Adventure...Because It's There!: Baylys Beach and Dagraville

Baylys Beach

Ripiro Beach

Andrew and I spent a few days in the Dagraville area. We took the time to wander around the town and get some Christmas shopping in. Everyone was quite friendly and helpful, which was especially appreciated with the holiday season. We also visited the Kauri Woodturners, where we saw a number of beautiful kauri bowls and products being made. The owner was quite pleasant to talk to and gave us some suggestions of things to do in the area. One of my favourite things about travelling is talking to the locals and finding all the small secret places that just aren't in any guidebook.

We visited Ripiro Beach, which is an even longer beach than 90 mile beach! It is also used for driving. There seems to be a lot of driving on beaches in New Zealand, but I guess in an island nation it is a natural highway that doesn't need paving or maintenance so it makes sense.

The hike on the cliffs was quite nice, short, and pleasant. We walked to the sandstone cliffs and just took in the wonderful views of the ocean. Andrew found a nice tree to have lunch in and we admired the knitted trees in town. There were quite a few trees that had knitting up the trunks. I guess they are concerned about the trees getting cold?

We also visited the Dagraville museum, which was quite informative and had lovely views. There were some beautiful murals on the walkway as well, which are worth checking out. They also have the masts from the Rainbow Warrior, which was one of the two boats that we could have done a wreck dive on near Paihia. It was interesting to see them still intact and know that part of the ship still survives. We enjoyed our stop in Dagraville and had a nice break before driving south to our next overnight in Paparoa.