Northland

Baches and garden cottages set the tone for Northland accommodation, tracing the coast from Kerikeri’s orchards into the Bay of Islands. Summer runs long and warm this far north, and the sea holds its warmth well into autumn.

Kerikeri sets the pace up here, with its weekend markets and the old Stone Store down on the river basin. Paihia and Russell sit across the water from each other, close enough that dinner can happen on the far shore.

Keep going north and Mangōnui puts fish and chips on a wharf over the harbour, boats coming and going alongside. South of the bay, dive boats head for the Poor Knights Islands, and quiet harbours break up the run of beaches.