NORTHLAND

Heart of the Kaipara: Maungaturoto and Beyond

• WORDS: HEATHER WHELAN
• PHOTOGRAPHY: HEATHER WHELAN

• PUBLISHED: MAY 23, 2022

The little rural town of Maungaturoto is known as ‘the heart of the Kaipara’. Heather Whelan took a drive along SH12 to the gateway to the stunning Kaipara district to find out more.

The Kaipara Harbour is one of the largest harbours in the world. Covering 947 square kilometres, it is connected to the Tasman Sea by an eight kilometre-wide passage, with several arms extending far inland. The estuaries of five rivers and many creeks and bays give the harbour a huge coastline.

The little town of Maungaturoto styles itself as the ‘heart of the Kaipara’; however that label could easily apply to the whole area that’s accessed along State Highway 12 from Brynderwyn to Dargaville. Maungaturoto is in the north-eastern part of the harbour, on the Otamatea River. With a population of just over 1000, it’s the largest town in this part of the Kaipara district. Maungatoroto is a hub for the rural communities that have developed on this rich agricultural land.

The villages of Paparoa, Matakohe and Ruawai are linked by the main road, while Pahi, Tinopai and Port Albert are found on peninsulas that jut into the Kaipara Harbour. Several of these settlements were established in the early 1860s by religious settlers known as Albertlanders, when the waterways were easier to navigate than the roadless swamps and bush-clad hills inland.

To the mountain and beyond

After turning west at Brynderwyn, we soon came to Maungaturoto. Founded in 1863, the town’s name means ‘mountain standing in the lagoons’ – an apt description, as much of the Kaipara region is low-lying but studded with extinct volcanic cones.

There are many tales told about the historic Maungaturoto Hotel. It was nearly lost at sea when the prefabricated sections were shipped from Onehunga by tug, barge and cattle punt. Bad weather and a drunken crew nearly spelled disaster, but the pub was finally constructed and has been accommodating guests for 120 years. Ghost sightings – a woman walking the hallway and a man behind the bar, together with wardrobe doors that open and close of their own accord, coupled with rattling coat hangers – led to paranormal investigators setting up video recorders to try and capture a sighting. Unfortunately the ghost hunters described their experience as ‘inconclusive’.

A second-hand shop across the road from the hotel was signposted from the turn onto SH12, so we pulled in for a look. This was a real Aladdin’s cave, with several rooms crammed with interesting collections ranging from furniture, crockery and glassware to dolls, paintings and old tin signs. We managed to leave without spending too much, but did pick up some useful-sized containers for storage in our bus. In the town centre we found several cafés to choose from; we can recommend Coast, housed in a renovated heritage building, where they served great coffee and fresh date scones.

MAUNGATUROTO’S SECOND-HAND SHOP HAS MANY TREASURES

A walk through history

Our next stop was Paparoa, 12km from Maungaturoto.There’s a little river that reaches Paparoa and in the 1800s a steamer connected the town with Helensville, 66km away on the southern side of the harbour. The landing site, now a quiet village green area, was once a busy spot as kauri logs were delivered here before being rafted downriver to a sawmill at Pahi.

We crossed the river on a tiny footbridge as we wanted to visit an ancient pā site on the pleasant 45-minute Paparoa Bush Walk, established by the local Lions group. The walk first took us beside the peaceful river and we tried to imagine small boats and rafts of logs navigating their way down to Pahi, 7km down the adjacent peninsula. After crossing another stream, the track took us quite steeply up, through some bush-covered slopes, to the pā. This bush is over 250 years old, the inhabitants of the extensive pā having mysteriously left long before European settlers arrived. From the pā the track continues through farmland, then along a boardwalk before finishing at the road on the other side of Paparoa.

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Needing a cold drink after our walk we headed to the Thirsty Tui, Paparoa’s retro-style pub. We had lunch in the garden area, watched over by sparrows roosting in a nesting box crafted to look like a mini replica of the pub. There’s accommodation available at the Thirsty Tui and motorhomes can park overnight. However, we were headed for what our map book called the ‘seaside resort’ of Tinopai.

ON THE WAY TO THE PĀ

A WELCOME SIGHT

Camping by the beach

Tinopai is at the very end of a peninsula, about 20km from Matakohe. There’s an amazing museum at Matakohe with free overnight parking and discounted entry for NZMCA members. If you haven’t visited before, it really is a must-see, with displays of everything kauri – from the world’s largest collection of kauri gum, to antique furniture and huge logs. There’s a steam sawmill, fascinating displays of logging and gum-digging and even a two-storey life-sized replica boarding house. It’s worth spending several hours at the museum so overnight parking might come in useful.

