Kaiteriteri

Kaiteriteri has been a tourist spot in New Zealand since the 1920s.  The town puts up old photos of Kiwis, enjoying the same beach, but wearing long bathing suits-- and having arrived there by arduous hours on horse and buggy over the mountains. It's a small town, with white sandy beaches, next to a national park, where the main accommodation is a campground across from the beach. That sounded like (affordable) heaven to us. It was a few hours drive from the ferry so we could get in and swim that same day.

Evening soak before dinner!

The next day was beautiful. We had one of those days where you go swimming, walk back to camp for lunch and then back to the beach for the afternoon. This time we got smart and wore our wetsuits so we could stay in as long as we wanted. The girls got good at swimming with us in deep water to the raft and jumping off. They collected seashells from small warm pools. They played endless games in the water, and so did we.

Morning tea on the beach.

goofballs

Alas, after our day in the sun, the next day was a rain storm.

Lucky for me, Kaiteriteri is surrounded by beautiful native forest so it gave us an excuse to check out a few hikes and the Maori Pa (old Maori fortress). 

A beautiful spot, even in the rain

Wheeled bridge over the creek that is removed during high tide

Cave exposed at the low tide

Our last morning we hiked up to the lookout behind the campground for a bird's eye view.

Sorry to leave Kaiteriteri, yet another locale I'd love to spend more time in. But time to move on east to the Kina Peninsula.