Beaches, Gardens and Volcanic Mud in New Zealand's Lush, Green North Island

New Zealand's Northland always feels like a second home. I've been lucky enough that my childhood has been fairly kiwi-heavy because of family, so I enjoy passing on what this has given me, to the littlest one. I know I'd be a slightly different person without a kiwi-influenced childhood. 

On this trip, we spent most of our time with various combinations of family members on beaches, boats, in water, volcanic mud or beautiful gardens. Some of our trip's highlights were possible because of family, although they are still relevant to those interested in things to do on New Zealand's North Island.

Our visit was an Easter one, so autumn colours peppered the otherwise green sub-tropical hilly landscape. It felt strange to leave our UK spring and have little Klowski looking for chocolate eggs in autumnal gardens without daffodils, but the autumn sunshine was still strong and the days warm. An advantage over the cold wind blustering our homeland when we left. 

Whangerei 

Whangerei Falls are a spectacular little gem just outside the town centre. We walked the paths through the surrounding bush to the base of the falls and back up the other side. The walkways also link to others in the area, known as 'the loop.' The fresh green smell of the ferns and trees can only be described as distinctly 'New Zealand'.

Whangarei Quarry Gardens are a magical place bursting with colour amongst the various layers and walkways. Our little monkey and her cousin adored discovering strange and wonderful tropical plants and chasing each other through the trees and the 'secret tunnel', screeching their delight in their highest-pitched little girl voices. 

The waterfront and harbor at the 'town basin' served as good little place for pottering about in the sun or rain. The gift shops are tasteful and reasonably priced, lunch is yummy in the little cafes, and of course the delicious New Zealand extra creamy ice cream. The shaded play park is varied and the Klowski and her cousin played there very happily and rode their little bikes around.

At the Whangerei Heads we enjoyed the beautiful gardens of my aunt's best friend, overlooking the mountains and the sea. Little blue butterflies darted between the giant hibiscuses and little Klowski enjoyed exploring the hilly sections of the garden, discovering minibeasts and the New Zealand birds chattering happily in the trees; pretty little fantails and noisy tuis. 

We stayed up at the Whangerei Heads in my cousin's caravan that evening and ate sizzling beef sausages on the fire. Klowski and her cousin enjoyed running around on the beach and playing on the swings in the moonlight long into the evening.

That morning we explored other beaches in the Whangerei Heads area on my cousin's little boat. The girls loved collecting many pretty little iridescent sea-snail shells, making grand plans for their use in jewellery-making.

The following night we stayed on my other cousin's yacht which he lives on. What a novelty for all of us! From the dinghy ride to actually get to the boat, to the beautiful aqua bay we were anchored in, backed by green bush-clad hills. Klowski particularly enjoyed exploring the boat and catching some fish (and of course witnessing a little one 'accidentally falling' into my cup of tea).

The next morning we set off with my cousin and his girlfriend on a walk up one of the nearby hills for epic views of the surrounding bays and Whangerei Heads mountains. 

The walk was a perfect challenge for our three-year-old little monster; difficult enough to bring out her courage, but safe enough that some carrying was feasible. In places, she clung onto my back like a baby monkey whilst I scrambled on all fours because it was so steep, but the novelty kept her amused. 

We stood at the top in awe of the changing blues of the sea and different textures of grassy hills and bush-clad mountains.

Pahia and Russell

We wanted to take a boat trip around the bay of islands but a tiny person fell asleep just as we arrived in Pahia and we missed the last excursion. We ate a yummy lunch at Jimmy Jack's Rib Shack and got a water taxi to lovely little Russell, a colonial-style town which was the first capital of New Zealand and first European settlement.

The water was glassy and we took a kayak out for a little bit of exploring along the bay. We got Klowski in there easily (she was in first, grabbing the oars eagerly) but my Mum wasn't to be convinced so she grabbed a coffee and pottered around the gift shops in the sun.

Coromandel

Saying goodbye to our family up in Northland was made easier by having the next few days to look forward to. We drove South towards Auckland and stopped at a little cafe for lunch. A lunch that my dear foodie husband had been searching Central Europe for, for the last decade, and stumbled upon here, between the Pacific and Tasmanian oceans. It was a square frankfurter in a roll, called Fleischkase,  amongst a large unexplained array of other yummy German and Eastern European treats.

The evening drive through the Coromandel forest park was impressively unspoiled. Just giant ferns, trees, mountains, and the occasional rainbow, for miles and miles (and a tiny girl yelling with delight).

We arrived at Whitianga that night ready for an epic kayak around the coast from Hahei to Cathedral Cove, and epic it was. Not the kayaking but the search for a place to hire one. After eventually finding one, it turned out they didn't rent mini life vests, so no mini people allowed. We joined my mum on the walk to Cathedral Cove instead, and in fact the views were so awesome that I was glad of the mishap.

Once down at that coveted beach, we took a dip in the still fairly warm sea, buried klowski's legs in the sand to make a mermaid tail, and enjoyed the awe of the huge rock-cave 'cathedral' separating the two beaches. It was stunning, and luckily not too busy despite the Easter holiday.

On the way South we stopped at Hot Water Beach. As we looked around for evidence of the geothermic hot water which apparently appears when digging, we saw no sign, despite the full car park.

In the distance we caught sight of a throng of what looked like penguins huddled together. On closer inspection they were of course beach-goers, packed together on this vast stretch of wonderful beach. They were digging their heated spas into the sand in this concentrated geothermic area and of course taking (too many) selfies. Without really having time to strip off, rent a spade, and dig, we stopped to enjoy the uniqueness of this place and carried on to Rotorua. 

Rotorua

We stopped for the night in Rotorua and made our way the next morning to Waiotapu, one of the area's many colourful geothermal parks, with great walkways amongst the steaming craters and bubbling mud and water. Rotorua's signature eggy sulphur smell made the activity truly multi-sensory, and certainly features on the little one's list of memorable New Zealand experiences.

Following a length of time in the gift shop to challenge even the most tolerant of husbands, we headed to Hell's Gate for a volcanic mud bath I'd seen on our last visit.

The Maori guy on the front desk was so friendly and welcoming, and the whole place was just so uncommercialised. We put our swim stuff on and headed over to the mud with a moaning Klowski who 'didn't want to get muddy'. (What now? This from a toddler who is usually covered in some form of grease, stick or mud???)

Anyway, despite this nonsense, we loved the accessibility of it; get in, slap the mud on, avoid the eyes. (Also some other instructions that didn't make it onto my radar due to a heavy Chinese accent but that's besides the point).