Sunday, April 6, 2008

Kaitaia

We are heading up here to do the bus trip up 90 mile Beach and on upto the top of New Zealand ... Cape Reinga. Sleeping in the new Hugo .. our Toyota Spacio ... cramped but we are flexible ... STRONG ... BRAVE ... & CLEVER!!


















Kaitaia, the most northern town in New Zealand is about 116 kms south of Cape Reinga. It has a good shopping centre, a variety of cafés and restaurants, a museum and Visitor Information Centre.
Kaitaia is a 4 to 5 hour drive from Auckland via the Twin Coast Discovery Highway travelling either the east coast or west coast of Northland. A daily express coach service is available to and from Auckland or alternatively Air New Zealand has regular scheduled flights into Kaitaia airport.
The town can cater for most accommodation requirements and conference facilities are available in the area. It is also a starting point for tours which leave Kaitaia daily, taking in the scenery by air or on land.
A busy farming town, it also supports vineyards and fruit growing - especially avocados. Like most rural towns Kaitaia has its very own annual Agricultural & Pastoral Show, well over a hundred years old and one of the oldest in New Zealand.
The surrounding areas are home to many skilled craftspeople working in wood, pottery, paint, glass, ceramics, flax, bone, and greenstone.
Its Maori and European history is long and rich - with a strong Dalmatian community harking back to the days of the gum digging boom. The Far North Regional Museum has moa, kiwi and gum digging displays, early transport and communication history, and the work of Arthur Northwood and his brothers from early last century - the Northwood Photographic Collection.
A Community Centre serves as a venue for concerts, plays and other cultural events as well as conferences, seminars and meetings. Other recreational facilities include an indoor sports centre, facilities for bowls, golf, tennis & squash and a shooting range.