At the top of the Kaipara Harbour, Dargaville is one of those magic little towns and with the river on two sides, the NZMCA park here is one of the best. The park is literally a hop, skip and a jump to the township.
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Park on the right bank, town on the left.
I first visited years ago, not long after the park opened, and it has remained a favourite ever since. What makes this park so unique are the beautiful old historic buildings on-site. They were used to construct Shackleton’s boats for his Antarctic expeditions. It’s incredible that the NZMCA has been able to preserve and make use of them. The local NZMCA team has done a fantastic job restoring one of the buildings, even replacing the mezzanine floor that had seen better days. It’s looking amazing now!
The “Shackleton Buildings”One of the Shackleton Sheds
Just over the bridge is the heart of Dargaville itself, an easy five-minute walk away.
Looking through the town, just 5 minutes walk away.
One of the highlights of this park is the seat overlooking the river at the far end of the property. Sitting there, gazing out at the water and the Dargaville Bridge in the distance, you can’t help but feel a sense of calm. It’s the perfect spot to zone out and soak it all in.
Looking back from the Magic Chair
As you walk back from this magic perch, you’ll pass a transformed area that used to be bush and trees but is now a stunning garden. It’s a delight to wander through, complete with a dinghy and a weather monitor adding quirky charm to the space.
Weather Monitor
The Garden!Looking back to the parking
The Dargaville Museum, just a short drive up the road, is another must-see. It’s one of the best in the region, offering fascinating insights into local history. While you’re there, you’ll also find a conveniently located dump station.
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Great spot to Clear the head.
The local
From the road
Weather Monitor
The “Shackleton Buildings”
Dargaville is a fantastic little town, and it’s always a treat to come back and see how things have evolved. The upgrades to the NZMCA park are a bonus, but the town’s timeless charm remains its greatest draw.
Fiona and I first met Tony and Mary way back when we were playcenter parents together in Devonport, so it was very much small world stuff when I first discovered them in a Dethleffs Motorhome after they first got their Pulse a few years ago.
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Tony and Mary
The Alpas have really changed the standard with the Dethleffs usual format from a rear bed and front Lounge. From originally being rear lounge like the rentals we all see, now we’re back to that and these Alpas look really nice.
Nice looking Motorhome.
A slightly smaller Galley than the Grand Alpa, and a little less cabinetry in the lounge, it really suits the vehicle and takes nothing away from it.
Nice comfy lounge at the back with great visibility.
At just a smidge under 7.5 metres, they come with the new ZF 9 speed boxes and the 2.2hp fiat rated at 180HP. They come as standard with all the standard goodies including a lithium battery.
Galley
I remember when Chris Norman who used to work at Zion, dragged me sideways when I was out there for something else when the first one arrived, to check it out. There was great excitement, and it was a thing of beauty. Then it was only an option for the XLI but hold onto your hats, we’ve got a little smaller, so it’s become a standard sized Motorhome! I’m sure it is going to be very popular.
Bathroom. Shower is opposite and BIG!
Having it tied to their doorknob at home now, it has been a bit of saga getting this one into New Zealand. Through no fault of anybody, it has been a combination of Covid, shipping issues and then the war in Ukraine where wiring looms in these are all made. The three years wait though I’m sure was well worth it.
The galley looking forward to the drop down beds and the Cab area.
I’ll let the images tell the story but the smile on their faces I think tells the story.
What a fun weekend. Fiona and I arrived in Waipu Cove just after lunch and found our park almost next to the track over the Sandhills. Very handy but it was too cold for me swim yet 🙂
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That fantastic beachFabulous Beach by the doorstep!
Peter and Judy were right next to us with their 2014 Esprit so it was nice to have probably the oldest Motorhomes out of the 24 that had arrived parked together.
The oldies. .. Peter and Judy’s 2014 Esprit and our 2014 Globe 4.
I spent the early part of the afternoon catching up with people and checking in with people I hadn’t seen for a while.
Everybody getting settled24 Motorhomes.
