3 Best Sights in Northland and the Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Take a trip to the Goat Island (also known as Te Hawere-a-Maki Marine Reserve), where fishing is prohibited and marine life has returned in abundance. Prominent species include blue maomao fish, snapper, and cod. It does get crowded here, and midweek is best. You can put on a snorkel and get up-close-and-personal with a school of maomao. The beach area is good for a picnic as well. Another fun activity is to take a glass-bottom boat tour. Just as the name promises, Glass Bottom Boat takes a glass-bottom boat around the island and gives you an aquarium eye view of waters teeming with fish. If the weather isn't ideal, there is an inner reef trip. Call ahead, because trips don't run if there is too much of a swell. You can also rent flippers, masks, and snorkels if you want to get in the water. To get to Goat Island head toward Leigh, 21 km (13 miles) northeast of Warkworth. From Leigh, take a left turn and follow the signs for a couple of miles. If you arrive by 10 am, you should avoid the masses especially midweek and in winter. If you want to stay the night, there are camping grounds nearby; the Warkworth Visitor Centre will direct you.

On the National Trust Estate beyond the Treaty Grounds, Mt. Bledisloe showcases the splendid view across Paihia and the Bay of Islands. The handsome ceramic marker at the top showing the distances to major world cities was made by Doulton in London and presented by Lord Bledisloe in 1934 during his term as governor-general of New Zealand. The mount is 3 km (2 miles) from the Treaty House, on the other side of the Waitangi Golf Course. From a small parking area on the right of Waitangi Road, a short track rises above a pine forest to the summit.

This is the oldest kauri villa in Whangarei. It is home to the Northland Society of Arts and regularly hosts exhibitions from New Zealand artists. Original works from well-known artists are available for purchase. The permanent collection focuses on the 1880s to the present, and several well-known New Zealand artists are represented.