Kiwis look to Northland for a top time

It's almost official - Northland is tops, and not just because of its geographic position.
According to a recent poll asking Kiwis what their favourite summer holiday spot is, Northland is the third most popular place.
The Bay of Islands is fourth - which leaves us wondering where in the world is the Bay, if not Northland.
Just over eight percent of 800 people polled named Northland as their spot, while another 6.9 percent opted for the Bay of Islands. Nelson took the biggest vote overall with 11.4 percent, and second place-getter Coromandel took 9.9 percent.
But putting the Bay of Islands and the rest of Northland together, the region comes out on top with 15.1 percent.
Not surprisingly, Coromandel, Northland and the Bay of Islands rated highest with people from Auckland - that sleeping giant of a customer who Northland tourism businesses see as a largely still untapped market.
• What's hot
As it's the summer holiday season we decided to list a few of Northland's attractions.
The Bay of Islands has long been the North's pin-up place. Even in a country as picturesque as New Zealand, few places outshine Waitangi and Russell for scenery and history.
The Bay of Islands houses New Zealand's three oldest European buildings - the NZ Historic Places Trust-held Waimate, Kerikeri and Pompallier Mission Stations.
But the rest of Northland also has plenty of unparalleled natural and cultural sites to entice visitors.
Enterprise Northland consultant Lyn Barnes is creating a food-and-wine trail around Kerikeri that she hopes will eventually place the region on the growing "foodie and fine living" tourism map. The trail will bring visitors to the region in off-peak periods, and have flow-on benefits for all in the tourism sector, Ms Barnes says.
Near Karikari and Matauri Bay, new luxury resorts are pulling in golfers and gourmands from around the world. Those exclusive piles sit near beaches and harbours that anyone can visit, and where a great range of Kiwis could afford some style of holiday.
Anyone who sees the meeting place of the Tasman and Pacific at the tip of New Zealand won't forget it in a hurry, nor would they forget the mystical atmosphere of Cape Reinga, Ninety Mile Beach and other far Far North spots. A DOC commitment to spend $11 million on a visitor centre and facilities at Cape Reinga underlines how important that site is, and how undervalued in the past.
The international Copthorne chain has recently taken over the old hotel on Omapere's foreshore, a thumbs-up for the beautiful, sleepy and largely forgotten Hokianga. More than most areas in Northland, the west coast and Hokianga could do with an injection of tourism into the local economy.
Tane Mahuta is a world-famous kauri sitting in a world-famous forest. Every year, many thousands take the three-minute pilgrimage from State Highway 12 to the 2000-year-old living shrine.
Travelling south, visitors can call at two museums, at Dargaville and the Kauri Museum at Matakohe, to learn more of the role the mighty kauri played in New Zealand's development. On the way they could stop at Ripiro Beach, a 100km stretch of coast west of Dargaville, and feel for themselves how wild, remote and daunting the new world travel must have been for thousands of settlers arriving in Northland via the Kaipara Harbour.
This quick trip is manageable in three days from Whangarei or even Auckland for people on a short schedule. But it cries out for longer (and a longer trip would allow holidaymakers to fit in the 100 or so indescribably beautiful places not mentioned here).
• POLL RESULTS
What's the best place in New Zealand for a summer holiday? Nelson 11.4% Coromandel 9.9% Northland 8.2% Bay of Islands 6.9% Mt Maunganui 5.5% Queenstown 4.8% BOP/Rotorua 4.1% Taupo 3.6% Canterbury 3.5% Auckland 3.3% - NZ Herald poll of 800 people
* Brochure could boast about our DIY
A new brochure about Whangarei district could almost have as its catchphrase, "you've got it made here".
As well as promoting what there is to do and see in the district, the glossy brochure has been 100 percent locally produced.
The first new Whangarei visitor guide in several years was compiled by the Whangarei Tourist Trust, an arm of the district council.
Freelance writer Malcolm Pullman wrote the text and took most of the photographs in the brochure, which was printed by Whangarei company Calder Design and Print. This week, 50,000 copies of the 48-page booklet rolled off the press.
Whangarei Information Centre manager Cheryl Lee, who headed the push for a new district-wide brochure and sold advertising to make it "cost-neutral", said it would now be the main promotional tool for the district.
Copies will be available in information centres throughout New Zealand with guaranteed high-profile placement in Auckland centres and at Auckland International Airport.
As well as being a valuable guide for visitors, the quality of information and photographs make the free brochure ideal for posting to friends and family, Whangarei Tourism Trust chairwoman and district council economic development committee member Shelley Deeming said.
"It's easily read, attractive, something we can all be proud of."