Whangarei rewards a half-day stop rather than a full holiday. The Town Basin marina at the head of the Hatea River is the easy starting point — galleries, museums and cafes clustered around the water — and the Whangarei Falls and Parihaka summit give you two of Northland's most accessible natural sights within ten minutes of the centre. For diving and beach time, the Tutukaka Coast is half an hour east; for the Poor Knights Islands, allow a full day from there.