Feb 18, 2026 Trip to Paihia
We arrived in Waipu on Feb. 15 and stayed a few days with our friend Sam. We had a pre-purchased night of accommodation in Paihia for the 18th so we decided to make it a little loop trip for 4 nights to see some spots in the Northland we missed during our month stay at Sam’s B&B in Oct. 2023. It’s about a 2 hour drive by the most direct route, but we decided to add a loop to the coast including Ngunguru Bay, Tutukaka Harbour and Matapouri.
A viewpoint on the high road between the towns of Ngunguru and Tutukaka gave this scene of the bright blue waters of Ngunguru Bay under ‘the long white clouds’ of Aotearoa.
We continued past the town of Tutukaka and out towards Tutukaka Head to the Tutukaka Lighthouse trail. The trail descends down to a thin isthmus connecting to the headland where the lighthouse is situated. We were lucky it was low tide so we could cross the narrow causeway. We enjoyed watching the waves lapping on the sandy narrow beaches in the gaps worn between the harder rocks of the causeway, but we were too unsure of the tide schedule to attempt the half hour hike up the steep headland to reach the lighthouse and the half hour return trip! Videos can be seen HERE.
We reached Paihia and had time for a walk around town, our motel being only 1 block from the Paihia Wharf with this great monument to the marlin, Paihia being one of the world famous sport fishing spots of New Zealand.