Maungaturoto

Farm country rolls down to the upper Kaipara Harbour around Maungaturoto, and accommodation here trades beaches for pasture, orchards and tidal inlets.

Holiday homes lean rural and old, with timber villas and homesteads set well back from the road. The Kauri Museum at Matakohe is along State Highway 12, and the surf at Mangawhai Heads is an easy drive over the hills.