Dramatic Scenery a Feature of Northland Entrance, Majestic Mt Manaia’S East Coast

08 Mar 2018 The Star (Christchurch), Christchurch Author: Mike Yardley • Section: General News • Article Type: News Item Audience : 64,300 • Page: 35 • Printed size: 872.00cm² • Market: NZ Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 3,580 • words: 898 • Item ID: 922532172

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Dramatic scenery a feature of Northland entrance, majestic Mt Manaia’s East Coast. jagged peak, crowned with toothy Reaching nearly 30m in height BEING A Christchurch lad, pinnacles, dominates the skyline with a stunning crown, and jaunting to Northland always feels – reminiscent of those fang- boasting a circumference of 11m, like a glorified overseas holiday, like mountains that backdrop Moana will make you work for bordering on a South Pacific Rarotonga and Tahiti. Eager to the pleasure of an audience. It’s mini-break. scale Manaia, it’s a thousand steps a four-hour return walk through The weather and foliage is up, on a vigorous but manageable tracts of native bush, thick fabulously sub-tropical and the with bird life. But a chance to one hour climb to reach the sun-kissed beaches are achingly commune with this East Coast sizzling 360 deg views. gorgeous. On my latest visit, giant made it a doddle. Back in the car, the road I set my sights on some short I topped off my Tutukaka sortie climaxes at Ocean Beach, a and sweet scenic drives from by soaking up the astonishing powerful Pacific sweep of big surf, Whangarei. views of some of her northern bounded by hulking sand dunes. Striking out from Onerahi, beaches. Just north of Matapouri After the sweet tranquillity of the Whangarei Heads Rd offers Bay is the crescent-shaped show- those inner harbour coves, Ocean such a dramatic scenic medley of stopper of Whale Bay. Beach seemed all the more raw saw-toothed mountains, beaches, Thickly fringed in native forest, and wild. walkways and craft galleries, ablaze in the crimson flowers of Tracking back to Whangarei, strung along the peninsula’s pohutukawa, off-set by custard- I then headed north to the pencil-thin road, wrapped around coloured sand and translucent Tutukaka Coast. the indented northern shoreline blue water, this celestial pocket of Arguably the most famed of of the harbour. coastal splendour is accessed by Whangarei’s short drives, the Every princess-pretty bay, like a short walk through a grove of two hour-long glorious loop Munro, McLeod, McGregors ancient Puriri trees. road roams past succulent and McKenzie reveals new After taking in the coastal orchards, historic drystone walls, watery vistas framed by gnarled charms north and east of undulating emerald farmland pohutukawa trees on the and formidable rock walls, before Whangarei, I sauntered south for foreshore, backed by handsomely kissing the Pacific Ocean. a quick rendezvous with Marsden maintained holiday cottages The Tutukaka Coast’s necklace Point and Bream Bay’s sprawling and quirky homes, rising up the of seaside villages revel in arc of white sandy beach, before volcanic slopes from the road. their seclusion, proud little laying over at pint-sized Waipu McLeod Bay is a family communities heaving with Cove. favourite for its sheltered creative types, small convivial Steeped in Scottish heritage, the swimming, nestled beneath the pubs and out-of-the-way Waipu Museum lustily showcases mighty presence of Mt Manaia. restaurants. the great migration of the town’s The quaint white wooden St Tutukaka Marina Village was original 940 settlers via Nova James Church, gracing the heaving with excited hordes of Scotia, and Waipu still proudly foreshore since 1858, completes tourists gearing up to set off to hosts New Zealand’s biggest the picture. McGregors Bay is the Poor Knights Marine Reserve. annual Highland Games. another family crowd-pleaser, But I had a hot date with a big Grab a meal at The Cove with clear waters for snorkelling tree. Restaurant, overlooking the ivory and fabulous rock pools to keep Heading north towards sands and booming Pacific surf, the kids enthralled. after soaking up the massive At the base of Mount Manaia, Matapouri, I made my way to the murals in honour of the waves of a plaque pays tribute to the Tutukaka Forest Conservation migrations. district’s early European settlers, Park, home to Tane Moana. Just 100m from the beach, I Scottish Highlanders, who as Moana may not enjoy the stayed a night at the beautifully you might have guessed, gave rock-star billing of big brother, landscaped Waipu Cove Resort, their names to many of the area’s Tane Mahuta, but Moana is verdantly ablaze in sub-tropical beaches. a treasure too – the largest gardens, through Booking.com. Towering above the harbour surviving Kauri on Northland’s Wi h l 6000 N Z l d jiMMi’ 08 Mar 2018 The Star (Christchurch), Christchurch Author: Mike Yardley • Section: General News • Article Type: News Item Audience : 64,300 • Page: 35 • Printed size: 872.00cm² • Market: NZ Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 3,580 • words: 898 • Item ID: 922532172

With nearly 6000 New Zealand accommodation options listed, the diverse array of options spans hotels, apartments, holiday homes and campsites. Whether on the website or via the app, Booking.com is super easy to navigate with incredible deals and complete ﬂexibility, if your travel plans change. www. booking.com FAST FACTS: •I zipped my way to Auckland with Jetstar. Score even sweeter deals with a Club Jetstar membership. The programme offers travellers access to special ‘member only’ fares, 20 per cent discount on baggage and seat selection products, and early access to the biggest sales. Bag a bargain fare deal and seat to suit at www.jetstar.com •From Auckland, I picked up a trusty Avis rental car at the airport. Avis currently has the largest fleet of hybrid COLOUR: Sun-kissed beaches, like this at rental vehicles in New Whale Bay, are a feature of the Whangarei Zealand and is committed heads. to expanding the range, as customer demand dictates. Avis’ modern rental vehicle fleet is available at 40 locations spread throughout New Zealand. Sign up for Avis Preferred to skip the queue and get on the road faster. www.avis.co.nz 08 Mar 2018 The Star (Christchurch), Christchurch Author: Mike Yardley • Section: General News • Article Type: News Item Audience : 64,300 • Page: 35 • Printed size: 872.00cm² • Market: NZ Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 3,580 • words: 898 • Item ID: 922532172

DIVERSE: The Whangarei heads include dramatic scenic medleys of saw-toothed mountains, beaches and seaside homes.