I’m so excited to start sharing more of my New Zealand adventures! It didn’t feel appropriate while NZ was on a heavy lockdown, but now we’re lucky enough to be able to start traveling domestically again. I hope that we won’t be too far from welcoming international visitors back to our shores as well.
We celebrated Easter last year with a getaway to Whangarei Heads. I’m sorry to say that historically, the Whangarei area was just a pit-stop for me on my way further north. No longer will I make this mistake! With four days we were able to spend a lot of time relaxing, and exploring this beautiful corner of New Zealand.
Destination: Taurikura
Taurikura is a beautiful little bay well out on the Whangarei Heads peninsula. There’s a dairy, a camp ground, and a few houses – that’s it! It was a great base as it was super quiet, but not too far off the beaten track – it’s about a 30 minute drive along the winding coast road from Whangarei.
The view of Mt Manaia when you’re paddling in the bay
We hired a big bach and spent most of our days reading, swimming and playing various cards and board games – bliss! This was the glorious weekend that I was introduced to Exploding Kittens for the first time… and I’m still obsessed.
When we were feeling a bit more energetic, there were two awesome destinations on our doorstep – Mount Manaia and Ocean Beach.
Climbing Mount Manaia
Time to head straight up!
Mount Manaia is a jagged spike above the bays of Whangarei Heads, advertised by Department of Conservation as a 4km, easy walk. I’m guessing those DOC folk have buns and calves of steel as I don’t think “easy” quite factors in the epic sets of stairs involved in reaching these stunning views…
Once we got to the top, as you can imagine, all complaints were forgotten. This has to be one of the most stunning views I’ve ever had from a short hike.
Some of our awesome Easter gang
And, if you’re that way inclined (spoiler, we were!), the Mount Manaia club at the base of the track has all your cold drinks and refuelling requirements covered. Also known as, ice-cold beers and lots of fries!
Relaxing at Ocean Beach
Surf life savers keeping an eye on the beach – even when it’s a bit chilly for swimmers!
On the other side of the peninsula is beautiful Ocean Beach. It’s the kick-off point for many of the other walks around the Heads, and also a gorgeous spot to soak in some very fresh sea air.
It’s basically undeveloped, meaning it’s just you, a few visitors, and the seagulls hurtling by. I would love to come back in summer with my surf board!
We scrambled up the sandy headland track to gaze out at the many islands just off-shore. If we’d climbed down, we would have had this as our private beach!
Looking back on beautiful Ocean Beach
I loved getting the chance to explore this beautiful area. It felt completely off the beaten track, but isn’t that far from Auckland. I can’t wait to go back to check out that surf and climb Mt Manaia again come summer!
Have you ever visited Whangarei Heads?
Check out more of my Northland adventures here!
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