The perfect summer - Mangawhai memories
Ask any kiwi about the perfect childhood holiday, and odds are there’s a bach or caravan involved, sunshine, sand, ocean beach (for surfing and fishing), swimming beach (for picnics with toddlers), and an estuary (for dragging out the old rowboat, and even more fishing).
Throw in awesome views from just about everywhere; nearby forests for mountain biking; rock-fishing par-none; a clifftop walkway of note; fast-forward a few years to add our new must-have – great coffee – and we’ve arrived at…Mangawhai.
Mangawhai
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As dawn breaks over this sleepy Northland town, the jagged silhouette of the Hen and Chicken Islands is suffused with a vibrant orange glow. Kayakers slip silently from a boatshed beside the estuary and paddle out, past dark sandbanks where watching oystercatchers huddle, tilting their heads curiously as the kayaks drift past, the gentle splash of the paddles lost in the distant crash of surf. Early morning surfers are already out in force, communing with the ocean in what must rank as one of the country’s most picturesque surfing locations. Huge white sand dunes divide the Mangawhai Harbour from the rolling Pacific Ocean. Ocean, sand and forest sweep south in a curve past Te Arai and Pakiri Beach to Cape Rodney.
Spectacular panoramas can be gained on the Mangawhai Cliffs Walkway, a three hour return hike which begins at the Surf Club car park. Heading off three hours either side of low tide, the walkway ambles along a stretch of isolated beach dotted with hardy surfers and patches of scrub. Coastal natives cling to high sand cliffs: tea tree, flax, and gnarled pohutukawas stand battered but triumphant in the ocean breeze. There’s rocks with fossilised remains, great mounds of shells left by stormy seas and an energetic 20 minute boulder hop delivers you through a rock arch to an ancient pohutukawa that has been confidently claimed and tenanted by a colony of shags. Bream Tail has been reached and panoramic vistas unfold.
Back at the bach the pipis are in the pot and Dad’s returned with freshly caught snapper. His beaming face is caught momentarily by the flash of the camera. The BBQ’s lit and the brood slowly returns from the beach with sandy feet and salty locks, tired and hungry yet well satisfied with their day. They’ve been busy creating memories like summers past; memories of Mangawhai’s perfect childhood holiday.
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