Happy hour came around and as we were the only ones at right angles to the wind that had a bit of a bite to it, we squeezed in between the old girls, The Globe4 and the Esprit 🙂
Friday night
The next morning, it was about getting ready for the 8k bike ride to McLeod’s Pizza and Brewery bar in Waipu which was mostly on a trail and was about 20 minutes ride away. We started with the customary team photo of all 29 of us and we were away.
29 heading for the Waipu Brewery 🙂 (and pizzas!)
It was a pretty easy ride and was mostly pretty flat. As we arrived early before the Brewery had opened, we headed off for a coffee across the road. Fiona saw one of the girls in the shop sneak off for some more milk 🙂 Great business for them as there were quite a few of us.
Bikes everywhere. Leaving Waipu for the campground.
Chris and Mary and Ben and Joss bought their vans in and joined in the fun.
Martin and Jill’s new Grand Alpa with Chris and Mary’s Esprit
Although there was quite a bit of wind around, it had dropped a bit, and the sun was shining so it was looking good for the Potluck dinner planned for later that day.
The official team pic 🙂
With the wind in the Southeast but a bit less of it, we decided to have the happy hour between the two oldest vans again to shield from the wind. It worked pretty well and then we shuffled off for our team photo.
Happy hour on Friday nightSaturday Happy hour
6 pm came around and it was time for us to move over the Kitchen where there were several tables available which made life easy.
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Up Early 🙂
Bikes everywhere. Leaving Waipu for the campground.
The official team pic 🙂
Saturday’s Happy hour view from the top of the sandhill 🙂
The queue for the food was out of the door and the food was amazing. Everybody made a real effort. A fabulous night and it was fantastic to see everyone tucking in and having fun.
The Camping Ground is one of our favourites with its 10 metre square parks and we were all literally only steps from one of the best beaches in NZ.
A few of us stayed over for another night and after a nice lunch at the Cove Restaurant down the road a bit, we enjoyed a fun happy hour with Mary and Tony outside their new Baby Alpa.
Happy hour on Sunday at Mary and Tony’s
A lot of fun and thanks you everyone for taking part.
After the Hustle and Bustle of Paihia with the festival, we decided to head for some peace and quiet at the NZMCA park at Rainbow Falls. A nice location away from it all where we blobbed out. I went for a look at the Waterfall .. it would be rude not to 🙂
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The NZMCA park at KerikeriRainbow Falls
We ummed and ahhed about walking down to the Stone Store but decided after our Paihia walking, we’d have a quiet day instead.
The NZMCA park at Kerikeri
Early the next morning, we set off towards Kerikeri to visit the Markets and the Packhouse Cafe. The markets are on every weekend and we had the most amazing lunch in the cafe. I would have to say would be one of the Bay’s easiest and safest parking areas for Motorhomes around. I call them “Motorhome friendly Parking” places! …. with a great Cafe and Markets as well 🙂
The Packhouse Cafe and Bakery
I parked right next to a Grader at the back to the carpark, a lovely spot.
The Parking !
We wandered around enjoying talking to some of the stall holders. A very friendly place 🙂
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The NZMCA park at Kerikeri
The NZMCA park at Kerikeri
The NZMCA park at Kerikeri
The Packhouse Cafe and Bakery
The Packhouse Cafe and Bakery
The Packhouse Markets
Hats at the Packhouse Markets
The Parking !
I bought a dress for my 2-month-old Granddaughter with advice from Fiona 🙂
The Packhouse MarketsThe Packhouse Markets
We worked our way through the huge building towards the cafe with the bakery attached where they make the most amazing breads and pies. There is also an attached Butcher and Delicatessen that had everything including the amazing local Cheese from the Mahoe Cheese factory.
The Packhouse Cafe and BakeryThe Packhouse Cafe and Bakery
As the day went on, the wind picked up and the rain came down as forecasted so we decided to head for home. We had a fantastic weekend in the Bay… back next year 🙂
Fiona and I came to one of the first of these about 9 years ago, not long after we first got our Motorhome. It was held at the Falls Camping ground which was then owned by Jan Molloy and partner who along with others helped get the festival under way. I remember the band that was there then was Kantuta along with some others.
Jan and her partner later sold that and set up the Bay of Islands Campervan Park which they still own.
