Pleasure seekers on Kai Iwi Lake seen from above. Photo / Toby Hall on Unsplash
Pleasure seekers on Kai Iwi Lake seen from above. Photo / Toby Hall on Unsplash
How to spend an easy-going weekend or longer in Dargaville, the destination that’s full of surprises, writes Helen Van Berkel
Underdogs have a soft spot in our hearts and as a holiday destination, Dargaville definitely deserves the monicker.
But underdogs have their endearing points and this gateway town to the Kai Iwi lakes is well worth a pause for an hour – or a week – or two.
The closure of State Highway 1 through the Brynderwyns this month is rerouting northbound traffic to the coasts, so I took the western option and stopped awhile in the little town of hidden treats.
Joseph Dargaville was among the fortune-seekers lured to the banks of the fast-flowing Wairoa River by the pale timber and golden resin of the mighty kauri that blanketed the region. The businessman and politician bought land for his eponymous settlement in 1872, developing it into a major trading hub. History buffs might like to visit the town’s Trinity Church, where a stained glass window was installed in his memory in 1910.
We are introduced to the stories of the gumfields at Matakohe’s Kauri Museum about half an hour’s drive out of Dargaville for northbound drivers. Its masterfully curated displays use photos and carefully preserved relics to tell of the hard labours in trying conditions of those early days. I think it is one of New Zealand’s best museums, with something new to see on every visit.
Kauri is a gift that continues to give to Dargaville. The sadly few remaining living trees are now protected but monolithic trunks of astonishing girth emerge now from swampland where they have lain undisturbed since the end of the last ice age.
Call in at The Woodturners Kauri Gallery and Working Studio to see new creations emerge out of the ancient timber under the hands of master woodturner Rick Taylor.
Underdogs have a soft spot in our hearts and as a holiday destination Dargaville definitely deserves the monicker. Photo / Kaipara District Council
I always like to stop in the village and walk its once-bustling streets and wander the riverside path alongside the Wairoa River. Dargaville’s heyday came and went quickly, its burst of lucrative industry leaving the town with an astonishing 23 heritage-listed buildings. The Commercial, on the banks of the river, was constructed in 1895. The former post office and clocktower, on the corner of Normanby St and Hokianga Rd, was built in 1914 in the Imperial-Baroque style. Apparently, it was the first post office in New Zealand to receive domestic airmail, courtesy of a seaplane from Auckland landing on the Wairoa.
On the hill, the Dargaville Museum is also worth a visit. It has a replica kauri gum diggers village – little shanties somewhat creepily inhabited with dressed dummies – and the mast from the Rainbow Warrior, the bombed hull scuttled off the coast of Northland as a diving attraction. The museum has an extensive and well-curated record of Dargaville and its environs. It is world-renowned for its collection of artefacts from the shipwrecks that came to grief on the Kaipara Harbour bar south of here – of which there were many. Some say more than 100 ships may have gone down on the treacherous coast and it is possible to this day to find wooden ruins during a walk on the coast.
Matakohe’s Kauri Museum is about half an hour’s drive out of Dargaville. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The museum also boasts a magnificent view over the river and town to the distant slopes, remnants of long inactive volcanoes.
The last time I was in Dargaville, I camped at the Kai Iwi Lakes, about 20 minutes out of town. The dazzling sandy white banks and sapphire blue waters are more tropical island than three hours north of Auckland so are popular with citysiders who come with their sailboats, kayaks – even dragon boats – and tents for a weekend of relaxation and water frivolity.
The dazzling sandy white banks and sapphire blue waters of Kai Iwi Lakes. Photo / Getty Images
Far from the city glow, the night sky was a sight to see as the multitude of stars emerged out of the blackness and the sparkling waters competed with the sparkling heavens.
For something a little different, ride a little rail cart to Tangowahine, a two-and-a-half-hour trip that follows historic tracks taking in rural views to the north of the town. It clatters over bridges and through little tunnels on a return trip that even children can enjoy.
Dragon boats on Kai Iwi Lakes near Dargaville.
Before leaving Dargaville, I like to double back to the tiny kauri chapel on the edge of the Kumara Box beyond the museum. The whimsical little building is a fun collection of kitsch that only costs a $2 donation to get sidetracked at. Reputedly New Zealand’s smallest church, it’s a fun little gem that I always have to myself in a town full of surprises.
The tiny kauri chapel offers a fun collection of kitsch. Photo / Holly Claeys
