I had a 2pm spring Saturday reservation. Waikoru welcomed me warmly, showed me around and even told the sorry of some interesting gallery artecrafts. Then Bella, my guide arrived. Can’t thank her enough for her professionalism, passion, and kindness. I learned powerful insight on Maori heritage and history… The twilight Waipoua experience later that day with Tawhiri was all the more meaningful. Thank you all for helping me understand better, appreciate Maori culture and language. Your sense of pride and hopeful life perspective is inspiring.

A beautiful way to understand the true history and discovery of New Zealand. Alot of places to have photos taken by the awesome carvings. The professionalism and theatrical energy is outstanding. A must on your list if you go to the Hokianga Harbour. We had the privilege to experience MANEA.

The concept of the tour was very strong, but we had trouble following along. Beautiful intro walk through the park with traditional chanting/singing and explaining the varying taniwha (spirits). The theatrical/4D experience was beautiful but very very hard to understand at certain points. Perhaps offering headphones would optimize the sound to help, or offering some form of legible text/subtitles to help follow along. Especially for non-native English speakers or the hard of hearing. The performers and guides were stunning. The story room was also a really lovely idea but very hard to follow. Having the sound play out loud along with coming through the headphones made it very difficult for people in the room to concentrate on just one story. Choosing to have the sound just play through the headphones would be much better. Our favorites were the interviews with members of the community who spoke in the native Māori language, we would have loved to hear more of those. It gives you such a true feeling of the culture/people. Also having a bit more of a chronological lineup/guiding arrows through the room would have been useful. Regardless of all of these tidbits we really enjoyed the experience. Thank you so much for sharing with us!

Really wondeful immersive experience! We visited with my three kids (age 4,6,9) and they were really engaged and talked all day about what they’d learned about kupe, the wheke (octopus) and Taniwha that guard the Hokianga. Ngā mihi nunui ki a Waikoru rāua ko Bella - a big thank you to our wondeful hosts.

Honestly SUCH an amazing experience! Learned much more than I thought I would have about Maori culture and Hokianga. It was done in such an in-depth way that kept it entertaining as well as educational. The 4D experience was also a huge surprise! Highly recommend!!! We caught the 10am session and glad we did with the amount of people coming for the afternoon sessions.

Beautiful experience for my family and me. The tour was informative and captured the spirit of the Maori people. Our guides were great their performances were perfect. The video and effects show was top notch. It made Disneyland's theater look like child's play. Well worth the money, plus we got some good fish and chips on Opononi. We also got to see the Koutu Boulders.

During my visit to the Manea Footprints of Kupe, I was treated to a profound cultural journey. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Hokianga region, the experience is an immersive dive into Maori history and the adventures of the great navigator Kupe. From the warm traditional welcome to the interactive and high-tech exhibits inside, the storytelling prowess of the guides and the authenticity of the live performances made the legends resonate with me on a personal level. The full-scale waka and the engaging exhibits provided a tactile, enriching educational experience. Stepping outside, the guided walks allowed me to appreciate the historical and spiritual significance of the land. The facility is designed with respect for tradition and accessibility in mind, though it's worth checking ahead for those with specific mobility needs. In conclusion, the Manea Footprints of Kupe is an enlightening experience that offers visitors a window into the Maori soul. It's educational, emotional, and undoubtedly a must-visit for anyone interested in the rich tapestry of New Zealand's indigenous heritage.

We enjoyed our evening tour of the Waipoua Kauri Forest. However the normal Maori guides were not able to give the tour and so we ended up with Max, who though local is not Mauri and so the experience was not exactly what we thought we booked. There were no Mauri singing or chants and though he did say a few Maori words before entering the forest and at Tane Mahuta, it was not done with any passion or real belief, so the whole promised cultural spiritual encounter was simply never realised. He also didn't share any information on the ride to the forest or even make a point out of mentioning when we entered the Waipoua Kauri Forest. Max was a nice white man and has clearly done the tour quite a few times, as he was referencing other trips he had done recently, but he didn't hit the expectations that the website and promotional material set. I understand that things happen and sometimes the operations manager will have to cover a shift however I do believe this could have been communicated to the guests prior, so we could have chosen to join or not. When we got picked up it was quite the disappointment to be informed that their normal guides weren't able to make it and thus started off the whole experience on the wrong note (again prober communication prior could have avoided this). The Waipoua Kauri forest is beautiful and the trees magnificent with the highlights being Te Matua Ngāhere & Tane Mahuta. It was also nice to experience the Tane Mahuta with only our group as the area is closed off from 4pm for other visitors. We also learned a few new things which was nice, however I have a feeling the normal guides share more of their knowledge and passion. I think this tour has the potential to be 5 stars but truly needs a Maori with passion and authenticity .