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Bay of Island Campervan Park
This year I called Jan who and she was able to squeeze us in for a couple of nights. We’ve been here before, and it is so handy. They’ve had quite a bit of rain this year so the parks were a bit on the damp side so we had to be mindful of parking so we could get out easily.
Rafe in his spot with the Olive Trees
It is such a great location as you can walk pretty much everywhere and there was a Coach doing a regular circuit of the venues so you could see all the bands playing.
Looking bay to Waitangi
We arrived half through the Friday on a lovely fine day with the odd shower and settled in. There is a Countdown supermarket right opposite, so Fiona went over to get some last-minute provisions.
Paihia
The next day, we were up early and walked to Jazz HQ which was about a 25-minute walk at the Scenic hotel in Paihia. On the way along the waterfront, we passed a band playing on the footpath outside the shops with several people dancing and getting into the swing of the festival.
The street band
After getting our day ticket at the Hotel, we sat down to enjoy some of the music by a really good Napier Blues band called DejaBlue. Fantastic sound and we were able to get a really nice Seafood Chowder for lunch. They were followed by The Nairobi Trio who were really entertaining and again, some great sounds.
Here are some more Images from the Festival
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The Street Band on the way
Nairobi Trio
Nairobi Trio
Nairobi Trio
Courtnay and the Unholy Reverie
Courtnay and the Unholy Reverie
Walking towards Paihia
Looking out twards Russell
It was early afternoon then when we decided to head to the Paihia Club where we heard a couple of bands, one of them from Taranaki who were really good. Courtnay and the Unholy Reverie!!….
DejaBlueNairobi Trio
They played a Led Zeppelin song and several of their own. Fantastic sound washed down by a G&T and the acoustics there were good too.
Courtnay and the Unholy ReverieCourtnay and the Unholy Reverie
After a couple of hours, we wandered on to the Paihia Sports bar and then caught the coach to the Twin Pines Manor at Haruru Falls, where we saw another good band, Herbie and the Heartbreakers!
Twin Pines ManorCourtnay and the Unholy Reverie
About 6pm the bus arrived, and we decided to call it quits and head back to the Campground while the bus was there.
Courtnay and the Unholy Reverie
A great fun day out and lucky with the weather being able to walk to almost everywhere.
After almost a month of sitting in one spot, it was time to blow out the cobwebs with a quick trip away for the weekend. Fiona was keen to go to the markets at Mangawhai so Mangawhai it was.
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Looking out over the Estuary
We found a great wee pop up on the hill above the village close to the markets. Colin has a house up behind the shops and provides power and water and a great view. It is also a very easy walk to the shops.
Looking out at DuskThe view from Rafe in Mangawhai
We arrived there about 7:30 odd on the Friday night and slotted in on a compacted grass are looking right out over the estuary.
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Us up on the hill
The Pie Caravan !
The Entrance to Bennets Chocolate Shop
The outside of bennetts
The popular shop in Mangawhai.. Sausages in bread 🙂
A new shopping centre
Cove Restaurant where we had lunch
The view down to the Village
The next morning, we woke up to a sunny day and after getting organised walked down to the village and the markets at the primary school. It’s a great atmosphere with everyone having fun and getting into the swing of it.
Arriving at the Markets
The great find for me was a caravan there selling these amazing pies. The owner was a real foodie who used to run a local restaurant and now make the pies and sell them locally. The coffee was something else too. I had a Lamb and Mint pie, and Fiona had a Curried Fish. both amazing!
At the Bennetts Coffee shopBennetts Chocolates
After this we walked back to the main shops from the school and after a coffee and a visit to Bennetts Chocolates (who could resist!) we stopped in for lunch at the Cove restaurant.
Cove Restaurant where we had lunch
Then it was back to Rafe. A great day of Sunshine, Great Food and Coffee in a lovely spot.
One of my all-time favorite places to stay and very good value. It’s also close to a couple of great Restaurants and Bars for later in the evening. I see too that the loos have had a bit of a do up which is great. Nice bright Scottish paintings on the outside.
