Northland New Zealand

Rich in culture and history and blessed with a pristine natural environment, no visit to New Zealand is complete without a visit to Northland. Learn about the arrival of the first Maori canoes to New Zealand and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Northlanders today live, work and thrive in an environment which is the envy of those inhabitants of big cities and a more bustling lifestyle.

Northland is filled with stunning beauty including golden beaches, secluded coves, tranquil harbours, warm waters, dramatic coastline, wild beaches and spectacular forests.

Northland is a sub-tropical climate zone, with warm humid summers and mild winters. Typical summer temperatures range from 22°C to 26°C (maximum daytime) but seldom exceed 30°C. In winter, high temperatures are between 14°C to 17°C. Annual sunshine hours average about 2000 in many areas.

Along the East Coast, Northland greets its visitors with golden beaches fringed by Pohutukawa trees, secluded coves and tranquil harbours. Forest and coastal walks, and sought-after dive spots abound. Just offshore, predator-free islands are home to all kinds of rare species, whilst offering great diving as well! In the Bay of Islands you can find thrilling adventure or perfect peace. For travellers with time to spend, it's the ultimate outdoor playground. The Poor Knights islands marine reserve along the Tutukaka Coast is a dive mecca, regarded by the late Jacques Cousteau as one of the world's top dive locations. Northland's east coast is where visitors and locals alike enjoy their favourite pastimes of boating, surfing, fishing or just lazing around in the warm northern sunshine. With trails through native forest and outstanding views, it's little wonder it is New Zealand's subtropical playground. In the Top of the North, the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean surround the land with warm, subtropical waters. At the furthest point of New Zealand, Cape Reinga plays host to the historic lighthouse guarding the northwestern approaches. Out at sea the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet, sometimes producing waves more than 10 metres high. Along Ninety Mile Beach, surfers take to the waves where giant sand dunes line the shore. It's a place to keep one's eyes peeled for the wild horses of the Aupouri Forest.

Further south a sprawling array of inlets and tributaries form the Hokianga region, leading on to the Kauri Coast. It's a place of wild beaches, spectacular coastline and peaceful forests. Giants like Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) watch over the Kauri Coast. An atmospheric drive through Waipoua Forest will acquaint you with New Zealand's largest living Kauri trees. Standing 50 metres tall, the Kauri are one of the world's mightiest trees and their forests give shelter to many other plant types like the Taraire, Kohekohe, Towai and northern rata trees. They are also a useful refuge for threatened wildlife such as the endangered North Island kokako and brown kiwi. They share their habitat with a peculiar but distinctive creature: the large and very handsome kauri snail, a carnivore that feeds mainly on earthworms, slugs and soft-bodied insects.

The eighteenth century saw the arrival of European migrants from England, France, Scotland, Dalmatia, Ireland and Wales to establish missions here or work in the kauri industry and agriculture.

Today the region has a population base of more than 140,000, spread through cities, towns and communities on a land area of 13,800 square km. About 55,000 employees work for almost 11,000 businesses.

In 1832, the Governor of New South Wales appointed James Busby as British Resident in New Zealand. It was the first formal step to bringing New Zealand into a permanent constitutional relationship with Britain. In February 1840, Busby hosted the formal signing ceremony of the Treaty of Waitangi on his front lawn.

Maui, a Maori hero of ancient times, hooked the enormous fish after smuggling himself on board his brothers' canoe to prove his fishing prowess. Look at a map of the North Island and you can see that Wellington is the head, Cape Taranaki & East Cape are the fins and Northland is the tail of the fish, Te Hiku o Te Ika.

Today, many iwi (Maori tribes) trace their ancestry back to the legendary explorer Kupe who, with his crew, voyaged deep into the Southern Ocean. Northland iwi claim the first landfall of Kupe's waka 'Matawhourua' was on the shores of the Hokianga Harbour. And so it is believed that Northland gave birth to what is today New Zealand. Some of the oldest traces of Maori settlement, or kainga, can be found in the region. And throughout known history the social structure of Maori has remained the same: from whanau (immediate family) to extended family (hapu) and ultimately iwi (tribe). There was no Maori nation: instead Maori saw themselves as belonging to their iwi.