Absolutely mindblowing. From all the experiences we colloborate with, this is definitely one of the best, if not the best tour in Aotearoa - New Zealand. According to our sales agent Sanne - who has travelled over more than 40 countries during a total amount of 6 years - this is the best tour she had taken part in for a long time and tourguide Tawhiri one of the best tourguides she ever had. Just a must-do for everybody coming to New Zealand.

Billy was an amazing guide that gave us a magical experience. Waipoua forest is breathtaking and the kauri trees are truly impressive. If you're in the area definitely join this tour.

My husband and I went on the Twilight tour. The guide (Mere) was very knowledgable, friendly and helped us understand the deep roots that the trees had within the Mauri culture. We loved seeing the old Kauri trees and experiencing nature at its finest. Mere explained that the tour money goes towards conservation of the beautiful forest and why that is so important for future generations. It was a spiritual and uplifting experience, we would definitely recommend.

A friend recommended this tour and it was absolutely worth it. We did the twilight tour and so had the forest to ourselves. Billy Boy was a phenomenal guide, helping us learn about the Kauri trees and Maori culture with an easy grace.

When visiting the Hokianga area, do book a Forrest Walk at Footprints. The walks are very easy and you get to walk through amazing forrests. The Maori guide gives lots of information about the way Maori make use of the treasures of the forrest, tells Maori stories and even sings before visiting the oldest or biggest Kauri trees. It's quite moving, I absolutely loved it.

This is the real deal. The Kauri trees are beyond amazing; they are mind bogglingly beautiful and bigger than imaginable . But even more importantly, Billy Boy and Amelia are brilliant tour guides who are able to share their love of their Maori culture with their guests. This is so not a cheap tourist attraction. it is literally awe-inspiring.

Opononi and Ōmāpere are nearby beachside settlements by the banks of Hokianga Harbour. They are on the State Highway 12, which runs along the harbour's south side, with Opononi north of Ōmāpere. Both villages boast of beautiful white to gold sand beaches with 150-metre-high giant sand dunes on the other side of the harbour. Opononi was made famous in the mid 1950s by the tame dolphin Opo, who used to let children ride on his back. Recent history of these villages goes back to the time Irishman John Martin arrived in Hokianga in 1827 captaining the ship Governor Macquarie. He married a local lady named Kiriora and started farming in the area. Later John Webster bought land in 1855 and added a store, a kauri gum trading post and a pier. In the 1930s, the villages were linked by the main highway. Today both villages boast of vibrant tourism business particularly in summer with a substantial number of accommodation facilities, shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Lovely beach with great views. Very strong current flows through the majority of the time.

Lovely family spot. It has holiday accommodation, shops, cafes, takeaway, 4Square and your local bar/restaurant. It also has info on the history of Opononi. Lovely beach and seaview.

Opononi beach is good place, and spot for fishing

An absolutely beautiful spot to stop, enjoy coffee from the local cafe and walk barefooted on the sand and wharf.

Beautiful Golden Sand Beach 🥰🇳🇿

Great place to stop and dip your toes in the water.

Used to be a big dolphin you could sit on. Now it’s a small one ;( very sad . He is buried around the corner on the way to the public toilets btw.

Statue was smaller than expected but nonetheless quite a landmark.

I'm old enough to remember the original Opo. He was world famous and put NZ, Opononi and the Hokianga on the map.

Very scenic area, awesome place to stop for a bite or a pint. The foods great and the beers cold. Bit of a trip to get there in either direction but if your on a motorcycle it's usually 90% or the reason.

The pub here is super cute! Staff are friendly, and the locals are all really cool. Step back in time with heaps of old gaming machines. Cold beer, dart board and pool tables. Super cool!

A sad story about the Dolphin Opononi. (difficult to rate this.)

We stopped in for an ice cream while admiring the sand dunes opposite. As it was morning the sun hit the dunes and brightened them up for us, which for our first timers was pretty spectacular. 😁

Cute stop. There are hotel and cafe near the Wharf.

Very beautiful on a pleasant day. Quiet and lovely. Beautiful blue water.

Always a beautiful place to visit 💕 Just watch out for crackers, run em over if you see em, help out a wonderful community 👌🏾 😉

Thats here for the Sand dunes sliding and finishing in the sea. Its quite fun. Cost 30$. Its better to buy your ticket straight in the boat, if you buy the ticket at the tourist centre they take 20%. Departure every hour. Enjoy!

Always so much fun coming out here for the summer holidays with the family. The Hokianga never disappoints when it comes to relaxing, having fun and taking in the breathtaking views. A must see place to visit. 😍

Beautiful scenery, sunshine, good company and an ice cream in summer... Try it, you'll like it.

Hime away from Home

Amazing place to be with friends or family. $27 for an adult will get you to the sand dunes and back where you can use a board to slide down the dunes hitting water :) Great fun in the sun! May be good to book in advance (timing wise) as its really busy...

