Kaipara District

Today we wanted to see some boulders. They are visible in Koutu at low tide and a few hours around that. We hadn't really planned that but we were lucky to be there at a good time. It made a nice walk along the beach and there were lots of oysters attached to some of the boulders. Afterwards we drove to the west coast and had a nice yoghurt break at a viewpoint over the natural Hokianga Harbour. Further south the road we did the mandatory stop to visit Tane Mahuta, the tallest known Kauri tree. As expected it was very touristic and crowded. But there was a nice grass field as well which was a good lunch spot. Today's lunch was based on 'Dutch Wholemeal Grain' bread. It wasn't exactly what we know as Dutch bread but not too bad either.

The mission of finding a camp spot took us to the Kai Iwi lakes. It didn't look bad but it was so crowded that we didn't like it too much. We drove on to Dargaville, where we found a farmhouse that offered camping spots on their huge fields of grass. The owner was really kind and gave us and some other guests a free tour of their collection of regional items. It was a great exhibition with two rooms: one dedicated to the history of kumara (sweet potato) farming in New Zealand; and the other a large collection of basically everything you can find in the ocean, from whale vomit and shark bones, to shells in all sizes. They also had swords of swordfish, and a leopard seal skeleton. Also the dining room for their guests had some interesting collected items hanging all over the ceiling and walls including a small underwear collection, a nudists suitcase, and some other rarities. A really great place to stay.Read more