When my girl suggested a mother and daughter holiday in her school holidays, I immediately thought a roadie would be a good idea. Enjoying time together, instead of shopping, for mother’s day. I had been wanting to see Tane Mahuta in the Waipoua forest as we hadn’t been for years, so I decided we’d head up the North East of New Zealand to Hokianga.
Here’s a few of my tips and recommendations to do here, as well as prices, and where we stayed. Join us on our mother and daughter road trip to the stunning Hokianga, in these pics.
I asked my daughter, what were her favourite highlights from the trip, and she said;
staying in the two hotels
the swimming pool
eating a pineapple fritter (Opononi Takeaways)
the huge kauri
the boulder bush walk.
The Heads Hokianga
From Auckland, we drove north past Warkworth and up through kumara lands, to Dargaville.
We stopped at Opononi for our first night at The Heads Hokianga on State Highway 12 Omapere, Hokianga 09-405 8737.
Tip: I called ahead and they gave us a discount for booking directly so our twin seaview room was $135 which was less than any of the hotels.com or booking.com type places online. The receptionist said to always call the hotel as then they don’t pay the booking agents a commission.
We loved the swimming pool on the massive harbour-front decks.
Rawene Car Ferry To Kohukohu
Wairere Boulders
Wairere Boulders is a nature park you can walk through in about 45 minutes on easy walking tracks alongside bush and streams and view the 2.8 million year basalt boulders. Admission is $5 children, $15 adults and you can camp there free if you pay for admission to the nature park.
The European owners have added whimsical fairy doors and painted animals on rocks that delight children. They also run a B&B for $135 a night that looks charming.
OPONONI DOLPHIN STATUE
Tane Mahuta
New Zealand’s two largest trees are Tane Mahuta and te Matua Ngahere, both over 2,000 years old. You can visit a few minutes easy walk on the track from the carpark or book a Footprints Waipoua tour at day or a night tour which is said to be spectacular.
It is vital to stay on the track to preserve the trees from kauri dieback disease spread by footwear around our parks.
Hokianga Harbour
Hokianga nui a kupe; the returning place of Kupe, is a harbour guarded by sandbars, named after the Polynesian navigator and founding father of Maori legend. Manea Footprints of Kupe opened recently and is an interactive visitor attraction that tells the story of New Zealand’s first discoverer, Kupe, on a tour lead by his own descendants.
I hope we return soon.
By Megan Robinson
May 2021