Thanks Pete and Hohepa. What a fun couple of hours our whānau had! Easy as to book with Pete and no problems getting there and back. My legs are dead from the hill climbs but sand boarding was well worth the money and time!

Awesome lil boat ride over to the sand dunes Pete is a good guy explaining things thoroughly because you can boogie board down the dunes and the ride there and back is cheap and fast 5 stars

The best way to visit the golden sandhills of th Hokianga, excellent service and a very experienced skipper and crew. Lots of great fun! 😊

Great fun, good price. Friendly and professional.

Adventures to the golden sand dunes are what holiday memories are made of.

These guys are so accomodating and freindly. You feel a part of thier family.

Went here for dinner the food was below average the staff were very rude. They forgot to add one meal when ordering and forget to bring one meal out. No apologies just attitude from the staff. Unless you are a local you will not be welcomed.

Worst fish and chip I've ever had. Chips very average, fish dry. No salad or coleslaw as you may have expected. Guys had burgers and were very average. Couldn't recommend. Food took a long time to arrive too.

Seafood Chowder took longer than a three course meal to get. There were five in the place. Obviously had walk out issues before. Why do chefs put mustard in seafood chowder. Bit below average which is a shame owing to the possibly nice atmosphere in the seaside building not matched by the food.

Oh dear. We had a lovely young waitress and so wanted it to be good. But the fish was bland and nasty and the gourmet sauce literally came out of a bottle. Some fries mysteriously vanished. Do not expect to find Gordon Ramsey in the kitchen. And then the roof nearly fell in with a huge bang. However, it was entertaining to watch a nearby couple send meals back no less than four times. Nice location though and warm even after dark. Gets an extra star for that.

food below average, as for the seafood disgusting. do not get any seafood items as none of the seafood is fresh. U can see it, taste it and smell it. We asked what fish a certain menu item was and got no answer, also did not say it was fresh when we asked which was clear when it come to the table. strongly do NOT recommend ever eating here.

17/01/22 Enjoyed a lovely meal here with friends this evening. The steak meals were very good, the mussel fritters whilst not wholly mussel were tasty as was the salad with them. The banana dessert was delicous. Thankyou for an enjoyable evening. The reviews in the past have not been that complimentary but we were surprised and delighted to find the food lovely. We will return again.

This place has the distinction of being the worst restaurant I have ever been to. Waited two hours (no exaggeration) for meals and we were the only table (four of us) in the restaurant. We could see and hear the staff laughing and chatting while we waited, definitely not busy! When we enquired about the wait the waitress was very rude, I was polite at all times and did nothing to inspire rudeness except for asking at about the hour and a half mark if perhaps we had been forgotten.. awful awful service and distinctly average food.

It's worth a visit, but due to a high tide, it was a little underwhelming. The entrance is not well signposted. You need to walk once you have got to the car park. The track is clear enough to follow.

Not really that impressive, just a few boulders that are round. Must visit at low tide. Gum boots best. Parking lot at bottom of the hill, then go right at the beach. Lot is not marked. Make sure and go near low tide.

If you are near it's worth a look. At the carpark walk towards the water then turn right. You'll see footprints from other visitors and also where the grass has been trampled down. There is a tall tree by the beach and that's where the boulders are. We got there around high tide so walked along the grass bank. But you need to be careful as some of the bank has given away and hard to see holes as the grass is long. Beach has some rocks so ideal to wear something on your feet.

Check the tide as its not accessible at low tide. Walk towards the beach from the car park, and turn right. The boulders are further up this beach. Really interesting walk along the beach to see these round balls of rock, some starting to crack and break open.

I went here in rain shower.. long walk from the park and decided not to go further.. the limited car park is worse and no parking available. The best way is long walk from the lower car park along the beach which you have to care of tide!!!

Some boulders to see which look really"round". But nothing else to see here. Nice to do when you are passing by but not worth a detour

This car park does not have signage. At the time of this posting, there is alarge shipping container in the car park.

Interesting if you are in that area, or just wanted to take a break, else underwelming. Walk a bit further up to broken one. Be creative with the broken boulder. Super hero landing, "pulling" it apart with hands, be creative but do not damage.

No signage for parking area. Not clear where the boulders are exactly until you start to walk further down the low tide area. There are only a few boulders, but still interesting.

Great spot, entrance is only via carpark before hill. Walk out to beach and along the shore. Small boulders are at western end and large ones eastern end but you need a low tide to walk along to those.

Take Koutu Loop Rd and travel up to the carpark. Exit carpark on foot and turn right on the beach. It won't take long to start seeing the boulders scattered around the shore. Some are massive. Wonderful scenery of the harbour from all directions. Wear good footware as further up the beach it gets rocky and they can be slippy. Make sure you arrive as tide is going out to allow time to view boulders and access the top end. Allow approximately 2 hours

Dream away and let the magic of the boulders inspire you. 50 million year ago this was a sea bed, now we can stroll and enjoy the solitude. We discovered faces, animals and sculptural beauties fitting an art gallery. A beautiful little spot in the middle of nowhere. 5 stars for beauty but not well signposted once we were on the gravel road leading to the carpark so 1 star less.

