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HERE for a map of
Kaitaia and surrounding areas
Kaitaia is New
Zealands northern most town with an airport, and by road up Highway
1, it's a 200 mile (321 kms) drive from Auckland. Air
New Zealand operates regular flights from Auckland to Kaitaia, as
well as other private charter companies.
It is located at the base of the
Aupouri Peninsula, a few miles inland and just south of Ninety
Mile Beach, and the Bay of Islands is a 50 mile drive south
east.
The origins of the town date back
to 1834, when a Mission Station was established. The town
grew up around the mission, on the back of the Forestry industry
and in more recent years, from tourism. The town has a
population around 5,500, which for this part of the World
makes it a large town in comparison to most others.
The local climate is subtropical
and on average, Kaitaia is the warmest place in New
Zealand. It is a popular place for surfing, fishing, sailing
& yachting, walking and horse & dune riding, and
is an excellent base for exploring the northern countryside and
coastline of the Aupouri Peninsula, or the Bay of Islands to the
south-east. The stunning Ninety Mile Beach is only a few
miles from the town, and can be followed all the way up the
west coast of the Peninsula, almost to the farthest northern
point. Ninety Mile Beach is actually only 55 miles long,
and it is thought the name was given by missionaries
travelling by horseback, knowing that a horse could travel 30 miles
a day, and it took 3 days to travel from end to end.
However, they didn't take into account that horses travel
slower when walking on sand, and therefore walked less
distance, thus the miscalculation. But the name stuck
and the anomalous beach is a tourist attraction in its own
right.
As well as daily scheduled flight
connections from Auckland, there are daily Citylink Coach services
from and to Auckland via the Bay of Islands, so these are options
if you don't want to drive.
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