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Paihia 0200
Bay of Islands, Northland
New Zealand
Measured, not estimated. The times are driving times at a sensible speed, not the ones a phone gives you at four in the morning.
| Paihia wharf and the ferry | 350 m | Four minutes along the seafront. We hold bags either side of a sailing. |
|---|---|---|
| Paihia village and the shops | 260 m | Three minutes. The bakery on Williams Road opens at six. |
| Russell, Korōrareka | 2.6 km | Across the water. Passenger ferry every twenty minutes, 7am to 10pm, fifteen minutes each way. |
| Waitangi Treaty Grounds | 2.1 km | Twenty-five minutes on foot over the bridge, or six by car. Open 9am to 5pm. |
| Haruru Falls | 4.8 km | Seven minutes by car, or ninety minutes on the boardwalk through the mangroves at low tide. |
| Opua car ferry | 6.5 km | Nine minutes south. Runs every ten minutes, 6.50am to 10pm. |
| Motukōkako, the Hole in the Rock | — | Forty minutes out by boat from the wharf. Cape Brett is the headland before it. |
| Kerikeri | 23 km | Twenty-three minutes north. Stone Store, the orchards, and the Saturday market. |
| Bay of Islands Airport, Kerikeri | 26 km | Twenty-six minutes. We meet the 9.05am and the 5.40pm. |
| Whāngārei | 68 km | One hour ten south on State Highway 11 and 1. |
| Auckland | 230 km | Three hours fifteen by road, or fifty minutes in the air from Kerikeri. |
By road
From Auckland it is State Highway 1 to Kawakawa and then State Highway 11 through Opua and Te Haumi. Three hours fifteen without stopping, three and three-quarters with. The last twelve kilometres are winding and worth doing in daylight the first time.
Parking is on site, fifty-eight spaces, free, no ticket, no barrier arm. Two are marked accessible and sit beside the ramp at the north end.
By air
Bay of Islands Airport at Kerikeri is twenty-six minutes north. There are two or three flights a day from Auckland and it is a fifty-minute hop. We meet the 9.05am and the 5.40pm arrivals if you ask when you book; NZ$95 each way for up to four people and a boot full of bags.
By boat
The passenger ferry to Russell runs from the wharf, 350 m from the door, every twenty minutes from 7am to 10pm. The Opua car ferry is nine minutes south and runs every ten minutes from 6.50am. If you are arriving on your own keel, the moorings are managed from Opua marina and we can arrange a berth with a day’s notice.
Reception and concierge
The desk is staffed twenty-four hours. Check in from 2pm, check out by 10am, and bags held either side of both at no charge.
The concierge books boats, tables, tee times at Waitangi, and the shuttle to Kerikeri on market Saturdays. What the concierge will not do is sell you a trip in weather that will spoil it — if the swell means the skipper cannot take the boat through the hole at Motukōkako, you will be told before you pay.
Accessibility
Step-free from the car park to the lobby, The Tapeka Room, The Longboat Bar, The Motukōkako Room and all three event spaces. Two accessible rooms on the ground floor with roll-in showers and 900 mm doorways. The lift serves all four floors. The Haruru Bathhouse has a pool hoist; give us a day’s notice so someone who knows how to use it is on shift.
Gaming room access
The Motukōkako Room is open midday to 2am to anyone aged twenty or over with photo identification, whether or not they are staying. Details and house rules are on the casino page, and our obligations are set out under host responsibility.