Top of the north: Something for everyone

Famous for icons like 90 Mile Beach, Cape Reinga and the clear sparkling waters of Doubtless Bay, surfers will also aspire to visit Ahipara, which boasts one of the best left hand surf breaks in the world.

Food lovers will find paradise too - ranging from world famous fish and chips in Mangonui to a winery overlooking the white silica beaches of the Karikari Peninsula.

Enjoy a guided drive along 90 Mile Beach and watch the surfcasters reel in their catch and boogey board down giant sand dunes. Witness the dramatic clashing of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Oceans at Cape Reinga - a spiritual place for Maori where the spirits of the departed leap to begin the voyage back to their final resting place in the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki.

Cape Reinga

In Maori belief, Cape Reinga is the departure place for the spirits of the recently deceased. The historic Cape Reinga lighthouse marks the extreme north-western point of New Zealand. Out to sea lies the Columbia Bank maelstrom where the Tasman and the Pacific meet - sometimes producing waves more than 10 metres high. Enjoy some cool, green solitude in the Aupouri Forest - you might even see Aupouri's wild horses.

Parengarenga Harbour

Explore the edges of huge, shallow Parengarenga Harbour - the pure quartz sand is dazzling. Visit the magnificent silica sand beaches of Henderson's Bay and Rarawa Beach. Other features are the Three Kings Islands, Rangaunu Harbour and and the nearby Gumdiggers Park. The picturesque settlement of Houhora Heads is long, narrow and has a mostly sheltered harbour which is great for camping.

Karikari Peninsula

On the peninsula you'll find that Maitai Bay, Whatuwhiwhi and Tokerau Beach are beautiful places to swim, dive, fish, walk or just laze about. A championship golf course, lodge, award winning vineyard are all part of the Carrington Resort and Karikari Estate. Rangiputa is a tropical paradise with white sands and palms trees - The Fiji of the Far North.

Kaitaia

Kaitaia is the most northern town in New Zealand and is about 116kms south of Cape Reinga. It has a good shopping centre, a variety of cafés and restaurants, a museum and Visitor Information Centre.

It is also a starting point for tours which leave Kaitaia daily, taking in the scenery by air or on land. A busy farming town, it also supports vineyards and fruit growing - especially avocados.

Like most rural towns Kaitaia has its very own annual Agricultural & Pastoral Show, well over a hundred years old making it one of the oldest in New Zealand.

The surrounding areas are home to many skilled craftspeople working in wood, pottery, paint, glass, ceramics, flax, bone, and greenstone. Its Maori and European history is long and rich - with a strong Dalmatian community harking back to the days of the gum digging boom.

The Far North Regional Museum has moa, kiwi and gum digging displays, early transport and communication history, and the work of Arthur Northwood and his brothers from early last century with the Northwood Photographic Collection.

Kaitaia in a sense is the capital of the Far North, being the main service centre for the area. The new 'Te Ahu Centre' hosts a cinema, i-Site and Museum where you can learn about the area's interesting mix of Maori and Dalmatian ancestry.

And just over 3kms out of town, you can call in at the local award winning vineyard.

Ahipara & 90 Mile Beach

There are magnificent views overlooking the broad sweep of Ahipara Bay and Ninety Mile Beach. Renowned for spectacular sunsets it also boasts one of the best left hand surf breaks in the world and is home to one of Northland's award winning wineries.

Apart from taking time to relax and soak up the scenery popular local pastimes are surfcasting, quad biking, surfing, land yachting, walking, fishing, shellfish gathering, horse riding, dune tobogganing, body boarding, kite flying and hang gliding. There's also an all weather round 18 hole links golf course running parallel to 90 Mile Beach.

Shipwreck Bay is aptly named as it was the site of the sinking of many ships, the wrecks of which are still visible at low tide. Close by is the Ahipara Gumfields Historic reserve and the remnants of ancient kauri forests.

Ahipara is now a popular camping spot - other accommodation options include motels, bed and breakfast accommodation and self contained holiday homes or units.

An organised tour along 90 Mile Beach to Cape Reinga and the lighthouse is highly recommended. Or try your hand at surfing the giant sand dunes of Te Paki.

Whangaroa

Whangaroa Harbour is the resting place of the sailing ship Boyd, which was involved in an incident in 1809, referred to as the Boyd Massacre. The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior also rests nearby at the Cavalli Islands.

Check out the 'Dukes Nose' track which has a majestic view from the top. Formed as water eroded the volcanic debris of twenty million years ago and bush filled its valleys and hillsides, it is a place like no other. Whangaroa is a unique gem.