New Zealand Holiday - week 2 - Coopers Beach and Rangiputa - 3rd February to 10th February

Looking North - Northland Tour.

Walking up to St Pauls, Whangaroa

We left the Fantail Inn and the lovely town of Russell behind us and sailed back over the Opua Ferry to the holiday resort of Pahia. We visited 12 years ago and it seemed little changed. This time we didn't stop though and pushed on North, taking a detour through Kerikeri for a look-see. It’s the go-to shopping destination if you live in Russell and seemed quite busy. The area is famous for its fruit and we saw loads of orchards as we passed through. We had a lunch stop at Jesse's on the Waterfront in Mangonui. A nice busy Kiwi Cafe.  It was just a short distance to Coopers Beach and our new home The San Marino. It was a bit tired but the location, right on the fabulous beach, was perfect. We settled on the second room we were shown and headed out on a walk, the first of many over the next five days on this beautiful stretch of sand. I think the Motel was subsiding as the as nothing was square and the water in the shower tray collected on one end.

Coopers Beach

It was backed by Pohutukawa trees that gave excellent shade. They looked like giant Broccoli, our name for them. It was super in the water although not quite as warm as we expected. We found the Beach Box, just back from the beach on our first walk, it served excellent coffee and good cakes. TW discovered Ginger and Karakara tea there, and she’s hooked on it! There are lots of options locally for outings and very few overseas tourists so we were easily able to fill our five days.

Chilling at Taupo Bay

Whangeroa was beautiful, they serve a nice coffee at the Sport Fishing Club. We walked up to Saint Paul's Rock for a great panoramic view of the harbour. We mentioned to a local Lady about the  beautiful scenery. She agreed but commented, 'you can't eat scenery'. Made us think. The most fun beach we visited in that area was at Taupo Bay with lovely rollers. It’s supposed to suffer rip tides, but they had day off in honour of our visit. Well, we survived anyway.

Playing in the waves at Taupo Bay

The Beach Box - our favourite coffee stop

The Manganui Fish Shop

Fush and Chups - Manganui Fish Shop

The Fish Shop at Manganui Wharf proved to be another favourite. I had green lip mussels, TW had lovely fish and chips.  It was so good we went there twice!

After 5 great days in Coopers Beach we dragged ourselves away and headed up the Karikari Peninsula This was as far north as we planned to go. 

St Pauls

Rangiputa and the Karikari Peninsula

On the Rangiputa Beach

We were concerned that we were arriving at a crime scene when we saw the Police Car outside our next digs.

To our great relief our  hosts in Rangiputa, at the Wander Inn, were a Policeman and his Missus. They were both originally from England.  We had a super room under the house and access to a washer and dryer was a big bonus. The local beach was pretty close by and had white sand with warm water, very nice! Apparently it's home to sharks, but again they were having a rest day so thankfully.  Maitii Beach was a short drive away, partially down a dirt road, and it was unspoiled and stunning. We walked the length of the beach and found a shady spot. We spent a pleasant hour or so on its golden sand. The sun is very powerful in NZ, particularly in the North, so factor 50SPF is a must. In the main we went to the beach at the end of the day, when UV levels had dropped. The sun umbrella we purchased in Russell proved to be a great investment! On the way back to Rangiputa we stopped off at the Karikari Estate for a bit of lunch at quite a smart winery. It did seem a tad out of character for the area. We also had a look at the Carrington Golf Club just down the road and had a coffee. The Course appeared empty but looked in good condition. The winery and the golf club appeared to be the only developments on the Peninsula. Before visiting the Karikari Peninsula we thought it was totally undeveloped but, anyway, it is certainly not ruined and people need jobs.

Maitii Beach

Lunchtime view at the winery - the Karikari Estate

Lake Rotopokaka - Coca Cola Lake near Rangiputa

Our hosts suggested we visit the Coca Cola Lake. Not sure I'd be happy swimming in it as the peat and tannins in the area give it a distinct cola colour.