Tinopai To Port Albert, Northland

Continuing on with my Northland blogs from February, 2019. 

From Dargaville we headed south to our next destination, Tinopai, a small settlement at the bottom of the Hukatere Peninsula, a reasonably large finger of land that juts out into the mighty Kaipara Harbour.

The Tinopai Camp Ground is right one the edge of the harbour with fabulous views out over the water.

It was the perfect spot to spend a few days relaxing in the middle of a hot summer.

Powered sites are available at the top end of the camp beside the water too & near the facilities, which, like many classic kiwi campgrounds are pretty basic but adequate. 

Of course the harbour is tidal and the view doesn't look quiet so inviting when the tide is out. Except when I captured it late in the evening, the sky with a rosy hue, as the sun dipped below the horizon behind us.

My sister & husband- who we'd seen several times while travelling around Northland- drove across from Whangarei to spend the night in their tent beside us before we headed further south & back to the South Island. 

There's a small marina beside the campground with the usual collection of small boats & old launches; some well loved, others that had seen better days. I didn't have to go far to capture the stunning sunrises either, just to the back of the rig.

I wanted to take a sunrise photo of the Tinopai wharf which is about 2kms further down the road, I drove down to check it out...

And then picked the wrong morning to shoot it. Although I still captured the golden glow, I would have loved it had there been the cloud cover & colours of the sunrise up above in the mosaic. After an evening of great company, good food & fine wine I was a little slow in getting out the door in time to make it down to the wharf for that one. 

We stopped several times on our way down to Tinopai so I could add to my collection of country church photos. And this church was high on my list. 

The Parirau Zion Church is tucked down a lane off the main road. Since these photos were taken there is now a Parirau Church Restoration Committee who are fundraising to restore the church to it's former glory. The Zion Church was the the first permanent Anglican Church to be erected in the Parirau settlement in 1889. It replaced an earlier nikau (native palm) building and became the place of worship for the local Ratana congregation in the 1920s. 

Other churches (and a friendly mule) I captured during our journey down to Tinopai and around to Port Albert are below. Clockwise from top left are; the 1866-67 Matakohe Pioneer Church across the road from the Kauri Museum, St Michael on the Hill (1845) at Hukatere,  All Saints Church (1883) at Mititai, the Paparoa Community Church. And the final one is the Coates Memorial Church at Matakohe, opened in 1950 and the only church in NZ to be dedicated to a NZ politician; Joseph Gordon Coates (1878-1943) was a member of the House of Representatives for 32 years & Prime Minister from 1925-1928.

On our way to our next overnight camp at Port Albert we stopped at The Kauri Museum in Matakohe. 

We enjoyed our visit & had a good look through the many rooms & displays but felt we didn't quite do the visit justice. There were just so many rooms and nooks & crannies to explore with a lot of written information to take in too. It was another very hot summer's day and we were keen to get back on the road and to our next destination in the comfort of our air conditioned ute. This would be a great place to explore on a cold or wet day.

Our next stop was a freedom camping site at the end of the road at Port Albert, another settlement on the edge of the Kaipara Harbour but this time on the south side. We ignored our GPS which kept telling us to turn around and head further south & turn off the main highway at Wellsford. Instead we turned off at Te Hana and wove our way through some dodgy back country roads to Port Albert. 

The freedom camping area is right beside the harbour with another long wharf jutting out into the water.

But no marina this time just a handful of lovely old yachts & fishing boats anchored out in the main channel.

One of the reasons for stopping here was so I didn't have to cook dinner! No seriously I had read great reviews for the fish 'n chip takeaways from the Port Albert General Store, just up the road from the campsite. I can happily report that they were indeed excellent fish 'n chips. I wandered up the road to get them and then we sat outside under the awning eating them in the warm evening air as the sun went down. 

As you can see it was indeed a very hot day, and especially so with no breeze to speak of.

Locals came down to the harbour to fish & swim as the sun sunk below the horizon and temperature dropped a little. 

The next morning dawned clear and still with just a hint of mist rising from the water. It was going to be another hot summer's day.

Boulders, Beaches & Big Trees- Northland's West Coast; Part 2

Continuing on from Part 1

Rangi Point Sand Dunes & entrance to the Hokianga Harbour

Two well known tourist destinations, Opononi & Omapere villages are on SH12  near the entrance to the Hokianga Harbour, both have beautiful sand beaches that can be accessed from the road side. 

