New visa regulations allow you to work remotely from New Zealand for your overseas employer or client. To apply, visit Immigration New Zealand(opens in new window).

northland

Northland & Bay of Islands

Highlights

  • Ninety Mile Beach
  • Surfing
  • Land yachting

Proximity

  • by car:

    1 hr 30 min from Kerikeri, Bay of Islands

  • by car:

    2 hr 20 mins from Whangārei

  • by car:

    4 hr 20 mins from Auckland

If you want to see a dramatic sunset, enjoy an evening walk along the beach at Ahipara. This town has a rich history and a big choice of activities.

Ahipara is at the southern end of 90 Mile Beach. It’s home to incredible sunsets and it has one of the best left hand surf breaks in New Zealand. This unspoiled sandy beach is also popular for surfcasting, land yachting and shellfish gathering. You can learn to do the ‘Tuatua Twist’, which involves standing in the water at low tide and twisting your feet in the sand until you feel the telltale hard edges of tuatua. These shellfish are delicious made into fritters or simply steamed open.

Shipwreck Bay, to the left of the township, is aptly named. At low tide some of the wrecks are still visible. Above Shipwreck Bay is the Ahipara Gumfields Historic Reserve, where you can see relics from the kauri gum digging days and remnants of ancient kauri forests. In the late 1800s the gum fields supported two thousand people, three hotels and numerous shops. Bullock teams carted the gum to waiting ships at Shipwreck Bay.

Explore Ahipara

Find things to do

Find places to stay

Find transport

Find a multi-day tour

Where to Next?

We use cookies to provide you with a better experience on this site. Keep browsing if you're happy with this.

We also use cookies to show you the best of New Zealand on other platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to understand how you can manage cookies.