Katikati Mural Town

There’s so much to see and do in and around Katikati.

The native forest is on the doorstep, offering many opportunities for bush tramps or bird watching. Take the twenty-minute tramp from the end of Hot Springs Road to the ancient Kauri tree and experience its silent majesty. At more than 800 years old it is still relatively young in comparison with the giants of the Northland forests.

For golfers, the 18-hole course at Golf Pacifica is only 3km from Jacaranda Cottage. Greenfee players are welcome.

Enjoy lunch amongst the gardens and birds at the nearby Katikati Bird Gardens, soak in the thermal hot pools at Athenree, go swimming in the surf or walk along the ocean beach at Island View. Try your hand at surfcasting or fishing from the rocks at Bowentown Heads or explore its walks, views and beaches. The long pier at picturesque Kauri Point is another favourite fishing spot. Walk along the harbour’s edge on the spit at Tuapiro Point; watch motor boats being launched off the boat ramp beside the yachts moored in the deeper water of Tanners Point.

Arts and crafts abound—browse in the Craft Centre to choose your unique treasure. With restaurants, coffee houses and home bakeries a-plenty you shouldn’t go hungry. Wine tasting at Morton Estate Winery is another favourite activity.

And of course there are those marvellous murals in the town. Get yourself a murals guide from the Craft Centre or Information Centre and spend a few hours wandering through the town enjoying the diversity and artistic merit of the paintings, carvings, woven art, sculpture and more. The Haiku Trail is another pleasant and interesting walk. Read the Haiku poetry carved on the boulders alongside the path as you go, with the Kaimai mountains as your backdrop.

A little further afield is the pretty city of Tauranga to the south, its beachside area of Mount Maunganui across the harbour, with the famous ocean beach curving away into the distance for miles. Climb Mauo, the long-extinct volcano at the end of the Mount Maunganui peninsula, and relish the birds-eye view of the coastline, the mountains, the towns, the farmlands and orchards.

Drive to the north and visit the old gold-mining town of Waihi, where new gold has been extracted from the old mine workings. Take a train trip to Waikino in the Karangahake Gorge. This area has many interesting and spectacular walks connected with its history.