Travel Series: Ahipara, New Zealand

Although discovering hidden gems in New Zealand has been common during our adventure, our expectations for finding rural towns with friendly strangers and natural spaces have been lowered since arriving on the North Island. The South Island of New Zealand has a population of 1.3 million people while the North Island has 4 million, despite the South Island being about 32% bigger. That makes the North Island nearly 4x more populated with a lot less land. Therefore, finding rural hidden gems on the North Island is a lot more difficult to do.

Last week, after 10 days in sunny Australia, we arrived back to the Auckland Airport parking lot and found Homy to be dead. It was raining, there was traffic, and big city lights were all around us. Ronan and I looked at each other, both knowing that coming back to van life in a city was not where we wanted to be. After an easy jump, we were on the road and decided to head North to a town my stepdad had recommended to us. It would take us six hours to get to, so we split up the drive and camped in some urban town that I can’t remember the name of. We chose the one camp spot that didn’t have warnings about homeless people lurking around at night. The camp was pleasant enough, but we sure missed the beauty of rural camping in the South Island. 

The next day, we made our way to Ahipara. The town is located on the southern end of 90 Mile Beach, with a peninsula to the west and a forest to the east. Ahipara is part of Northland, the farthest north region of the country. Within the first hour of being in Ahipara, we knew it was one of those hidden gems we had been missing. There were friendly people, hills and sea, horses on the roads, cozy-looking homes, and surfers in the water. From what we could tell, there is one cafe, one gas station, one small general store, one school, and two churches. If you were to need proper groceries, you would have to drive 25 minutes to the east, or pick from your garden. 

Sunset over the peninsula

We parked at Shipwreck Bay, a somewhat spoken of break in the surf world. It was around 3pm and the tide was coming in, but Ronan and I decided to go on a walk around the corner towards the peninsula. After weaving in and out of some coves and waiting for sets to pass, we got to a point where it would be silly to keep walking. At the same time, a surfer came around the corner. We exchanged smiles and I said “hey”. Perhaps my accent was a giveaway, but he continued to ask where we were from. And so the conversation began. His name is Larry. He spends half of his time in Ahipara and the other half in Hanalei, Kauai. He built his house on the beach in Shipwreck Bay with his wife over the past 10 years. We talked about keeping Ahipara a secret and about the time he joked with John John Florence to keep this wave under wraps one day when he was out in the surf. He explained that the reef that we were standing on is like a highway during low tide for cars with 4wd as people commonly drive up to go surfing, fishing, access their homes, or just to spend the day. He said that where we were standing at the point turns into a wave that will take you all the way down to the beach on the right day. And he told us that “Tuesday is going to be pumping”.

Parked at Shipreck Bay

We returned to Shipwreck Bay the following morning after a successful stealth camp by the beach. The tide was low so we parked Homy on the beach, packed a bag, grabbed boards, and headed for the so-called road on the reef. Sure enough, we had nearly ten cars pass us on the “road” that was non-existent as of the night before. Our walk took us about 40 minutes until we reached a break that was providing some small lefts. There were three other people in the water, it was a beautiful sunny day, and we were thrilled to have stumbled across this place. 

The "road" at low tide

A friend we made along the way

As we packed up our bags to make the walk back, I noticed a woman in a dress walking down with her dog from the cabin that was hidden behind some bushes behind the beach. I watched her as she kept walking towards the water without stopping to remove any clothes (this sounds creepy, I know). While her dog dug in the sand and barked from the beach, she went swimming in her sheer dress. It was awesome. New dream unlocked: cabin on the beach, swim in your dress, worry about no one else. Not long after, her husband followed her down to the beach. We crossed walking paths so we were bound for a conversation. He was an older kiwi bloke with the kindest and most sincere voice. He had built their cabin 18 years ago and explained that now that he was retired, they could finally enjoy it. They spend nine months out of the year in this small cabin and spend the winter months in different places. This year it will be Sri Lanka. I asked him more about living out there and he pointed out the second homestead on the beach, which belongs to one of his mates. Slowly he’s had multiple friends build homes next to his. The dream.

It was Sunday that this all happened, so we decided to buy some time until Tuesday, when Larry said it’d be pumping. We took a two hour drive to the tippity top of the North Island where we found the great sand dunes. We explored the dunes for about 2 hours, finding a massive beach over the horizon that had perfect waves breaking both left and right. Unfortunately, we decided against walking all the way to the beach due to being unprepared with supplies. We couldn’t tell if the waves were 2ft or 10ft from the distance and it will forever be a mystery. We camped near the dunes that night and woke to hundreds of sheep in the pasture in front of us, sun in the sky, and a flat tire. Hate to say it, but we were due. Ronan fixed it up and we were on the road back to Ahipara.

Exploring the Great Dunes

Morning view

Self-explanitory

2nd best meat pie I've had so far.. had to share

 Tuesday morning we woke to big waves and wind. We couldn’t tell what the points looked like until we could scout once the tide dropped so we waited until about 10:30. After a 40 minute walk back to the beach where we were the other day, we found pumping waves and only two people in the water. Larry was right. As we contemplated walking further, cars started coming in by the minute. It really was like a highway, like Larry had said. We decided to get out there before everyone else did. It lasted about 10 minutes until there were about 8 more guys in the water, but that wasn’t too surprising. Ronan surfed for hours while I lasted about 45 minutes because I was a bit out of my league. While I was in the lineup, I made conversation with a kiwi guy who was encouraging me on waves. Turns out he lived in my hometown for a year or so and even lived on Eastfork road - the same road that my childhood home is on. Small world moment, yet again. (I’m kicking myself now for not asking his name).

Shipwreck Bay from above

Waves around the corner...

Cars parked along the beach at low tide

So as we head back south through farmland and green hills and toward cities and dense populations, I can’t help but feel sad that Ahipara might be one of the last hidden gems we stumble across before we leave New Zealand at the end of April. Once again, my perspectives were changed by beautiful strangers and my cup was filled from nature’s playground. Shoutout Chopper for the recommendation, it was a place that really got to me too.

All for now,

Maddy

March 31, 2026 - Written by Maddy Dunn