My Lighthouse

After four days acclimatising and shaking off the jet lag in Auckland, it was time to pick up our hire car and begin the journey proper and set out on our tour of New Zealand. We had two days to explore the Northland which stretches from Auckland to the tip of the North Island and is known for it's (slightly) milder sub-tropical climate and dramatic coastlines. It's also home to some of Aotearoa’s earliest Māori settlements.

Cape Reinga Lighthouse

Driving in New Zealand is very straightforward. All the main roads are single carriageways (apart from a few larger ones around the main cities) and 99% of Kiwi drivers follow very basic manners-driven rules of the road. They keep a safe distance, overtake when it's appropriate to do so, and always signal. So, for someone who drives like they are towing an imaginary caravan this was very welcome, and made the big distances we were to cover a very pleasant experience. 

Whangārei Falls

We drove north over the Auckland Harbour Bridge and almost immediately the traffic thinned, the landscape softened and the green space started to open up as the city fell away behind us. Within an hour we were rolling into Whangārei, where the famous Whangārei Falls offered our first true taste of New Zealand’s outdoors. The falls were also our introduction to a pattern we’d come to love. New Zealand’s knack for pairing wild beauty with quietly excellent facilities including free parking, clean toilets and picnic spots tucked exactly where you need them. It made the place perfect for a packed‑lunch stop. As for the falls themselves, they’re a graceful curtain of water dropping into a lush, fern‑lined basin. A gentle teaser of the much bigger things to come.

Mangonui

It was a further two hours driving to Mangonui, which was to be our base for the next two nights and the stepping stone for us to reach the most northern point of New Zealand. Mangonui is a sleepy harbour village wrapped around a glittering inlet, adjacent to the wonderfully named Doubtless Bay. Our cottage sat perched above the water, offering a stunning sweep of the harbour below. The fishing village was once a key whaling site, thankfully now confined to history and the modern Mangonui consists of a few shops and a couple of restaurants nestled by the water. The famous Fish and Chips shop, imaginatively called the Mangonui Fish Shop serves up no-nonsense fish from a splendid waterside vantage point.

Mangonui Fish Shop

It was walking back from the village to our cottage on our first night in Mangonui that we caught our first glimpse of the Southern Hemisphere's stunning night sky. Free from any light pollution we looked up, and from the night sky emerged an infinite canopy of stars. A glittering universe revealed itself above us and the sight genuinely took our breath away. 

Cape Maria Van Diemen

Our next destination was the most northern point of New Zealand. From Manganui the two‑hour journey was hypnotic as we enjoyed empty roads, rolling hills, and glimpses of unending beaches. The landscape became wilder the further we went and we arrived at Cape Reinga to find the coastline quiet, the air still, and the famous white lighthouse gleaming against the cliffs.

Cape Reinga Lighthouse

Cape Reinga (Te Rerenga Wairua) is where the spirits of the dead are said to leap into the underworld, following the roots of an ancient pōhutukawa tree into the sea. Standing there, with the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean colliding in a visible line of churning water, you feel the weight of that story. It felt like the edge of the world. It was also a moment for us to acknowledge we were here, after a year of planning and organising we were finally at this sacred place that was one of the cornerstones of our trip. Making it to the top of New Zealand and realising our dream was a special feeling.

Te Paki Giant Sand Dunes

And the lighthouse is a good one! We took the obligatory photo at the famous yellow signpost directing you to London, Tokyo, Sydney and marvelled at the astonishing beaches of Cape Maria Van Diemen to the west. A short drive away were the Te Paki Giant Sand Dunes which were vast, golden, and utterly surreal. We drove home alongside Ninety Mile Beach but were not tempted to off-road on its golden sands (remember the imaginary caravan), as the dunes had already satisfied the urge to beachcomb and we had some ground to cover to return to Manganui.

Paihia, the Bay of Islands

We’d carved out two precious days from our hectic schedule to take in Cape Reinga, and the effort paid off in full. It also marked a shift. For the first time since leaving home six days earlier, the jet lag finally loosened its grip. We felt almost settled. Present. Mission accomplished it was time to leave the Northland and ahead of us was a four-hour journey back south to the heart of the North Island.

Ruakākā Beach

We chose to split the drive by picking a few nice stops on the way. First was Paihia, the gateway to the Bay of Islands, the primary destination for anyone visiting the Northland and the epicentre of a whole host of water-based activities and adventures. We only had time for a quick wander along the waterfront, admiring the calm bay that once hosted whalers, missionaries, and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi just across the water.

Tiritiri Matangi Island

We’d earmarked Ruakākā as a convenient lunch stop but were stunned to find an extraordinary beach barely five minutes off Highway 1. Ruakākā Beach unfurls along Bream Bay in a long sweep of soft white sand, vast and was almost empty. The Whangārei Heads rise in the distance like a jagged blue silhouette framing the whole scene. It’s a serene place and one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever had the pleasure to visit.

Tiritiri Matangi Island

The final stretch took us to Whangaparāoa, a peninsula north of Auckland known for its beaches and wildlife reserves. We checked into Whangaparāoa Lodge, the first of several motels we would be use when only staying one night in a place. It was a good size and there were nearby options for restaurants and bars, so it set us up nicely for our day trip in the morning, which was all about birds and a lighthouse.

Tiritiri Matangi Island Lighthouse

Tiritiri Matangi is a predator‑free island sanctuary in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. It's famous for its successful reforestation from aggressive farming and the reintroduction of many rare and endangered native birds. Visitor numbers are restricted to maintain the ecosystem and and such there is only one ferry per day that will take you across the water from Auckland or Gulf Harbour, which is where we jumped on. The majority of people on the ferry are enthusiastic twitchers armed with binoculars the size of small telescopes, so we were sneaking in under that premise with our interest set firmly on the lighthouse.

Tiritiri Matangi Island Lighthouse

Once you land on Tiritiri Matangi you’re given the option to join a guided walk, and it’s a lovely way to get an introduction to the island. Our volunteer guide was warm and enthusiastic, but the pace soon slowed to a gentle crawl as every rustle in the undergrowth was investigated with forensic care. And there are a lot of rustles. Takahē, hihi, kōkako, saddlebacks, whiteheads, bellbirds, tūī, red‑crowned parakeets, fernbirds… all wonderful, but after a while we made a polite escape and struck out on our own. The lighthouse was our target, and it was a beauty perched above the bush, complete with a café and a gift shop, again run by volunteers.

Tiritiri Matangi Island

With the return ferry not until late afternoon, we had time to wander properly. We followed the eastern coast track, covering a good two‑thirds of the island over the day, soaking up the lush green of it all, and still found a quiet moment to dip our toes in the sea before catching the ferry back to the mainland.

After a full day on the island there came the small matter of the long drive to our next destination of Matamata in the central North Island. The three hours started with a return through Auckland and it's briefly chaotic traffic before it thinned into something far more cinematic and before we knew it we were in rolling green countryside that looked increasingly like Middle‑earth. By the time we reached Matamata Central Motel it was early evening. Tomorrow, the reason for being here would become clear.....Hobbiton.

Matamata