Waterfalls of the North

We were able to see numerous falls with my parents as we drove through Northland.  New Zealand landscapes were made for waterfalls and amazingly they were all easy to access.

 Rainbow Falls

 Unnamed Falls near our hotel.

 Haruru Falls

 Whangarei Falls

Lukas Creek Falls

Northland: Part 1

We left Wellington Saturday Morning and met with my parents in Auckland.  We spent Saturday driving to Kaitaia where we stayed for 3 nights.  The drive had a few stops along the way.

Wellington Airport - Smaug from Lord of the Rings

 The Four Sisters - A cluster of giant Kauri Trees

 Tane Mahuta - The biggest Kauri Tree.  It was huge!

A ferry ride to get to our first hotel in Kaitaia

Sunday we attended church at the Kaitaia Ward, where we were welcomed and enjoyed the spirit.  We spent the afternoon visiting Rangikapiti Pa Historic Heritage site, an old Maori village site, and the beach.  It was a windy, and sometimes wet day, but we had fun nevertheless.  

Northland: Part 2 - Harrisons Cape Runner

Monday we spent the day with a tour.  We started by being picked up at our hotel at 8:30am and headed up to the tippy top of New Zealand.  There were a few stops on the way.

Hohoura Heads

Our first stip was a quick one.  The kids enjoyed climbing trees and wandering around the muddy bay.

Rarawra Beach

This beach was full of white smooth sand.  It was marvelous to walk on.  

 Cape Reinga Light House

A small walk to the lighthouse and some glorious views.  The wind was really blowing so the ocean was powerful.

Zachary spent much of his time reading on the Kindle

Tapotupotu Bay

This lovely beach we enjoyed lunch and a few of us got our feet wet.

  

Ninety-Mile Beach

We were able to drive along a portion of Ninety-Mile Beach although it really isn't that long.  It was a beautiful drive and very relaxing.  We did get out for a few minutes at one point.

 Kauri Kingdom

Our last stop was at a little cafe/shop called Kauri Kingdom. It had some amazing things made out of Kauri logs.  It also had a small gallery upstairs.  The spiral staircase was inside a Kauri tree.

Northland: Part 3 - Bay of Islands

The Bay of Islands was our next stop.  We explored the bay on a little boat and were able to go through the Hole in the Rock.  It was exciting because for the past couple of days the weather had made that impossible.  We also saw a dolphin and seals. 

 

We stayed at a hotel on the river, from our balcony we could see Haruru Falls.  There was a campground attached to the hotel and it had a great playground and some beautiful flowers.

The next morning we did a few more things in the area before driving back to the airport.  

Hundertwasser Public Toilets

 Kawiti Glow Worm Caves

We were able to see some great formations and some beautiful glowing bugs.  The bugs aren't pretty but the effect they produce is.