OMAPERE, HOKIANGA, A NEW YEARS FISHING RETREAT.

It would be fair to accuse me of being unorganised and a little impulsive, especially when it comes to organising a little break away. The New Year period was nothing different, with limited availability throughout the country, especially at our preferred coastal camping spots, we decided to check out an area that neither of us had explored before and booked a seaside Hotel at Omapere, in the Hokianga region.

The 7-hour drive from our home, was for the large part just going through the motions. It wasn’t until we ventured North of Dargaville that the scenery became unfamiliar, and the winding road through the Waipoua Kauri Forest showed us that we were heading in the right direction, towards a little more nature. If you are travelling with the family and take the West Coast route via Dargaville, its worth a little warning to the kids to stop looking at their devices and keep their eyes up to avoid a churning tummy. The road is certainly twisty for around 25km, but the lush green scenery that is quintessentially kiwi is a beautiful distraction.

If you do find that you need a little fresh air, it’s only a short 5-minute walk off highway 12 to visit New Zealand’s largest known Kauri Tree, Tane Mahuta. Estimated at over 2000 years old, this is something that certainly helps give some perspective in life and shrink any inflated egos! Parking is immediately off the side of the highway and you wont miss the signage so its an easy one to find for the navigator.

Continuing on, soon you will drop down into the town of Omapere, hopefully it’s a nice day and the sun bouncing of the huge sand dunes on the opposite side of the harbour will give you that feeling of ‘finally, we are on holiday’. The town of Omapere itself is a small one, spread out along the harbour. In saying that, it has everything you need, a couple of well-equipped grocery stores, service stations, and restaurants to overeat at, as per any vacation plan!

There are a few accommodation options too, on this trip we chose to stay at ‘The Sands Hotel’ which is just on the left as you enter Omapere. There is ample parking space, and if you are lucky enough to be towing the boat with you, there’s a large, grassed area you can back the boat onto while still leaving the car on solid pavement, just in case a torrential downpour catches you out.

We chose a Superior Sea View room on this trip, and while its not the most luxurious accommodation we have ever stayed in, the service was brilliant and the price was very fair considering the time of year. And more importantly, when you look out the front towards the beach, which is a mere 30m walk away, and watch the kids jumping off the wharf having a great time… who really cares about scented body moisturiser and fluffy towels?

For us there is a handful of things that make for a successful break away. Firstly, good weather. Being in the North the weather, generally speaking is quite nice compared to our central North Island climate although being on the west coast there can be a pretty persistent wind so just be prepared for that. Thankfully, while we were in Omapere the temperatures were in the mid to late 20’s, so even with the onshore breeze it was very comfortable.

Second thing on the list, good food and drink! The Sands restaurant was a real cool spot. Inside there are a few Marlin taxidermy mounts on the wall to get the fisho’s dreaming, and if the kids are holidaying with you there’s a trophy cabinet filled with model cars and all sorts of trinkets to look at. The restaurant is large and capable of catering for a heap of people, and if it’s a nice day the big deck out the front by the pool makes a great spot to relax and fill the belly. The food itself was amazing, quite unexpectedly so actually. Being coastal it seemed only right to have a feed of fish and chips and calamari which was all cooked to perfection, generous in proportion and it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if it had been plucked from the ocean that afternoon it seemed so fresh. Oh, did I mention the espresso martinis and the Sticky Toffee Pudding? Holy moly! And that’s coming from someone that lived in Melbourne for 20 years.

Across the street on old wharf road is a great little Café where the owner (I’m assuming) might entertain you with a carefree, northland style dance as she drifts around saying hello and delivering restaurant quality breakfasts to patrons. The vibe up here is just different, all the locals seem relaxed and extremely welcoming.

Last on the list of must have’s for us is some fishing. To be honest, this is why we chose The Sands Hotel, because right out the front is a wharf where people are fishing most days. The key with this wharf is to fish it at night around a high or rising tide, the surrounding waters are reasonably deep but still that high bright Northland sun over the white sandy bottom is enough to scare the fish from the shallows during daylight hours. Or maybe it’s the 30 kids doing bombs off the wharf? Regardless, night fishing is where its at and we caught Slimy Mackerel, Piper, Kahawai, were plagued by undersize Snapper and got cleaned up by an estimated 15kg Kingfish. All great fun for kids and adults alike.

There are numerous rock platforms nearby, but they are challenging to fish due to the wind and very strong current, but there are fish there for sure. These rock platforms aren’t the place for kids on a rough day, that tide really rips out through the entrance, and it needs to be respected.