Stunned natural New Zealand at its best…read more Gorgeous views of azure blue sea and powdering white sand. Many islands doted out in the bay. Sheltered coves, cliffs and native bush. Stunning stunning stunning. Carpark to access cove very limited and no parking on the road up. Better to park in Hahei town and walk along beach and around. That way you get all the views. But it is a stroll/hike of about 2kms each way.

Cathedral Cove was an amazing experience. To be walking in farmland amongst a bunch of sheep one…read moreminute and then be in a tropical jungle next to a beach the next is amazing. The scenery was like something out of a movie. This is a must see on any New Zealand trip.

Ohinemuri Reserve is very green- lovely. Comes with it's own little side car park to the giant…read moreLemon & Paeroa bottle- as L&P originally comes from the spring water town of Paeroa. A must photograph icon when passing through. A great walkway and park behind it that you can enjoy before/after as you wish. Bathrooms next to the car park and lots of sitting green area. Lovely bridge over Ohinemuri River and tree shade to enjoy also. Definitely worth a stop by

Sullivan's Bay is part of the Mahurangi Regional Park and is a gorgeous little beach at the end of…read morethe peninsula. From State Highway one it's about a 15min drive along the winding but very scenic road. It's a perfect spot for young kids; the water is flat and there are big old Pohutakawa trees to shade under for the day. The Auckland regional council manages the campground down there; Adults $18, kids $6 per night, and it's right next to the beach. If you're spending the day and the tide is right you can walk over the hill or around the coast to Te Muri. It's even more secluded around here and can only be reached over the estuary when the tide is out. It's worth the walk though, there's a little pioneer graveyard (the early Sullivan family are among the buried) and a nice piece of farm land with little lambies come spring.

Pauanui Beach is a destination suitable for all ages. Towards the northern end there is an estuary…read morewhere, when I was younger, dad used to launch the boat and we'd go donuting or waterskiing. Once I reached my teens, we'd head further south to the Surf Club where hordes of teenager would meet late night. Now that we're older we hang down the sensible south end with the young adults. Small children play in the safe shallow water of the river outlet and there's convenient parking less than 50m away. There's also toilets and basic showers....bliss!

While staying in hahei, i went onthe 'remote coast tour'. I like kayaking, and am more interested…read morein impressive coastlines and discovering sea caves. Well, the tour certainly did not disappoint. What i liked: - great guides - impressive caves - good explanation of the geology of the area (volcanoes, lava, continental drifting) - small group (we were with 5) - good quality of gear including dry bag Tip:if you have a dry bag, do bring it. The dry bags provided are limited size.

I enjoyed the tour and my guide Brando was very informative. Most of the people participating in…read morethis tour are couples and not all are experienced kayakers. Since I was solo and an experienced kayaker - they made an exception and put me in a solo kayak, which I was quite glad of. The 3-hour tour is about 60 minutes total of kayaking -- after a thorough orientation on the beach with discussion of safety and equipment usage demonstration (including neoprene skirt, PFD and paddle), we headed off to Stingray/Gemstone Bay before going around the point to Cathedral Cove where we all landed for a 45 minute break on the beach. Brando was prepared with a camp stove and fixings for (non-vegan) hot cocoa and coffees, so I grabbed my goggles and went for a swim from Cathedral Cove back to Gemstone Bay. After our break, we went out to some of the other small islands, went through a sea tunnel, and then returned to the coast to look at the "snorkel trail" at Stingray/Gemstone Bay before heading back out and returning to the main beach. Brando was very good at keeping the pace up and engaging with the different members of his tour. All the tour company staff were super efficient, friendly and very well organized. My only regret is that there isn't more time actually kayaking - I would have loved to explore more of the islands and spend more time on the water paddling!

Looks pretty cool! Excellent location to Paeroa and heaps of cool outdoor activities...Take a look…read moreat a satellite view and you will see tons of green space and hiking, biking and adventure trails for solo expeditions and families alike...You will enjoy this base of operations and be pleased to know this business is for sale :) Stay and see how it is for yourself and then make the leap and own it for your next real life ADVENTURE DESTINATION & DREAM COME TRUE! #2017 is just the beginning...

This one is a beautiful staircase waterfall that you can find off one of the side roads along the…read moreKarangahake Gorge. Pull into Waitawheta Rd and park alongside the slope as we did. Look out for the hidden tunnel downhill track enclosed by trees and green on both sides down to the waterfall. You can sneak a peak at the water as you make your way towards it. Only takes a few minutes each way- wonderful if you aren't feeling like doing a long or too intensive walk. Has a medium sized pool at the bottom for swimming but be careful as some parts are quite deep. Even climbing down to the rocks there is quite a few slippery spots. Continues down a stream towards the Karangahake. Quite cool water when we went and lovely to float in. There is bush around to sit and little pockets for changing if you aren't already in your gear. Gorgeous fall- so easy to get to, definitely worth seeing

I came here with my 3-year-old son, husband, and newborn for a play date with my son's little…read morefriend from his daycare center. We weren't sure what to expect from the experience, but arrived early in the morning (right around opening time) and we all had a blast! Just to be warned, when you are driving to the farm park, the road gets smaller and smaller and you start to wonder if you are going in the right direction. You are. Occasionally, there are additional signs along the road that let you know you are still heading in the right direction. To start out, each family purchased some animal food, which came with a scoop for feeding the bigger animals. Included in the menagerie were: chickens, ducks, pheasants, cows, goats, emu, llamas, ponies, alpacas and sheep. The young ones loved feeding the animals and the grown-ups thought it was pretty cool, too. What I really loved (besides the animals) was that there were several play areas scattered around that gave the boys tons of opportunity to get out their energy and use their imaginations. For example, there was a "construction pit," with dirt, built in diggers and the like. There was a large sculpture of a helicopter that they could sit inside. There was also a large sculpture airplane. We brought a picnic lunch and ate on the tables outside the back of the office area. There were lovely views of the surrounding area. I would highly, highly recommend this place if you have small children - it was a great day out.