3 Best Sights in Warkworth, Northland and the Bay of Islands

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.

Head for SheepWorld about an hour north of Auckland for a taste of life on a typical New Zealand sheep farm. Daily demonstrations at 11 (also at 2 Wed.--Sun. in the summer) show working farm dogs rounding up sheep before the shearers take over (shows are once a day the rest of the year). An ecotrail meanders through the bush, providing information on native trees, birds (and their calls), and weta (large, ugly—yet impressive—native insects); there are also other farm animals (goats, donkeys, chickens, alpaca, emu) that kids can hand-feed. On the weekends, the farm dogs even herd ducks. Children can bottle-feed lambs in August. During the busy summer season, it's better to call ahead or book a seat for the show online.

For a glimpse of Northland's pioneering past pay a visit to the Warkworth District Museum. It's a must if you are interested in learning about how smaller settlements in New Zealand developed. This eclectic collection includes Māori artifacts plus farming and domestic implements from the early days of the European settlement including tools used to dig for kauri gum. Rotating textile displays cover clothing and lace dating to the late 1700s. There is also a display of a school dental clinic—what Kiwi children called the "murder house." Outside is a collection of old buildings, including a bushman's hut and an army hut used by Americans stationed at Warkworth during World War II.