Pahi, Northland

We had intended to visit family in Whangarei today and tomorrow, but that was not to be – plans cancelled at the last minute by forces outside of our control. The van was already loaded and ready to go, so rather than unpack we decided to visit an area neither of us had been before. We looked at the map, and decided on Pahi, on the way to Dargaville.

Pahi is a historic town on a narrow penninsula, on the Kaipara Harbour. It was orginally settled by members of a religious sect called the Albertowners, who also settled in Matakohe and Waipu. The area rapidly grew with the kauri industry – both logging and the digging for gum. Steamer ships brought supplies by water from Puhoi as the area around Pahi is either steep hills (and covered in bush in those days) or flat and boggy with impassable mud. Logs and kauri products were floated down to Pahi by streams and rivers, and then shipped out by sea.

We booked in to the camp (only 3 parties here) and settled in for the afternoon, and had a look around the place. Our outlook is delightful.

The harbour has a lot of mud flats and when the tide is out it can look a bit bleak. The beach is made up of tiny cockle shells mixed in with the mud. The wharf is rustic and encrusted with oysters. Nearby there are oyster farms.

Next to the camp is the largest Moreton Bay Fig treee in the Southern hemisphere. The root structure alone is pretty impressive and the tree is huge – a girth of over 14 metres.

The small settlement is precided over by the old Pahi Hotel, a boarding and drinking establishment built in 1905. It is now a private residence but you can tell it was a great old building in its time.

The old Community Hall, built next to the wharf, is also clearly an old structure, having been built in 1889, but lacks the character of the hotel.

The bird life around here is great. big flocks of seagulls, and oyster catchers, terns roosting on the old wharf,  tuis calling from the pohutukawas, kingfishers swooping on insects on the mud flats, and lets not forget the friendly and ever hungry ducks that hover outside the motorhome waiting for titbits and tormenting the dogs.

The amenities at the camp are clean, the surroundings are hard to beat, and Pahi is a good spot to start our exploration of the area. We are happy travellers.