Tinopai was originally called Te Komiti and was a regular stopping point for Māori travellers. It was renamed Tinopai Fruitlands in 1918 when the area was planted with apple trees and a wharf was built to export the fruit. The apple growing finished in the 1930s, but the wharf remains, now a popular fishing spot.

There is a lovely old-school style campground on the waterfront at Tinopai and we parked a stone’s throw from the beach. The campground is popular in summer, and beautiful year-round; what a spot. We wandered along the shore, meeting a local on the wharf who couldn’t have spoken more highly about the fantastic fishing in the waters off Tinopai. He’d just come back from a day’s fishing with a haul of snapper. Later, as the tide went out, we watched shellfish gatherers collecting oysters and mussels.

HEATHER CAMPED AT THE WATER’S EDGE AT TINOPAI

THE FISHING WHARF AT TINOPAI

A productive cycle

The following day we made our way back to SH12 and into Ruawai. This town (the name means ‘two waters’) is situated where the Wairoa River meets the Kaipara Harbour. The area used to be very watery; swamp was extensive here until a stopbank was built in 1905 and the area drained. The land is now very productive and Ruawai is known as the kūmara capital of New Zealand.

The stopbank was the town’s first road and is now a walking and cycle trail, developed in 2018 by the Ruawai walkway-cycle track group. After walking along the stopbank for a while we decided to return later and cycle the 3km loop.

Six of us met at Ruawai the next week and, after a coffee in the township, we set off on our bikes along the stopbank. There were several information boards which had early photographs, giving us an insight into Ruawai’s early days and the draining of the land. The workmen who dug the stopbank had to be strong enough to throw shovels full of wet mud twelve feet, so they must have been a hardy breed. The land is below the level of the harbour’s high tide, so the drainage canals through the stopbank can only empty out when the water level is low.

Our ride continued at the end of the stopbank, along quiet country roads back into Ruawai. It was a pleasant hour’s cycle ride and would take about three hours to walk.

ON RUAWAI’S STOPBANK WALK

Top of the peak

Driving north from Ruawai it’s impossible to miss Tokatoka Peak. From most angles it looks like a perfect cone and is a distinctive landmark. There are many stories about this extraordinary mountain that looks like it belongs in a fantasy movie – it is in fact the plug of an ancient volcano, a very rare phenomenon. Māori tell how Tokatoka came from Hawaiki along with some other mountains. Manaia went ahead and came to rest beside Whangarei Harbour. The Wairoa River proved to be dangerous and one mountain drowned, so Tokatoka and nearby Maungaraho decided to halt their journey right there.

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Having previously climbed to the summit of Maungaraho Rock, this time we decided to check out the views from the summit of Tokatoka. After turning up a steep road beside the Tokatoka Tavern we found a small parking space beside a sign indicating the start of the walk. From here it was a twenty minute walk to the summit, mainly up a steep unformed track. The final 20m section was a scramble up rocks and I realised the significance of the name Tokatoka: ‘rocks upon rocks’.

Once at the summit we were rewarded by some outstanding 360˚ views. We could look along the river to Dargaville and Maunganui Bluff in the north, while past Maungaraho Rock the Tangihua Range was a shadowy purple. All around was lush farmland interspersed with pockets
of native bush.

A VIEW FROM TOKATOKA

Riding the rails

Dargaville was the final stop on our Kaipara tiki tour, and it was easy to set up for the night at the NZMCA park in town. Dargaville was founded in 1872 and prospered initially due to the timber trade and kauri gum digging. The town is still thriving, with plenty of shops and cafés as it’s the commercial centre for the region’s dairy, beef and sheep farming industry. It’s also, like Ruawai, a kūmara growing area.

One of Dargaville’s quirkiest attractions can be found at the old railway station. Dargaville Rail Tours takes visitors along a disused railway line in golf carts.There are two trips to choose from and we opted for the two-hour return ride to Tangowahine. Our guides were two bearded locals who led the way out of Dargaville, checking the road crossings were safe. We stopped at a couple of places to learn a bit more of the history; we soon discovered that there had been a station platform built beside the original Dargaville racecourse, but it was never used because the locals objected to the proposed route of the railway; it had to loop away from the main road, leaving the platform abandoned in a paddock. Another spot was where the railway line used to branch north to Donnellys Crossing, now an overgrown piece of history.

After travelling through farmland and beside the Wairoa River to Tangowahine, where the carts are turned around for the return journey back to Dargaville, we were treated to homemade scones and jam with coffee and tea, before getting back into the golf carts.

This trip was a lot of fun and was typical of the area: low-key and authentic. It was a real taste of the Kaipara heartland. We’d visited a variety of rural towns and villages and seen the area’s rich history, from pā sites to colonial architecture, eaten great food in its cafes and pubs – and made sure we had a bag of kūmara to take home.

FUN ON THE GOLF CARTS!

