Experience Great Times on Water and on Land
Near Waitangi New Zealand

Visiting the Bay of Islands will delight tourists and enhance any New Zealand tour. Waitangi New Zealand, is located on the shore of New Zealand in the region of Northland, which borders the Auckland area to the north. Waitangi is just on the coast of the scenic bay, which has an amazing total of 144 islands to explore.

Luxury New Zealand cruises in the Bay of Islands is an excellent way to savor the Bay of Islands and get a memorable panoramic view of Waitangi and surrounding towns. Exotic fish, playful dolphins, and scenic lighthouses await tourists’ enjoyment. Cruises take travelers to remarkable locations like the “Hole in the Rock,” where the ship is surrounded by majestic rock formations as it passes right through a massive nature-made arch and onward.

A variety of Bay of Islands cruises will make stops on some of the most beautiful isles there. Tourists will be able to wander through vast beaches or explore intricate caves. These cruises offer abundant opportunities for swimming, underwater diving, and snorkeling as well as great ways to explore the amazing diversity of underwater life in the Bay. Upon a return to the Waitangi, New Zealand, another New Zealand vacation adventure on land awaits tourists.

A visit to a llama farm is a memorable opportunity unique to Zealand tourism. Where else can a traveler find 44 llamas– large and small– to delight and entertain, all in one place? The Rangemore Llama Farm in Waipapa near Waitangi gives visitors a chance enjoy a great piece of New Zealand’s native fauna.

Waitangi and the surrounding towns offer numerous beautifully maintained walking paths to facilitate NZ backpacking adventures. Amazing scenery, carefully preserved and maintained– as well as fresh air and good exercise make for unforgettable memories. A variety of guided tours– sometimes with real Maori guides– are offered throughout the area. Adventure-seeking travelers will also relish exploring the amazingly diverse landscape on their own.

The Haruru Falls near Waitangi offer a rare and remarkable sight– quite unlike any other waterfall in the world. The falls are shaped like a horseshoe, and kayakers can row right up to it, surrounded by falling water on three sides. Land travelers can approach the top of the falls to reach a scenic lookout point, where they can get a splendid view of the waterfall, the lush trees, and the kayaks coming and going.

The Waitangi area offers an abundance of accomodations to suit travelers of all tastes. Luxurious hotels and beach resorts overlooking the bay as well as numerous quality bed-and-breakfast establishments abound in Waitangi and nearby Russell. Some establishments, like the Bay Adventurer and the Pipi Patch Lodge in Paihia, specialize in meeting the needs of backpackers– offering them comfortable accomodations to which they can return after a day of exciting exploration.

Waitangi is where New Zealand as we know it today came to be. It was the site of the Waitangi Treaty in 1840 between European settlers and the Maori natives of New Zealand. This treaty incorporated the islands of New Zealand into the British Empire while granting the Maori natives the rights possessed by other subjects of Britain.

Waitangi, New Zealand, still harbors the very house in which this historic treaty was signed– accompanied by an exact replica of the house in which Maori chiefs traditionally met– called a Whare Runanga– carved and put together using traditional Maori building techniques. Another piece of NZ history resides in Waitangi: an enormous Maori war canoe– one of the biggest on the entire planet! Tourists who visit Waitangi in early February will be delighted by celebrations of the treaty’s anniversary– held every year on February 6th.

The towns close to Waitangi offer further opportunities to explore and appreciate the culture and history of New Zealand. Just on the other side of the Bay of Islands from Waitangi is another great NZ historical site: Russell.

Russell used to be a chaotic, lawless place in the late 19th century; it was one of the first major New Zealand settlements with a prospering port and whaling industry. Russell has changed greatly since then; tourists will find it quiet, civilized, and refreshing– with great restaurants, monuments, and historical buildings.

A great authentic historical site to visit in Russell is the Christ Church; this church was damaged in the Maori Wars of 1845-1872 and has since been accurately restored in great detail; but the restorers decided to deliberately leave some of the holes made by bullets during the wars as a commemoration of the kinds of threats this building survived. Both in and around Waitangi, New Zealand, travelers will be constantly reminded of New Zealand’s past while having enlightening and rejuvenating experiences in the present.