Horses and a Throwback Motel in Ahipara

We woke up to sunshine in Paihia and it was beautiful! I got out for a run and saw a little more of the town. I'm feeling much better; not quite 100%, but getting there. (Yassss, amoxicillin!)

Morning sunrise in Paihia.

We grabbed breakfast at a local coffee shop, went back to our "sketchy" motel to pack up, and then headed for the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, New Zealand's most significant historic landmark. Often called the "Birthplace of the Nation," the Treaty Grounds are where New Zealand's founding document was signed by representatives of the British Crown and Māori chiefs who acted on behalf of their hapū (sub-tribes) in 1840. 

Wyatt looks for bones on all of our trips. He found one at the coffee shop. (Don't worry, it also stayed at the coffee shop.)

This thing was just begging for a kid to climb inside it.

Where there's a slide, there are Taylor and Wyatt.

In more recent years, this treaty has been hotly debated -- and at times, ignored or broken -- in New Zealand. To attempt redress, the Treaty of Waitangi Act was introduced in 1975, and that Act established the Waitangi Tribunal, which allows for a process to hear claims about breaches of the treaty, typically the taking of land and resources from Māori. Interestingly enough, the Waitomo Caves -- which we had visited earlier in our trip -- was the first settlement issued by the Waitangi Tribunal; it involved the transfer of land and a loan.

While visiting the Treaty Grounds, we saw the Museum of Waitangi (incredible...for adults at least), the Treaty House, the carved Meeting House, and the world’s largest ceremonial war canoe. I wish we had had more time to spend here -- also, it's really museum-y (read: too much) for kids.

On the Treaty Grounds.

In front of the Treaty House.

The world's largest ceremonial war canoe.

Where the ceremonial war canoe is housed.

The water color was beautiful!

We hopped back in our Staria and pulled up directions for our next stop: Ahipara. Ahipara is a beach town on the western side of Northland, at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach (whose name cracks me up, considering that New Zealanders do kilometers and not miles). 

We would be going horseback riding in Ahipara and we needed to pay in cash. We had some New Zealand dollars on us, but not enough, so we considered swinging by an ATM in Paihia before leaving. But then we decided against it, figuring that there would be an ATM or two in Ahipara. (Can you already figure out the lesson? Never assume. Never.)

The directions to Ahipara took us on windy roads through the countryside. To be honest, about 90% of our driving around the North Island has been on windy roads through the countryside. I don't know how the locals do it. I can only handle so many windy roads. At some point on some windy road, we saw a man with a huge pack on his back walking; his leg muscles were evidence that he was walking-walking. This was in the middle of nowhere. Tim and I looked at each other like, "What? Wow!" We were impressed. Also slightly worried for this man, although he clearly looked capable and then some.

As we're driving, I'm trying to look for lunch options on the way in to Ahipara. I'm not seeing much. And then the WiFi drops. We are literally out there. No matter -- we follow the signs to Ahipara and as we get closer, the WiFi comes back. I find a lunch spot: North Drift Cafe. It is one of two restaurants in town...and when we pull up to the Cafe, we're informed that the kitchen is closed. No matter. We have some snacks that will suffice for lunch, and we pick up a couple of drinks at the Superette just steps away from the Cafe. This is the town: It's the Cafe, a Superette, a gas station, a fish and chips takeaway spot, and a school across the street. I am having serious doubts about spending the night in Ahipara, but Tim reminds me: "We get what we get and we don't get upset." 

However, do you think there's an ATM in Ahipara? You are correct, dear reader: There is not. So we jam back in the van and drive to the closest "big" town, Kaitaia. Kaitaia looks...rough. Truly, it's the only kinda rough town we've since on this entire trip (and we've driven through a lot of random towns). But this place has an ATM (success!) and we can now pay for horseback riding. 

From Kaitaia, we take another windy road to Ahipara and aim for our motel. We have about 20 minutes to check in and change into jeans before meeting at Horse Treks, where we would pick up our horse ride. Off the main road and up a steep hill is our hotel: Ahipara Bay Motel. This motel also housed the second restaurant in Ahipara, the Bayview Restaurant. This motel was awesome -- it was apartment-style room set-up and it was straight out of the 1970s. Total blast from the past run by a sweet older couple.

Taylor reminded us that we had to get to Horse Treks in time, but since you can drive to everything in Ahipara in three minutes, we made it with time to spare. Fast forward on this experience: Wyatt got on the horse and quickly got off the horse (I think he is still traumatized from his horse-riding experience in Baños, Ecuador, which was completely Wild-West-hold-on-for-dear-life style), so Tim stayed behind with him. Taylor and I continued on with our guide, a young woman from Germany who was spending the year traveling around New Zealand and working odd jobs. She had been a horse guide for one week.  

Our horse ride was beautiful; we rode along Ninety Mile Beach and it was gorgeous. We came upon some wild horses who evidently live there and have become so bold that they now get into town and go up on neighbors' yards. Our ride took about one hour. Taylor was in heaven and also had lots of feedback for me once the ride was over ("that's not how you trot, Mom, and that's not how you canter"). As for me, my legs were in bad shape once I slid off my horse (#outofpractice).

On our beach horse ride.

Saddling up at Horse Treks.

A small herd of wild horses. There are a few hundred of these horses along Ninety Mile Beach.

Following the horse ride, we drove to Shipwreck Bay, which really does have a shipwreck in it. You can see part of the ship at low tide. Tim eyed decent surf, and seeing as how he'd lugged his surfboards all this way and still hadn't used them, he opted to get in the water and try the waves. We said bye to Tim, drove back to the Superette for some snacks, and headed for our 1970s motel for a little down time. An hour later, we picked Tim up, cleaned ourselves up at the motel, and then headed to the upstairs restaurant for dinner. With its teal carpet and family fishing photos on the walls, this restaurant felt homey (?) and straight out of an old movie. Dinner was...fine (we get what we get and we don't get upset!).

This photo is of a corner in our motel lobby. It tells you everything you need to know about this place. ;)

Ahipara is downright beautiful. It's a bit off the beaten tourist track, but if you want a pristine beach with some wild horses, a very friendly Superette, and you don't need an ATM, this town is for you.