Further Information

• Information about the campground at Tinopai can be found at: camptinopai.co.nz. There are also motor camps at Pahi, Matakohe and Paparoa.
• The walk at Paparoa takes about 45 minutes. Return the same way or continue to the mangrove boardwalk and road. Details at: qeiinationaltrust.org.nz
• The stopbank at Ruawai is 4km in length. You can make a loop by returning along Simpson Road. This takes an hour to cycle and around three hours to walk.
• Details of the walk up to the Summit of Tokatoka Peak are at: doc.govt.nz
• It’s advisable to book the rail carts in advance. Their website is: portdargavillecruises.co.nz/rail-tours

Hidden Treasures: Kai Iwi to Pouto

 Heather Whelan and partner Malcolm discover some peaceful and picturesque spots near Dargaville

Shipwreck remains at Pouto

The weather was forecast to be good for a few days, so we stocked up our bus and headed west from Whangarei – first stop the Kai Iwi Lakes. These rain-fed, freshwater lakes are part of a 538-hectare recreational reserve, 35km north-west of Dargaville, and are popular with campers, fishermen and those who enjoy water sports.

There are two campgrounds on the shores of Lake Taharoa, the largest of the Kai Iwi Lakes. One is called Pine Beach – though the pines have been removed in recent years – and the other is at Promenade Point. We didn’t plan to stay overnight, so parked overlooking Marina Bay and set off to walk around the lake. There are tracks around all three of the lakes, and side paths lead to Lake Waikare and Lake Kai Iwi from the Lake Taharoa track. On a hot afternoon we thought the 8km loop would give us enough exercise, so stuck to the main track.

We started our stroll at the boat ramp, where a group were launching jet skis. Visitors can enjoy a whole range of water activities on Lake Taharoa and Lake Waikare, including waka ama, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing, water skiing, fishing and swimming. However, motorised craft are not allowed on Lake Kai Iwi.

Lake Taharoa, Kai Iwi Lakes

Lake Taharoa is New Zealand’s third largest dune lake and the country’s deepest. The lakes were formed 1.8 million years ago when rain fell in depressions of sand that had impermeable ironstone pans beneath them. There are no inlets or outlets so the depth in the lakes can vary, as can the water temperature; extremes range from 12C to 21C.

Kai Iwi Lakes have unique biodiversity and are home to many native species, some endangered. Bird life includes the North Island brown kiwi, white-faced heron, paradise shelduck, grey teal and the Australasian bittern. Rainbow trout were introduced in the 1960s.

Kai Iwi means ‘food for the people’ and early Maori settlers in the area enjoyed catching fish and eels in the lakes. During times of war, injured warriors recuperated at the lakeside. Later kauri gum diggers built huts in the area, however this industry died out in the 1920s, leaving little trace.

There were plenty of campers at Pine Beach, enjoying the shallow waters fronting the campground, the children’s playground, and generally relaxing. One family were unloading bikes as the loop tracks are suitable for cycling as well as walking.

Our path continued beside crystal-clear water and golden sandy beaches, giving the lake a tropical look. There were few walkers on the track as we passed the aptly named Sandy Bay and continued past Deep Water Cove to the strangely named Sin Bin area and on to Promenade Point. The campground here has fewer facilities than Pine Beach and is described as a relaxed kiwiana experience.

We arrived back at our bus after taking just over two hours to walk the Lake Taharoa loop. We stayed for a while longer, and then headed into Dargaville.

Sunset at the Dargaville NZMCA Park

HISTORIC DARGAVILLE

We always enjoy staying at the NZMCA Park, which is situated picturesquely at the junction of the Kaihu and Wairoa rivers. We spent happy hour – actually close to two hours – chatting with other motorhomers in one of the historic boatsheds that once belonged to Thompson Boat Builders.

The NZMCA Park beside the Kaihu River

Swedish-born Erik Thompson was the first of three generations of boat builders to produce craft here. Hundreds of launches, sailing boats and whalers were constructed from kauri over the years, the most famous being the whaleboats constructed for Ernest Shackleton’s 1907-1909 Antarctic expedition. Full-scale drawings of these were discovered sketched out in pencil on the boatshed’s loft floor.

Earlier we’d strolled along Dargaville’s waterfront from the band rotunda, past the Boating Club and through the Riverside Gardens. Prominent at the junction of Parenga Street and Hokianga Road is a statue erected as a tribute to the area’s early gum diggers, who came mainly from Dalmatia (now Croatia).

Dargaville honours the memory of its gum diggers

There’s a brochure available at the information centre that details a 5km walking trail around Dargaville’s historic buildings. We just looked at some of the sites, including the ‘petticoat houses’, six identical cottages built for workers at the Dairy Company. They were built with fireplaces but you had to pay extra for a chimney!

