• Ninety-Mile Beach - mile after mile of rugged beautiful beach that stretches up the western coast to the northernmost tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. In Maori folklore this is where the spirits of the dead took off for their ancestral home, Hawaiiki
• Hokianga harbour - known for its majestic, mystical scenery
• Waipoua Kauri Forest - massive trees, some many thousands of years old, prized in the 18th century for their wood and their gum deposits
• Keri Keri - set in a harbour inlet, it has the oldest wooden and stone buildings in New Zealand, and a recreated Maori Pa village

Nearest airports

• Keri Keri, 15 miles from Paihia, has a domestic airport with readily available transport
• Auckland airport is about 150 miles south