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On the way back from Whangarei after topping up with fuel, we stopped in to see some of our old boatie friends from Auckland in Ruakaka. After lunch with Chris and then a pop in with Tina and Mark and their family, we decided we would just stay in Waipu in our old favourite park.
The Museum
They had just had a big festival there and some of the trucks had carved up the wet ground quite badly, so you had to be selective about where you parked! I parked on the outside edge closest to the driveway where it was unmarked and pretty dry.
Nice and safe next to the gravel.
It was blowing dogs off chains, so I set Rafe back a bit from the trees just in case and also for a TV signal 🙂 The weather looked iffy too!
The plan was to get something in town to eat but in the end, we snacked in the van and had an early night given that we were heading home the next day.
A great 10 days or so away and nice to do the bits we’ve never seen in Northland.
Rafe’s tracker map to the Waipu Caledonian Park – Armada GPS
I don’t know how many times I’ve photographed and driven past the loos at Kawakawa, but Fiona and I had both seen the publicity on the new Art centre in Whangarei and it was on the must do list 🙂
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Nice easy parking
We arrived in Whangarei just after lunch after stopping in at Manganui for a piece of fish and a Scallop or two for morning tea 🙂
Very styley 60’s 🙂
With the weather looking decidedly dodgy with wind and rain, I decided on the Whangarei Central Holiday Park which is easy walking distance to anywhere in town. It’s also very reasonably priced with very nice people running it. Everything works and its handy!
After settling down Rafe, we set off with our umbrellas towards the new art centre, about 10 minutes’ walk. It’s amazing! The first thing to do while it was not raining was to check out the dome and the roof garden. There are some really rare trees from the islands there too with curled leaves… interesting but to think how quickly this has come together, it’s amazing and on the roof too.
Back downstairs on a wavy tiled floor, you feel almost like you’re on the water. Up one floor for the gallery on Hundertwasser are lots of examples of his art and design, and basically several rooms on how he did what he did and when. Really interesting artwork but with his unique style.
Fiona in the tower. The Marina in the background
He also had an amazing motor Sailer which I think he might have sailed out from Europe.
We spent an hour or so here and then went for a coffee at the Centre’s Cafe.
Some of the art
By the time we finished here it was time for tea. We found an arcade in the main street full of Restaurants and bars and eventually settled on an Indian Restaurant called Tumeric. It would have to be the best Indian meal we’ve both had for some time and was very reasonable. Amazing food.
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From the tower out over the roof top garden towards the city.
Looking out from the tower
Lots of tiles and Coulour
Fiona in the Gallery
It was getting dark as left the restaurant and we ambled our way back to Rafe at the Park.
Outside our new favourite Indian Restaurant 🙂
A really interesting day starting in Ahipara, Manganui for Fish, ticked off the Hundertwasser building and a great Indian meal… what a day:-)
Rafe’s tracker map to the Whangarei Central Holiday Park – Armada GPS
After leaving Awanui, we were going to head to Ahipara. Fiona mentioned that she’d never been to Kaitaia so we were off to see Kaitaia which was on the way. We were going to stop for a coffee but couldn’t find any easy parking. After a visit to the Dump Station, we had a quick look around and decided to head on to Ahipara which is just short of 14k’s away.
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The road entrance to State highway 1 to Cape Reinga 🙂Looking back to Ahipara and the road around to the headland.
As we entered Ahipara there were two Cafe’s which were really busy… so we checked in at the Ahipara Holiday Park being the only place to stay.
Just in front of where we were parked.. huge parking area.
Although slightly on the expensive side, the parking spots were bigger and flatter than I’ve seen anywhere so that more than made up for it. The Loos and Showers were really good too and there was also free Wi-Fi if we’d wanted it. It was only 10 minutes’ walk away to the beach. You generally get what you pay for these days 🙂
Check out the room!
After setting up Rafe and opening vents, and plugging in, I took the camera for a walk down to the beach…. The bottom end of the 90 mile beach! I looked around for anything that looked anything like what I could remember from years ago with the beach buggy, but it all looks very different from what I remember… it was a long time ago though.
Looking north towards Cape Reinga!People enjoying the water.
