This section is dedicated to take away all your "I wish someone had told me that before I went!" experiences. This way, you can spend less time settling in, and more time making new friends in your chosen hostel. We share our insider knowledge of tips, tricks and important things to look out for in Hokianga.
Hokianga is confusing -- there is the region called Hokianga and there is the port Hokianga from where the car ferry leaves to Rawene. Around that port are some scattered tiny villages plus secluded houses that may or may not have names of their own but are generally also referred to as Hokianga.
With this much Hokianga around there is also much accommodation, but mainly in the B&B field. Some Hokianga hostels do exist though. They too are scattered and with the virtual lack of public transportation in the area it would be much advised to have your own wheels of some kind or a very, very strong sportive spirit. Those Hokianga hostels are well worth the trouble of reaching them, as they are mainly in fantastic natural settings (there isn't much else than fantastic nature in these parts) and are of the homey, cute, family-run type with not as much tourist traffic and more of a discerned guest type. Also shopping possibilities and dining out or just any other possibly required infrastructure might not be easily found, so before heading out here, you should make a supply stop in a bigger town. The area itself has much to offer for the outdoor type with unspoilt nature and the fantastic Kauri trees. And even these fantastic outdoors -- which in other parts of New Zealand are the main drag for tourists -- are likely to be reserved for the exclusive few who make it this far.
People in the region -- as in the rest of the country -- are at least as friendly, but you should still be cautious of where you tread. This goes especially for nighttime walking as opossums have become a real plague here and many locals spend their nights possum shooting. A backpacker in the crossfire might come unexpected!
Written by local enthusiast for Hokianga hostels
gagalichen