Kia Ora | Northland New Zealand

Kia ora (Key or-rah) is a Māori (indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand) language greeting which is now often used in New Zealand English. It means, literally, be well/healthy and is used as an informal hi. It is also used as a farewell and expression of thanks. We found it to be used even more in the Northland of New Zealand, an area rich with history of the Māori culture. So next time I see you, if I smile and say Kia ora – it’s a good thing!

According to the New Zealand Immigration site, most Māori (86%) live in the North Island and you’ll find Māori culture more visible than in other parts of the country.

The area North of Auckland on the North Island of New Zealand is considered Northland. Once again, the scenery in this diverse country completely changes. It becomes very remote farmland as you drive north before turning into beautiful beaches up at the tip of the island.

The drive is long and remote, so we stopped in Whangarai, The City by the Sea, for an overnight stay along the way. (side note – In New Zealand when you see a “wh” it is pronounced like an f sound, something carried over from the Māori culture.)

Whangarai is a lovely subtropical climate with great food cafes and boutique shops. We enjoyed a delicious sunset dinner at The Quay along the picturesque waterfront in the Town Basin Marina. We also learned more Māori culture here as our waitress shared some of her history and language with us, even writing a few words and pronunciations on a napkin. She was such a sweetheart!

Continuing to drive north, we took a car ferry out to the village of Russell in the Bay of Islands. Despite the rainy days during our two night stay, we enjoyed some amazing sites.

When leaving Russell, we took the car ferry back across to the mainland and through Pahai to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, a great place to start if you want to know more about The Māori and European history in New Zealand.

The Māori are believed to be the indigenous people of New Zealand, immigrating here from Polynesia on canoes over 1000 years ago from their mythical Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki.

The Māori have a rich culture, steeped in tradition and legend passed down through the generations by story telling – stories that tell of the creation of the islands of New Zealand and much more.

New Zealand’s unique mix of Māori and European ideas and customs began with the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty was signed by Māori chiefs and representatives of the British crown on February 6, 1840. The tour guides and information in the museum at Waitangi Treaty Grounds explain the history and significance of this treaty.

The grounds are beautiful, and felt very authentic, not “touristy”. We spent about an hour wandering the grounds before heading to see the show. The museum was full of information, but we only got to do a quick walk through. We really wished we had allowed more time to spend there.

The flags on the flagstaff are the three official New Zealand flags – the Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand (from 1834); the Union Flag (from 1840) and the New Zealand Flag (from 1902)

Our favorite part of the visit was seeing the cultural performance at the carved meeting house, Te Whare Runanga. Before entering the house we had to choose a chief from our “tribe” and participate in a reenactment of what it might have been like as the Māori greeted the Europeans arriving in New Zealand.

Dance for the Māori people is a very important part of their culture. Kapa haka (Māori performance art), incorporates singing, dancing and facial expressions. Each action within the dance has a meaning, tying it to the words. The traditional Māori war dance, known as the haka includes rhythmic movements, facial contortions and shouted words – it can be a little intimidating!

You can also see the world’s largest ceremonial war canoe (waka). It takes a minimum of 76 paddlers for this waka built from three giant kauri trees. It is still launched once a year on Waitangi Day

Despite the intimidating war dances, the Māori are beautiful people full of culture and tradition. I particularly love their use of Hongi. The hongi is a traditional Māori greeting where noses are pressed together and the ha, or ‘breath of life’, is exchanged and intermingled. Our photographer, Holly Wallace, even included a hongi photo in our wedding day.

We enjoyed a nice lunch of fish and chips and afternoon tea at the Whare Waka Cafe on the grounds before heading further north in the Northland of New Zealand.

The very tip of the island becomes even more remote and inaccessible so we decided to spend a couple of nights in the seaside village of Ahipara. It’s at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach and was the perfect location to explore the northland (Cape Reinga & Ninety Mile Beach).

We booked a full day tour with Harrison’s Cape Runner from Kaitaia – so much fun! Because we normally love exploring on our own, we don’t book many tours. However it’s a long journey north and  you are not supposed to drive rental cars on the Ninety Mile Beach, so booking this tour was a great choice!  Our driver Simon was entertaining as he shared his knowledge of the area where he grew up, his own Māori heritage, and stories of the five tribes in the north.

Just one of many beautiful beaches along the way – Rarawa Beach and pure white sands on the east coast.

Te Kao Store – general store run by the locals which sells a lot of random stuff including delicious tip top ice cream.

Our driver Simon did an amazing job of gearing the day to match conditions. As clouds started to roll in he made the choice to delay lunch and head straight to Cape Reinga Lighthouse while the sun was shining. Loved how he hustled us all along to get down the trail and not “muck around”.

Cape Reinga where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea collide. The Māori believe this is where the spirits of the deceased leave the land.

The meeting point – Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) marks the separation of the Tasman Sea (to the west) from the Pacific Ocean. For Māori , these turbulent waters are where the male sea Te Moana Tapokopoko Tawhaki meets the female sea Te Tai o Whitirela. The whirlpools where the currents clash are like those that dance in the wake of a waka (canoe). The Māori believe they represent the coming together of male and female – and the creation of life.

It is a powerful place and really does have a feeling of being at the edge of the world.

After a picnic lunch on another beautiful beach, we continued our drive to the famous Ninety Mile Beach. But before driving the beach, we stopped at the Te Paki Stream and got the thrill of riding the huge sand dunes – so much fun! We’ve got the sand dunes in Michigan, but we don’t do this.

Ninety Mile Beach is actually only 55 miles long and runs from Ahipara to almost the top of the North Island. Our ride down the beach in the 4×4 truck/bus conversion was a blast. The speed limit is 100k and we went about 90k (about 55 miles per hour). Simon knew the timing of the tides for safety in driving the beach and giving us the chance to walk along breathing in the miles of sandy beach, reflections, and blue/green waves of the sea.

The locals here fish with torpedoes (see it by the 4-wheeler?). I think that might be a red snapper?

Rental cars are not covered if you drive them on this beach, for good reason. This guy had about two hours until the tide would be up to his vehicle.

Some locals tried to pull him with their truck, but the small pickup didn’t budge his camper. Felt so bad for him; hopefully they got it moved before the tide came in!

We met great new friends from Australia, Germany, Singapore, India, and New Zealand. It was a long day full of fun, and we made it back to our bach (pronounced batch – a New Zealand beach house) in time to cook dinner and enjoy an amazing sunset.