Nutshell

• Location: Whangarei Heads, Northland
• Access: Peach Cove car park is situated along Ocean Beach road, Whangarei Heads.
• DOC Duration:  1-1.5 hours one way along the Peach Cove track
• Forest Family Duration: 2 hours to hut from Peach Cove car park (3km), 4 hours from hut to Ocean Beach car park along the Te Whara track (5km).
• Track Grade: Easy-Intermediate (reasonable fitness required as there are plenty of steps and some parts are quite steep)
• Highlights/Features: The bird life was spectacular around Peach Cove Hut itself. The bush is also very lush and full of Nikau Palms, reminds me of a tropical jungle. There is a large Pohutukawa tree that has grown on top of a giant boulder right next to the hut, the kids had so much fun climbing up and sitting at the base of the trunk among the tree tops (a little nerve racking watching 🙈). Along the Te Whara Track there are ruins of an old World War 2 radar Station.
• Notes: No dogs or fires allowed. The rocky outcrops, especially along the Te Whara track, have steep drop offs, so if exploring these to the side of the track – keep children very close. There is no toilet at the Peach Cove car park but there is one at the Ocean Beach car Park.