Photos

The fresh water Kai Iwi lakes are situated 25.8 kilometres north-west of Dargaville along State Highway 12 near the small settlement of Kaihu. The turnoff to the lakes is signposted at Omamari Road, which is on the regions Twin Coast Discovery Tourist Route. There are three lakes. Lake Kai-Iwi in the south, Lake Taharoa (the largest), and Lake Waikere in the north, situated within Taharoa Domain, a 538 ha recreation reserve.

They come alive in summer as a popular camping spot. There are facilities for swimming, boating, windsurfing, water-skiing, camping and trout fishing. You can walk through lush farmland to the wild west coast where 100km of golden sands stretch south to Pouto, the northern headland of the notorious entrance to the Kaipara Harbour.

For more information have a look at the Fish and Game New Zealand brochure for this location or the New Zealand communities webpage for Kai Iwi Lakes.

Beside Lake Kai-Iwi there’s a low lying area where these tree once grew. Although I’m not certain of their fate, at some stage it appears that this area was flooded (it’s still very wet), killing them. Over time the bark peeled away leaving the underlying wood exposed to the elements, which has weathered it to the silvery colours seen here. I liked both the colour and the randomness of it, which is why I’ve chosen to present it here. This image is unaltered from the original.

Kind regards,
Tony