History

Take an adventure and step back in time!

Awesome Adventures Hokianga's experienced Māori Guides will take you back in time to 925AD, when Kupe, the great Polynesian explorer, landed right here in the Hokianga.

The historical significance of the area is unmatched by anywhere else in New Zealand, and is the only place that Kupe called home.

See and feel what life was like all those years ago. Your guide will share stories not typically found in history books – they have been passed down the generations.

We provide accommodation and a range of adventures, guided and self-guided, around the Hokianga to allow you to experience these rich, historical and cultural stories.

Take the kayaks, or go paddle boarding, hiking, cycling, kayak fishing, jetski fishing, rock fishing, jetski safaris, quadbike safaris, sandboarding on the dunes, seafood gathering and cooking classes, and more!

You choose what you want to do, but be warned, you can't fit it all in one day! Make sure you allow extra days to your stay.

We are passionate about telling the stories about our beautiful home. Awesome Adventures Hokianga has it all!

The Ātea a Rangi is a celestial star compass based on a traditional Pacific Island concept to  teach traditional navigation. The Ātea a Rangi Educational Trust (Ātea Trust) is a registered Charitable Trust. The Ātea Trust was established to run educational programmes, events and tours based on traditional Māori and environmental kaupapa. Our vision - to gather and pass on traditional  knowledge within Aotearoa and Te Moana nui a Kiwa. Contact us to learn more about the Ātea a Rangi from the team of navigators, waka sailors and carvers who designed, carved and completed the Atea a  Rangi/star compass site.

The Tolaga Bay Inn is your gateway to the East Coast and has been providing warm hospitality for over 130 years since 1881. As descendants of the coast we have a responsibility to restore and preserve our heritage for our next generations.  So we have created the Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust to oversee the restoration of our historical Inn and help regenerate our community by fostering tourism and digital technology development.  We have an on-site café, bar, garden bar and upstairs accommodation for travellers. We are 10mins walk to the beach and have an information centre onsite to help with local advice and guidance.

Kiko personalised tours showcase special landscapes close to Auckland City. Connect with Māori culture, enjoy warm hospitality, learn about local histories, and take part in activities unique to the places you visit. Our tours offer diverse experiences of nature. Enjoy breath-taking views of native bush, magnificent kauri trees, wonderful wetlands and stunning waterfalls. Experience a rugged windswept West Coast surfing beach. Marvel gannet breeding colonies. Visit a colourful South Pacific garden home to more than 10,000 plants. Walk around an ancient volcanic mountain and discover archaeological features such as kumara pits, garden terraces and stone boundary walls. Kiko Guided Tours will introduce you to an authentic experience of te ao Māori (the Māori world) through tikanga (cultural ways), home-cooked kai (food), pūrākau (storytelling) and enriching kōrero (conversation). Our manuhiri (visitors) walk at their own pace on easy walking paths.

The award winning Kauri Museum is famous for its hospitality and the legacy left behind by the ancient kauri trees which once covered northern New Zealand. The New Zealand Kauri  (Agathis australis) has cultural significance, to Māori and more recent settlers alike. Their prized timber and gum, formed the industries that shaped modern New Zealand. In addition to preserving our past, the Museum has a role to play in conserving their future, collaborating to “Save our Forests” by raising public awareness to control the spread of the Kauri Dieback disease and promote forest ecology.

Chris Jolly Outdoors is introducing the first experience of its kind this summer on Lake Taupō! Taurikura Māori Cultural Experience aboard Cruise Cat is the creation of Atera and Henare Pitiroi, working together with the students of the local Te Kura Kaupapa. They have created an educational interactive cultural experience for guests to learn to work the poi, play traditional Māori games, sample Rewana bread and even get their own washable moko. As the boat cruises on Lake Taupō, guests will hear the songs and learn the history and stories of the Tūwharetoa people.

New Zealand’s most awarded cultural attraction. Experience the warmth of their manaakitanga during an evening of ceremonial rituals, powerful cultural performance, storytelling & hangi feasting. An intricately carved gateway leads you to the fringe of a lush 200 year old native Tawa forest. Warriors emerge from the forest by canoe to perform an ancient ceremony of welcome. As you wander beneath the stunning forest canopy, the village is alive with sights, sounds and activity of days gone by and witness the lifting of the hangi. Enter the ancestral meeting house and relax as they entertain you with a powerful cultural performance. Dine on the traditional hangi buffet feast!

We have brought together a network of kiwi high performance rugby coaches, trainers, schools, clubs, physiotherapists and facilities to create rugby development tour packages for visiting international teams. Our core motivation for this business was to help players, coaches and rugby teams from all around the world grow and develop a deeper understanding and passion for the game of rugby. And of course extend their own rugby network all the way to New Zealand! We deliver 4 main packages that range from low-cost travel to a high-performance service while allowing the opportunity for groups to remove or add elements at any time.

Create meaningful connections with the locals through authentic cultural experiences.
Kia ora and welcome to Northland, where you will meet the beautiful indigenous people of the land and experience our breath-taking coastlines and landscape.
Step right off the tourist trail and discover the gateway to Northland, Whangārei, New Zealand’s northern-most city with a passionate, knowledgeable and fun-loving Māori couple.  
"Tu Tika" means "Stand True". It reflects the integrity and truth that your hosts, Mervyn and Rangimarie Harding, live and breathe every day and want to share with you. They can’t wait to welcome you and give you a truly personal, meaningful, one-of-a-kind experience.
This is the type of travel experience that captivates you right from the start. An encounter you’ll never forget. With Tu Tika Tours and Transfers, you will create friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

Discover Hawke’s Bay aboard ‘Te Matau a Māui’’, a traditional Polynesian sailing waka (canoe), that has travelled across the world.  Enjoy the hospitality and warmth of a friendly crew as they share their passion for sailing with you. Hear stories of Polynesian migration and local Māori history and legend. Learn how their ancestors navigated by the stars and how they continue this tradition today. Sailing occurs from October through March (weather dependent). Delicious Māori cuisine also included.  Two hour sailing departing West Quay, Ahuriri, Napier.