Whangarei and Beyond

There are a number of galleries and arts-and-crafts places within Whangarei township itself, and even more are scattered throughout the Northland countryside, one of those being the Blueshore Gallery at Tauikura, Whangarei Heads, a great little gallery with a great collection of different works, in all medias, by local artists.

The Zion Wildlife Gardens, in Kamo, Whangarei, is a wildlife sanctuary for big cats, of all varieties, and is a popular attraction offering guided tours that can include physical encounters with tiger and lion cubs and opportunities of being photographed with larger cats. It is a great way to spend a couple of hours.

The scenery in Northland is fantastic, ranging from open surf beaches and tranquil bays and coves to picturesque countryside outlooks. The Bay of Islands is one of the most popular areas with the tourists, but Whangarei Heads, and the places along the road heading out there, is well worth the visit if you have the time.

Cape Rianga, the most northern place in New Zealand, and Ninety Mile Beach are also popular. At low tide, on Ninety Mile Beach, vehicles can access the beach and can drive the length of the beach, but keep an eye on the tide.

For more Maori and local history, visit one or more of the many museums that are available. Last time I was there, the Kaikohe Museum had a great collection of Kauri and other native wood furniture made by the settlers and also had a large display of Maori Artifacts.

There is a Shipwreck Museum at Paiha in the Bay of Islands that houses all sorts of artifacts collected from different shipwrecked marine craft, mainly settlers' ships that never made it.

Russell and Kirikiri, both in the Bay of Islands, are two of the original European settlements in New Zealand, and both have old buildings and streets to roam around. Kirikiri has a replica Maori Pa for visitors to go and look at.

Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands, is where the treaty between the Maoris and the Europeans was signed and has the Waitangi Maori Meeting House and Waitangi Parliament House.

If you visit the Paiha/Waitangi area during the Waitangi Day celebrations, you may be able to go and see a Maori Concert.

Paiha and Tutukaka (reached via past Whangarei Falls and beyond) also offer a large number fishing charters.

Quick Tips:

If you wish to know about anything that is happening in or around Whangarei, or even about any organised tours you can go on, the Whangarei Information and Travel Centre is the place to go.

Contact details are:

92 Otaika Road, Whangarei
Phone - 6494381079

Best Way To Get Around:

There are many organized bus tours in this area, as with most areas in New Zealand, with large tourist organizations, but I’ve always preferred to find my own way around.

There are public buses traveling to most areas that operate to a standard bus timetable, but, by far, the best way around is by car or a similar vehicle--that way you can venture off the beaten track and stop wherever you'd like for as long as you'd like.

There are several car-hire places in Whangarei, or if you are flying in from overseas, Auckland Airport has car hire kiosks. A variety of cars are available for varying prices, depending on the size of the vehicle.

In the Bay of Islands, there are public ferries departing regularly from Paiha for Russell, and there are also plenty of different tourist boats doing tours of the smaller islands.

Want an up close and personnel experience with very large pussy cats? Well the Zion Wildlife Gardens is the place to go.

Set in the Northland countryside the Zion Wildlife Gardens is a park devoted to lions, tigers and other wildcats and the continued survival of these species.

We had the best time playing with Khan, a small white tiger cub, in his enclosure. He was beautiful with his lovely white coat with black stripes and he was playful like a small kitten but with much larger teeth. His love bites were reasonably gentle and never broke the skin.

Khan’s father and mother were located not far from him as was an additional couple of males. These guys are big and we only got to view them from a safe distance - on the outside of the cages.

Not far away was a lion which was very testy as he could smell the scent of the lioness who was not far him – he wanted to reach her bad!!! Lo and behold anyone that got in his way – lucky the fencing was there.

The next enclosure we went into was the large outdoor enclosure where three lion cubs were. We had a great game of soccer with the cubs and enjoyed scruffing them up a bit – or maybe it was the other way around - and ended up with large muddy paw prints all over our clothes but - hey – when it comes between dirty clothes and missing out on an experience like this – what’s a bit of dirt?

Further down the track are the enclosures where the black leopard, the sables and Foxy the baboon reside.

The black leopard had only just been relocated to his new home and was still restless. His coat looked totally black until the sun hit it the right way and you could clearly see his darker spots.

Foxy the baboon loves mints and also loves to have her back scratched and will seat there for as long as you’ve got.

The final two enclosures are home to three, hand reared, white lions and two, hand reared tigers. We got to scratch these guys through the cage wire and they were very accommodating.

Roaming around the park grounds is a herd of red deer, with a couple of white deer thrown in and if you approach them quietly you may even get to pat them like I did.

There are a number of tours operating at the park with varying cost depending on the type of tour you go on – please contact the park to find out what times the tours are running.

There’s the general guided tour – $60 per adult, $30 per child – 1 hour
Then there’s the tiger cub encounter tour - $200 per adult, $50 per child – 80 minutes
And then there’s the big cat tour - $250 per adult (+16 years only)

The parks contact details are:

Zion Wildlife Gardens
Phone – 094350110

While in Whangarei we stayed with Dale’s sister, Sharon, up from Ocean Beach, out at Whangarei Heads.

