New Zealand

Family Group - Far North

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6 Day Family Hiking Trip Auckland to Auckland

Highlights: Great for groups; or families who love to get out hiking but these days need a trip that kids can do too.

The Far North is our shortest and easiest trip. It's the perfect trip for a couple of families to commandeer. We have had children as young as 7 on this trip in pretty much its regular form. We do plenty of swimming and snorkelling in secret coves of turquoise water, and lots of great day hikes. It is a bit warmer in the 'winterless North'. Highlights include: the remote forested coastal hike on Day 2 near the Bay of Islands, kayaking at Whangaroa, two nights of isolation at the very tip of New Zealand, and four-wheel-driving along 90 Mile Beach and Te Paki. We try and camp on every night.

For families we make the days more flexible, so if some want to turn back half way or take it easy, we can make that work. The kayaking is in the stunning Whangaroa Harbour rather than open coast, and as we use double kayaks it's safer. Contact us for more information about the specifics of this trip.

Itinerary

Day 1 Join trip in Auckland 1km/2 hours hiking
Depart Auckland and follow the east coast northwards. Drive the crazy coastal back roads to Elliott's Bay. We set up camp just above the beach, at a private campsite. If the weather is wet we can stay in a classic rustic kiwi bach (New Zealand holiday house) instead. Red-tinged pohutukawa trees (New Zealand Christmas trees) cover hidden coves and swimming beaches here. Explore hills climbing up through the tropical bush behind the camp. Moonlight swim for the foolhardy. If the sea conditions are calm there is excellent snorkelling here.

Day 2 Bay of Islands 9km/6 hours hiking

Hike up and down over headlands separating sandy coves along Northland's best coastal hiking track - all on Maori land. Climb up through regenerating native bush to the ridge tops and look down on hidden sandy coves and rocky headlands. Catching your breath, gaze out across the bright blue Pacific Ocean.

We pass huge steel pots amid the ruins of the old whaling station. These stations are a sad reminder of the many humpback and southern right whales there were once hunted here. Many of New Zealand's first European settlers came for the sealing and whaling rather than our beautiful natural environment!

Lunch at a cute cove of turquoise water, with secret beaches and funky palm trees. Descend from Pukehuia - at 345m, it is the highest hill and best viewpoint in the Bay of Islands. The track ends at a perfect bush-fringed bay of lapping water and moored yachts. Take a swim in the clear water.

It is a short drive to the historic township of Russell, from where you can take the ferry across to Paihia while your guide drives around to meet you. Stop briefly in Paihia, the main tourist centre of the Bay of Islands, before driving north to our campsite at Tauranga Bay and its welcome hot showers.

Day 3 Whangaroa Kayaking 10km/5 hours kayaking
Highly recommended guided kayaking (optional extra). Using double sea kayaks we  kayak in the sheltered waters of Whangaroa Harbour with its mangrove forests.

Lunch on a beautiful beach before returning. Stop to share watery stories over fish and chips at the famous Mangonui Fish Shop.

Those not kayaking have free time at the Tauranga beach campsite until early afternoon. Ask us about other options. Later, we head to the twin coves campsite of Matai Bay.

Day 4 90 Mile Beach, Cape Reinga 2km/2 hours hiking
More swimming and snorkelling, then off again. This time, we take a fascinating drive up the endless hard-packed sands of 90 mile beach to Te Paki's massive looming sand dunes, where we jump out and impress each other with out of control fat-air-antics on our sandboards.

We continue onwards, setting up camp at a beautiful sandy cove. Later we have the option of a cliff-top walk or a drive to the edge of the world at Cape Reinga, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. Watch the sun setting in the western sky from this (almost) northernmost tip of New Zealand.

Day 5 Cape Maria Van Diemen, Kauri Forests 4-12km/2-4 hours hiking
Set off to explore a less visited part of the cape's coastline. Cross Te Paki Station to the surreal iron-stained sand dunes of Cape Maria Van Diemen.

Climbing high, we get grand views of this incredible piece of New Zealand landscape. Wander along an expansive stretch of empty beach before returning for lunch.

In the afternoon, we leave the Far North and begin the journey southwards, passing through Kaitaia, across the Hokianga on a car ferry, and on to the Waipoua Forest. There, New Zealand's biggest kauri tree Tane Mahuta, makes us feel humble as we curl up in our tents. Often, we'll hear the screeching call of the endangered North Island Brown Kiwi, whose numbers are sadly dwindling each year.

Day 6 Kauri Forests 2km/1 hour hiking
This morning we visit the Trounson Kauri Reserve to bask in the shadows of these huge trees. An intensively managed mainland conservation ‘island', surrounded by a sea of farmland, Trounson is one of the healthiest forests in the country and provides refuge for many threatened species. This reserve is also home to a well nurtured and protected (from predators) population of kiwi. Visit the Trounson Kauri Reserve then drive to Auckland. We arrive in Auckland at approximately 3:00pm.

Notes

As this trip is subject to tide times and sea or storm conditions, activities may unfold in a different order than stated above. Some 4WD routes we use can become impassable.

Your vehicle has snorkelling gear, boogie/sandboards, and a barbecue.

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