It kind of sets the scene for a place when they sign as you enter the town deviates from the standard Welcome to… and instead gives you a hundred thousand welcomes to Waipu. You genuinely feel, well, welcome.
Our stop in Waipu was a quick one, with not nearly enough time to explore all the things that are on offer in the town and surrounding areas. Our eldest daughter’s friend had moved up to Waipu earlier in the year so we stopped in for the two of them to catch up on our way back from Paihia. While they talked about what 11 year old girls talked about I went exploring with the others.
We only had a couple of hours so we couldn’t go too far. We decided to venture out of Langs Beach first to have a look. I’d heard so much about this little spot but I’d never been before. We didn’t pick a great day – the winds were picking up and a storm was rolling in – but you could see why so many people love this spot. Long beaches with rolling waves, punctuated by safe swimming estuaries, making it ideal for families.
We went quick stroll along the beach and tried to persuade the kids not to get too wet as they waded out into the frothy seas fully clothed.
After strolling down Langs Beach we jumped back in the car to make the quick journey back to Waipu Cove. Similar to Langs Beach it has a surf beach and little inlets running along it to provide a range of swimming options.
By now though the kids were more interested in getting something to eat so we headed over to The Cove
.
Fortunately for us they did a pretty mean hot chocolate – complete with chocolate fish so it was a win from the smaller judges.
The Cove is perched right across from the beach and is spacious with a range of outdoor and indoor seating and I imagine if you come at lunch or dinner on a sunny day it would be absolutely humming! Their food menu looked pretty awesome but at 4pm I was struggling to justify a really, really early dinner!
On the list of things to do next time are the Waipu Caves and the pizza place in Waipu (we hear it’s amazing!)
So next time don’t drive past that turn off when your heading up North – check out Waipu and the surrounding beaches. It’s well worth a visit…