Wow what a beautiful, peaceful location to have a house. The view of the ocean and countryside was fantastic. With blue ocean waters with waves that crashed down on the white sandy beaches and green sloping fields and bushy hills lapping at the bottom of the high reaching summits of Mount Manaia and other rocky ranges.

No crowds on the beach or on the roads – although the numbers do pick up a bit in summer but not by much – you’ll still have plenty of sand between you and the next person/people.

No foreign noises such as those emitted from buses or other, alternative, forms of transport – only those issuing from the surf, the country livestock and from your own mode of transport (and maybe voices of a few others that might venture this way on a sunny day).

The scenery is magic out this way.

Yeah – this is how life should be.

Whangarei Heads is reached by traveling out east of Whangarei, over the Whangarei Basin bridge, through the eastern side of the port, through Onerahi, and follow the harbour side road and the road signs. The trip should only take you ¾ hour if you don’t stop along the way.

There are many lovely sheltered bays, within the Whangarei Harbour, that you will pass along the road – Onerahi, Parua Bay, Tamaterau, Taurikura and Urquharts Bay being a few of them. Each bay has its own small beach – either sandy or shelly – depending on the distance from the harbour headlands.

On the ocean side of the Whangarei Heads there are white sandy beaches and plenty of surf for would be surfers, swimmers or sunbathers. The great thing is it never gets crowded.

For the great outdoors men or women out there that like to venture on hikes – this area has a number of native bush walks – one of the better ones being to the top of Mount Manaia.

Would ya like to purchase a painting, of a local scene of the Northland area, or perhaps a sculpture depicting a subject featured in the local culture or maybe you just need your new painting or print framed?

The Blueshore Gallery is the place to come.

The Gallery is only a small gallery situated on the main road passing through Taurikura, Whangarei Heads.

There are several beautifully crafted pieces of sculpture - large porcelain sea eggs, wooden bowls inlaid with woven flax and hand woven flax flowers are just a few of these - on show that are available for purchasing.

Hanging on the walls are numerous paintings, sketches and textiles. A number of the paintings are of based on marine subjects and are beautifully detailed.

All the works a original and have been sculpted, painted, woven or drawn by local artists – both well known and not-so-well known.

Contact details:

Rachel and Ross Fleming
Taurikura, Whangarei Heads, New Zealand.
Telephone – 09 4340537
Email – ross@blueshoregallery.co.nz
Web – www.blueshoregallery.co.nz

A great way to spend half a day or longer in Auckland, or, indeed, any other main city centre, is to visit the local museum, in this case The Auckland Museum.

It is a great way to discover interesting information about the history of the Maori people, the Pacific Island nations, the European people that colonized New Zealand, native New Zealand wildlife, New Zealand’s wartime history, and, of course, a bit of natural history.

For an entry price of $5, you have the pleasure of wondering around three levels at your leisure, taking in the many displays and artifacts on offer.

The Ground Level has an extensive display of Pacific Island and Maori relics and treasures, including a full-size Maori meeting house and waka (Maori canoe), green stone tikis, weapons (meres and the like), and elaborate carvings, just to name a few.

On the ground level there are also two sections where traveling shows are displayed--when we were there, they were setting up a Vikings display and an Applied Arts display.

Level 1 is where you’ll find many interesting displays of New Zealand’s natural history, including a coastal and ocean display, a volcanic display (showing all the volcanoes that Auckland is built on or that surround the local area), a wildlife display, (both extinct and existing wildlife), a great section on the Maori natural history, and a section where children can go and get a hands-on experience.

The top level, Level 2, has the War Memorial, including the Hall of Memories, displays dedicated to all the wars New Zealand Troup’s have served in, a small section about the Holocaust, and a section depicting what Auckland looked like in 1866.

This last area, Auckland in 1866, is set out like a replica streetscape of that time with many shopfronts and shops, of the types that would have been around at that time, decked out with the items that you probably could have purchased.

If you get a bit peckish, the Ground Level also has a fully equipped café offering a large assortment of hot and cold foods and drinks, even full-cooked breakfasts, all very yummy and reasonably priced, though maybe not the cheapest around.

Are you into the one of the latest sports out--kite boarding?

Well, Auckland is a great place to pursue this pastime. There are plenty of bays and beaches, with varying types of water conditions to select from, so long as the wind conditions are right.

There are many small bays with flat, calm waters or slightly choppy waters with small white-water crests. Then there are surf beaches with varying sized waves. The choice is yours.

Dale’s nephew, Colin, has given him a kite so he can bring it back to Australia to give the sport a go--and he is as keen as.

While we were in Auckland, Dale joined Colin at one of the many northern suburbs bays on the Saturday before we flew out, so he could give him a few pointers.

The day was pretty gusty, with the occasional drop of wind, and the bay waters were a little bit choppy with small white-water crests. It wasn’t a good day to be doing tricks and jumps, but good enough to show Dale the ropes.

I didn’t go for the trip, but I have seen the photos and video Dale took, and although it was a coolish day, it appears that a good time was had by all.