Ahipara - North Island, New Zealand

Ahipara is a remote village 15 kms west of Kaitaia, at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach. It came to exist because of the Ahipara gum fields, but today is better known for Shipwreck Bay, a beautiful golden-sand swimming and surfing beach.

It is possible to drive a 4-wheel drive vehicle along the sand and around the headlands at low tide to explore further beaches and huge sand dunes, very popular for dirt-biking.

Ahipara reached its highpoint in the early twentieth century when kauri gumfields were discovered on the sand dune plateau to its south and the region was systematically excavated to uncover precious kauri gum.

In its heyday, Ahipara enjoyed the presence of three hotels and a couple of thousand people. They are all gone today. Gum can still be found in the stream that comes into Shipwreck Bay.

Ahipara Accommodation

The Ahipara accommodation scene is very limited. There is a small general store, a takeaway and a cafe. There is a motel, couple of lodges, a budget campsite and a beachfront unit complex. All offer self-catering facilities. The highest demand for accommodation is the two weeks starting from Christmas.

Ahipara Activities

Ahipara offers some interesting activities. You can ride on the sand dunes and gumfields in a quad bike guided tour. The tours vary from a one and a half hour ride to a three hour safari that also includes sand boarding. Or you can venture out quad biking on your own by hiring quad bikes. You can also hire surfboards, mountainbikes, blokarts and kayaks.

There is a nice walk from the western part of the beach on Foreshore Rd to a lookout affording fabulous views of the region extending to Cape Reinga. The more adventurous trampers might do the 6 hour walk covering a section of the 12 km loop of the Gumfields Walk depending on the tide. This walking track starts at the bridge on Shipwreck Bay.

LooknbookNZ can arrange your Ahipara accommodation and Ahipara activities bookings and let you and your family/friends have a relaxed few days in the beachside village of Ahipara.