These boulders are great. Many different sizes across a good stretch of beach you can easily spend a couple of hours here. Best to go at low tide. I recommend some sort of shoes, as there are plenty of oyster shells.

Bolders are cool but a bit underwhelming in a country of such amazing geological sights. Be aware that Google Maps will take you 600m past the parking and trail head.

Six of us had an absolutely spectacular day on Jet Skis up the Hokianga Harbour. Few of us had ridden jet skis before, but if you listen to what you're told nothing can go wrong really. Lots more confidence by the time we got to Horeke and heaps of fun. Remember to lather up on the sunscreen though - and don't forget the lips!!! (Like I did) Len and Antoinette are great hosts and it was lovely to sit down and review the day with them at the end. When the world opens up again we plan to come back with our overseas family.

Awesome adventures Hokianga took us to some fabulous places in the Hokianga Harbour, and showered us in hospitality. Both Leonard and Antoinette are lovely people who know heaps about the area and are passionate to tell you all about it, while taking care of you as if you were the king and queen. Their jetski's, paddleboards and kayaks are in very good condition. I would certainly recommend them!

Antoinette and Lenny are amazing! From the short notice organizing of a Kaimoana tour through to the execution of the actual Jetski tour it has been a pleasure. Lenny has an amazing amount of knowledge and insight into the area and a great and fun way of guiding the tour. Fishing for mussels and pippies (whilst originally very cold waters ☺) has been one of my favourite experiences to date and matched with the fun of riding a jetski around the bay and and ocean was fantastic. Cannot recommend this enough ! Thank you again for an amazing experience!!

Len and Antoinette are so welcoming and warm and love to share their culture and food with you right on the beach. Would highly recommend a trip on the jetski or a kayak to get over to the sand dunes. Great day spent, thanks both!

This is how tourism should be done. Lenny and Antoinette are super friendly and have a wealth of information on the area. Family had a blast on the kayaks and jetskis. Flying fish looked super fun for the kids.

The most fantastic experience I've had in years, Leonard has an infinite passion to show all the Hokianga has to offer, breathtaking! The guys at awesome adventures went above and beyond, I'll never forget the experience! Thanks fellas, I'll be back!

Best place in NZ by far. Great hosts Antoinette and Lenny. Fantastic adventures on jetskis and kayaks. Unbelievable food. We'll be back for more. Love it. Thanks a million

Great short bush walk with a raging waterfall (after much rain) but worth the detour up the gravel road

Waiotemarama Falls is an absolutely stunning spot! The walk to the falls is peaceful and surrounded by beautiful native bush, making it a lovely escape into nature. The waterfall itself is breathtaking and well worth the visit. The track is well-maintained and easy to navigate, making it suitable for most fitness levels. A must-visit if you’re in the area!

Short drive from the main road with a short walk to the falls, definitely worth the detour. Beautiful walk to get there that isn't very difficult with the option of longer hikes. The signs said the hikes were closed but I ran into a local that said doc was opening them back up but was working on removing the signs. Will definitely return one day to do the longer hikes!

Nice short walk, water very clean

Nice waterfalls, hot water very relaxing

What a great find, the path is a bit dodgy in places but the falls are so pretty

Went for a walk with my son. It was like an adventure. Beautifully maintained tracks and saw a picnic area under shade of trees. Beautiful peaceful surroundings and loved the experience. Bit steep in places but worth the experience. Didn't do the whole trek due to my unfit state (I am over 60 yrs) however I plan to revisit.

What amazing volunteers. Such a lovely bunch of people and they were so very appreciative of our visit. It is a must visit! We had a wonderful time looking at the beautiful layout of the museum. You can see a lot of love and time has gone into creating this. The highlight for me was reading about the historical ship wrecks and seeing the original Opo the Dolphin carving. Stunning and we will be back. Thanks for all your dedication and hard work at preserving the Hokiangas history.

Claire was knowledgeable, friendly, and so passionate about the region’s history. She told us stories about Opo the dolphin, the influenza epidemic and the first women in the area to vote, which made the displays and exhibitions come to life. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

A small but very interesting museum run by very enthusiastic staff, well worth a visit

Wonderful volunteers who couldn't have been more helpful with my research questions. Well organised and well laid out. Take cash as although entry is minimal there are books available to purchase, and no eftpos.

Ladies that were on the day we were there were full of history and knowledge. Wonderful to talk too

Very interesting and varied information about the local history. Helpful and friendly curators

Very welcoming and knowledgeable people.