Lake Taharoa with Maunganui Bluff in the distance

The following day we went to discover more local history at the Dargaville Museum. There’s a wealth of information here about early European pioneers, especially the gum diggers. Another section of the museum is dedicated to shipwrecks, as the Pouto Peninsula and Kaipara Harbour entrance were notorious for shifting shoals and a dangerous bar.

Reconstructed gum diggers’ huts at Dargaville Museum

Among the flotsam and jetsam displayed are portholes, anchors and substantial parts of ships and boats dug up from the sands of the area. These range from a punt used from the 1880s to the 1950s, an American ship built in 1870, and the Mathieu, wrecked in 1885.

PLACE OF HIDDEN TREASURES

From Dargaville we drove south on the Pouto Peninsula. This 55km long spit stretches from Dargaville to Pouto Point, separating the Kaipara Harbour from the Tasman Sea. Described as one of Northland’s best-kept secrets, the peninsula is off the beaten tourist track. Visitors and bach owners enjoy a quiet spot for fishing – Pouto means float for a fishing net – though tourist information describes it as ‘the place of hidden treasures’.

Te Kopuru Church with Maungaraho Rock on the horizon

Our first stop along the road was the little settlement of Te Kopuru. Once a thriving town with sawmills and a shipbuilding industry, in its heyday Te Kopuru had a population of 3000. It had banks, shops, a post office, church, library and cinema, but when the kauri was all gone the town’s prosperity dwindled. Now Te Kopuru has only a school, a post office/ store, a pretty wooden church and a community veggie garden.

The community veggie garden in the tiny settlement of Te Kopuru

It also has what must be Te Kopuru’s most photographed spot. Near the church on the main street there’s an old villa that has its garden decorated with hundreds of fishing floats and buoys. As well as the floats there are old ropes, fishing nets, sails, shells, whale bones and structures made from all kinds of things thrown up by the tide. It’s worth stopping in Te Kopuru just to gaze at this whimsical place. 

Hundreds of floats and buoys decorate this garden in Te Kopuru

The road down the peninsula is sealed until the turn for Kellys Bay. From here the road to Pouto Point is gravelled, as is Kellys Bay Road. We took a short detour to the little community and parked on the grass beside the beach. While we enjoyed our morning tea we watched flocks of terns, oyster-catchers, stilts and gulls advance towards us as the incoming tide gave them wet feet. There’s a campground at the end of the road with some powered sites and lots of room for self-contained campers. Facilities are minimal here with long drop toilets and solar showers, but the beach is safe for children and is a good spot for catching flounder.

Finally we arrived at Pouto Point and parked beside the hall at the tiny campground. We signed in across the road and settled down to enjoy stunning views across the Kaipara Harbour. It’s always been hard for boats to enter the harbour, as evidenced by the remains of wrecks we’d seen at the Dargaville Museum. Maori history tells how the captain of the waka Mahuhu drowned when his ship was wrecked at the entrance. Both Cook and Tasman sailed by, leaving Marion du Fresne to be the first European explorer to identify the entrance, though it was 1836 before the first European sailors made their way into the harbour.

A fine view of the Kaipara Harbour at Pouto campground

 

Although the entrance was known as ‘the graveyard’ (there have been 113 recorded shipwrecks), the harbour offered ease of access to lucrative kauri. Early charts were misleading, and sandbars shifted constantly, but many sailing captains took the risk and entered. By 1884 there was a lighthouse, a signal station and custom house at Pouto. (In fact, the Marine Hall at the campground is the old custom house, New Zealand’s first.)

It’s a 7km walk out to Pouto lighthouse (disused since 1952 and now maintained by Heritage New Zealand) followed by an energetic 10-15 minute climb up steep dunes, but we opted for a stroll along the beach. We were delighted to come across the remains of a boat’s ribs protruding from the sand; another of the ‘graveyard’s’ wrecks coming to light, to be either recovered or reburied by the shifting sands.

FURTHER INFORMATION

• Details about the camping grounds at Kai Iwi Lakes can be found at: kaiiwicamp.nz. There are limited power sites at Palm Beach and it is vital to book sites in both camps in advance in summer and on holiday weekends.
• The NZMCA Park is at 2 River Road, Dargaville. Overnight parking is also available at Dargaville Museum, $15 per night, $12 for NZMCA members.
• Phone 09 4390781 or 0274 509473 to book at Kellys Bay Reserve Campground.
• Pouto Marine Hall Campground is at 16 Signal Station Road, Pouto.
• At Kai Iwi Lakes the Lake Taharoa track is an easy 8km, Lake Waikare and Lake Kai Iwi are both 4km. There is also a walk along the beach from Kai Iwi to Maunganui Blu , 1.5 hours one way.