I went back to the camp and Fiona, and I took Rafe to the Cafe we saw coming in and had a really nice lunch and then went for a drive down to the bottom end of the beach along the foreshore road.
A local friendly Goat
It’s amazing looking up the beach, you can see the bend of the land going right up to the cape. There were a few people having a swim and enjoying what is probably the end of Summer. A great spot.
After an hour or so we motored back to the Holiday Park and blobbed for a bit.
Later in the day.
The wind had died down a bit later on and the sun was shining so it was nice with the stereo on and with all this space, no neighbours 🙂
Rafe’s tracker map to the Ahipara Holiday Park – Armada GPS
This was just such a treat and Fiona and I had been looking forward to it.. the highlight of the trip if you like. We met the bus I was later told; was a 400 HP beast that was once a Petrol tanker but was custom made for its current purpose of ferrying people like us up to the Cape on the sand.
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The driver picked us up outside the Awanui NZMCA park along with a neighbour in the park with his two grandsons and we were off.
Jason the driver and guide was a scream and very good with the flow of interesting information that went all day.
After turning off the main road north at Waipapakauri, we headed a few k’s towards the beach before we got to the sand. The weather for the trip was perfect and once Jason had changed into 4-wheel drive, we were off up the beach… all 56k’s of it apparently 🙂 As Jason said on the commentary “ It’s the only state highway that gets a wash twice a day “:-)
Getting out for a stretch
About half an hour or so of cruising up the beach, we stopped and got out for stretch and a look around. It’s an amazing beach with nothing really in either direction apart from the sandhills behind.
Looking South. the hole in the rock.
There was a rock of the beach with a hole in like the one off Cape Brett.
Jason running the Bus up the Te Paki stream for the sandboarding.
A bit further on, we were heading up the Te Paki stream beside the massive sand hills where we stopped to let to let those younger and more adventurous than us to boogie board down the sand hills. Jason gave them all a few safety lessons and they were off.
Jason doing the safety briefing.Jason doing the safety briefing before they head up the dune.Sandboarding !
They all seemed pretty happy with the occasion and about 45 minutes or so later, we set off again up the stream to rejoin the highway up to the Cape.
After Lunch
Next we were heading up to Tapotupotu Beach for lunch which Jason had stashed away. The road wasn’t for the faint hearted in a big vehicle and although there were a few Motorhomes there, it definitely wasn’t for me.
Looking towards Maris van Diemen
About an 1 hour later with a great lunch by the beach, we all headed back to the bus and Jason then took us all up to the Cape Reinga carpark to walk down to the lighthouse.
The oceans meeting
It’s about a 45-minute walk down to the lighthouse and back and quite steep in places but on a really nice track. As you go down on the left you can see Cape Maria van Diemen where the lighthouse used to be, Cape Reinga in front and the beach that we had lunch at off to the right with North Cape way off in the distance.
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Arriving on the beach
A sandhill in the sun
Looking South.. wonderful.
Jason running the Bus up the Te Paki stream for the sandboarding.
Jason doing the safety briefing.
On the way up.. Jason was saying the escalators were being serviced 🙂
The Lighthouse – pic by Fiona
Cape Reinga
The last time I was here, I think I was 13 years old or thereabouts. We were on a family trip with a 4-wheel drive with a beach buggy on an A frame. It was a trip for a photo shoot with a friend of my Dads who was a specialist Motor Racing photographer for a magazine article. The beach buggy got stuck on top of a sandhill… think all wheels off the ground so I got to learn how to drive it while we got it unstuck 🙂
Back to the trip… it was fantastic to see it all again and all the improvements that have been made for easier access.
At the pub on the way home.
We were all back in the bus heading down the road for an ice cream stop and to the famous Waipapakauri where Fiona and I had a G & T to celebrate the end of a great day. We were only a few K’s north of the Awanui NZMCA park.
Back at Awanui.. great day !
A fantastic day and I’m really pleased we took the option of a guided bus trip. It wasn’t expensive given what was involved and a lot of fun and entertainment. Thanks, Jason, for the great commentary and a brilliant day out.
Rafe’s tracker map to the Awanui NZMCA park – Armada GPS
Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Now back in a house, they were living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.
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