Across the harbour at North Head, huge golden sand dunes dominate the landscape. Sandboarding  the dunes is a popular activity,  charter boats can supply boards and take you across to the dunes from the Opononi Wharf. 

Opononi became world famous in the mid-1950s when a bottle-nosed dolphin named Opo made friends with the locals and stayed in the harbour until her untimely death several months later. 

Thousands of New Zealanders flocked to see her, some driving  hundreds of kilometres over gravel winding roads to say hello, swim & play with her.  A bronze copy of the original commemorative statue of Opo straddled by a young boy stands in the main street & it’s still popular to have your photo taken alongside her. The original stone statue is now in a local museum.  

On our way south we stop at a Pakia Lookout to say goodbye to the Hokianga Harbour and head on down the coast, coastal views are now replaced with the magnificent kauri trees of the Waipoua Forest. 

Pakia Hill Lookout

The drive through the forest is an experience in itself. The towering forest canopy closes in overhead forming dark green tunnels and huge ancient kauris have formed natural gateways where vehicles must slow to pass through. 

The road edges are fringed with emerald green mosses & luxuriant ferns fronds, it’s cool and damp inside the forest and the outside temperature takes a dive.  

Waipoua Forest is the largest remaining tract of native forest in Northland and it’s also the home of Tane Mahuta, the country's largest kauri tree, which is approximately 2,000 years old and still growing. A short five minute walk through the cooling shade of the forest leads you to the awe-inspiring sight of the majestic Tane Mahuta. 

Love my wide angle lens; makes me appear very tall!

It’s hard to comprehend how big he is until you stand beneath him; it’s nearly 18 metres to the first branch, 51 metres to the top and with a 4.4 metres diameter, it’s clear to see why Tane Mahuta is called 'The Lord of the Forest'.  A  boardwalk & surrounding wooden fence protect the tree from disturbance, kauri have sensitive surface roots that can easily be damaged. 

To get a full view of Tane Mahuta, you can move further along the track, which then leads to another viewing platform. I had my wide angle lens so was able to capture most of Tane Mahuta from directly beneath him.

Taken from the 2nd platform, further away

A boot wash at the track entrance is to protect Tane Mahuta & his fellow brothers & sisters from kauri dieback which has already killed many of the large kauri in the forest. 

The Waipoua Campground (#423) is a great place to base yourself if you’re wanting to explore the local area & forest. 

It’s a basic campground set in amongst the bush beside a river, the bird life is prolific and kiwi can be heard calling at night.

Waipoua River

Further south and just 35 minutes from Dargaville are the Kai Iwi Lakes, a sparkling turquoise jewel in the crown of Northland’s natural attractions. 

Lake Taharoa, Kai Iwi Lakes

Kai Iwi Lakes, there are three, are white sand freshwater dune lakes created over 1.8 million years ago when they were formed by the accumulation of rainwater in depressions of sand. 

Promenade Point Campground, Kai Iwi Lakes

Underlying ironstone prevents the water from leaking away. The lakes have no known natural inlets or outlets, their main source of water is rain, and with a sand base the water is crystal clear. 

Lake Taharoa is the largest of lakes, it’s fringed by pure white sand and when the sun is shining the lake is a vivid blue & looks to have been dropped into place from a faraway tropical island. All that is missing are the waving palm fronds.

There are two camping areas at Lake Taharoa and they are both looked after by the Kaipara District Council; Pine Beach Campground (#430) at one end is the busier camp, it has powered & non-powered sites, toilets, showers and a playground and it’s also more exposed to the hot summer sun. 

The stunning white sand beach is popular with day trippers, many come with their boats & assorted  water toys.

The pine trees that give the camp its name have now gone and natural vegetation is slowly filling in the gaps.

Sunrise with silhouetted dead old man pines behind Pine Beach camp

Promenade Point Campground (#427) at the other end of the lake is a more relaxed camping experience with large grassed areas and sites in amongst the lake side bush. 

It's where we spent several gloriously hot late summer days, and had the place to ourselves once the Waitangi Weekend crowds left.

There are shallow areas ideal for swimming at both camps and along the edges of the lake off the Taharoa Domain Road between the camps; you can also fish for rainbow trout or paddle a kayak. Hiking & biking tracks also circle the lakes.

I climbed the hill behind our camp ground to capture the sunset. The photo below is looking back over Lake Taharoa with our camp on the finger of land below the track & the Pines camp at the far end of the lake.

The view from the top of the hill looks out over farmland to the Tasman Sea beyond and a typically stunning west coast sunset.

To be continued...