NZ Day 5 – Heading North


Started the day by realizing a rental car meant we didn’t have to stay in Auckland – it is a beautiful city, but there is a whole country out there to see! So with only a direction, North, and no destination in mind, it was time to hit the road.

The “plan” for the day was to drive north on the Twin Coast Discovery Highway (a portion of NZ Highway 1 which runs the length of both Islands and is the longest road in New Zealand) until it was dark, stopping wherever something interesting beckoned.

After making our way out of the city (driving on the left side of the road does not get less nerve wracking – at least not yet). We drove along looking for signs designating interesting places or things to do. NZ uses brown signs just like the USA to designate regional and national state parks, and other types of tourist attractions.

Wenderholm Regional Park – where the river meets the ocean.
Wenderholm Regional Park – beautiful beaches

The first stop of the day was the beautiful Wenderholm Regional Park. It is the first regional park created in NZ and is located where the Puhoi River joins the ocean. It is a significant historical sight for the Māori and was settled about 800 years ago. Now it is a beautiful park with beaches, hiking trails, camping, fishing, etc.

The hiking trails take you through coastal forest and then up and over the bluffs with absolutely beautiful views of the surrounding area. even though this is high season in NZ, I only passed one other group of hikers. About half way up the bluffs and then again at the top, there were park benches to sit and enjoy the views! I know I have commented on this before, but I cannot get over how good the air smells here. The breeze comes in off the ocean and then through the blooming forest and just smells sweet and salty at the same time. It is almost intoxicating.

Wenderholm Regional Park – me about halfway up the bluff trail with the river in the background. Still wearing/using my favorite piece of hiking gear – my beautifully Alisha embroidered hat!

The second stop of the day was The Honey Centre in Warkworth, NZ. It was a small delightful little place. They have working bee hives on sight with a small cafe and gift shop. They have an area where you can watch bees at work in traditional bee box hives, but the coolest thing was their bee wall. Inside the gift shop was a wall with Plexiglass sections where you could see the bees in their hive working up close. It was so fascinating I forgot to take a photo 🙁

Of course I went through their gift shop. I sampled so many kinds of honey: manuka, lavender, strawberry, liqueur, creamed honey, cinnamon creamed, clover, guava, spicy, and more! I also sampled some of their mead. It was the most amazing mead I have ever tasted. I purchased a bottle which most definitely will not make it home (may not make it to the end of the week)!

The next stop was at an Indian restaurant in a small town. I am so happy to say that Indian food is everywhere in NZ, at least so far. I think I have eaten Indian food at least once a day since I arrived and it has all been excellent. This meal was no exception. It was notable because the samosas were made with sweet potatoes instead of the white or yellow potatoes I am used to. They were delicious. Sweet potatoes are a traditional food here and are often used the same way we use golden or russet potatoes in the US.

The last stop of the day was our motel in Whangarei, NZ. It was a remodeled motor court which was impeccably clean and very nicely updated.