for my money, they're the best. Jacques Cousteau rated the Poor Knights as one of the 10 best diving areas in the world.

The Bay of Islands: From Tutukaka treat yourself with a stop/go drive along the east coast, taking in the lovely beaches of Matapouri, Whananaki and Oakura before you arrive at the first real tourist trap. The Bay of Islands is aptly named and deservedly popular but even here you can get away from it all. All it takes is money and experience (it would, wouldn't it). I suppose it's stating the obvious to say you need to be able to skipper a boat before you hire one but if that's in your repertoire of skills, do it, do it, do it. Hire that yacht or catamaran and sail away for at least three days, a week would be better. Suddenly an entirely new geography is yours, full of coves, headlands, azure blues and verdant greens, not to mention the silvery scales of the fish you might catch for dinner. For information on charters, contact the Paihia Visitor Information Centre at visitorinfo@fndc.govt.nz

For surfing, look up Isobar Surf in Paihia or Kerikeri. Tim Rosevear takes people to some of the finest surf sports in the North, some of which half the locals wouldn't know existed. For about $80 a day (less than £25) he provides transport, lunch, wetsuits and boards. He reckons he can get people standing after one lesson.

Ahipara: After this sybaritic interlude, it's back to the wild west again to a tiny village called Ahipara, which trades in adventure. The Ahipara Adventure Centre (09 409 2055, adventurecentre@ahipara.co.nz) offers mountain biking, body boards and quad bike hire so you can explore the sand dunes on your own, sand toboggans so you can slide down them and trips to Cape Reinga, the northern most tip of New Zealand. But their latest activity to get the body pumping is blokarting. The lightweight (25kg) blokart is a micro landsailer, ideal for racing up the beach or for gently tootling along in a light breeze with children.

Of course, you'll have to cruise along Ninety Mile Beach (actually classed as a state highway) up to the point of no return at Cape Reinga where the Maori believe that the spirits of the departed leave the country for good. For you though, it's just the beginning of your journey home - along the strips of coast you missed on the way up.

Articles

• More from Yvonne Van Dongen