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Off the beaten track
Beautiful scenery, frolicking dolphins and some amazing golf. Chris Parvin grabs his bucket and spade and sets off to explore New Zealand's Northland
Carrington. Sounds like a classic English novel doesn’t it?
Full of twists and turns, hard graft, hills of sublime euphoria and perilous slopes of frustration…
But it’s a golf club. In Northland, New Zealand.
And it has a winery halfway round it. Please note, not a café, or a snack bar or a tuck shop but a great big regal-looking bona fide successful winery, with an excellent restaurant, and that is one of the things that make this place an absolute classic.
That and the fact that apart from the thrill of rushing round the front nine salivating at the thought of your hard-earned goblet of New Zealand’s finest, the place is ideal for a mega-relaxing beach holiday.
And if that smacks of big flash oceanside resort golf with hand-raked bays complete with food outlets and discos on the sand, we should probably start again.
Carrington Resort is in a special place. It sits high on the rugged Karikari Peninsula. The nearest civilisation is a settlement of holiday homes and a chip shop 10 minutes down the road but otherwise you feel a million miles away from the modern world.
Which is great, because while the golfers in the family head fairway-wards, everyone else can leap, buckets-and-spades akimbo onto a golf cart and cruise down a sandy track hewn through the bush to a beach with sand whiter than a washing powder commercial… and just about have it all to themselves.
And that’s why you’ll stay at one of Carrington Resort's incredibly reasonable fairway-side luxury villas or lodge, so you can nip back up for lunch, towels, boogie boards, fishing rods… and ask yourself if this is what paradise really looks like.
It certainly is if you’re a golfer.
Carrington Resort's 18 loves you and challenges you in equal measure. Things have changed dramatically since it was originally designed to punish you for even daring to think you had the right to own a set of clubs.
These days, under the careful eye and intruding earth mover of golf course manager Sinclair Hogan, the course takes you on a journey through your whole bag, all your experience and every golf lesson you’ve ever had. And you’ll love him for it… on your second round.
“Not many people walk this course,” he let on as the cart climbed out of one of the precipitous ravines on the front nine.
But though steep and demanding, from a golf point of view the hills and dales are actually pussycats.
Very clever optical illusions, they make the holes look mammoth in length, until you catch a drive just right and see your ball landing further away than you thought possible.
Too far left or right is still a problem of course. Sinclair’s left you lots of room to work with but take the mickey with a big slice or hook and you’ll need a machete to get your ball back.
That’s the story of the whole course, tricks played on the eye at every turn, but manageable challenges to match.
Right by the sea it may be, but Carrington Resort is nowhere near a links layout. There’s a parkland feel, a manicured resort vibe, a championship tendency with black tees that’ll make your knees wobble, and, of course, a superb beach and a great big winery overlooking the whole thing.
Go there, take your nearest and dearest there, stay there, switch off there and stare at the superb sea and sand. Until they build a motorway from Auckland this could be the start of the great undiscovered golf getaway.
‘The start’, because once you’ve sated yourself at Carrington Resort, cruise an hour south to Waitangi Golf Club and get ready for some more wow factor.
Waitangi’s by the sea again, and at high tide dips the toe of its longest leg into the water at the bottom of the par-4, 366-metre 11th.
With the water lapping gently on the far fringe of the green like some natural infinity-edge swimming pool, you can’t avoid one of those ‘Ah yes, this is what golf’s all about' moments - miss the putt and you probably won’t mind too much.
Then turn your back on the ocean and hope that gentle breeze picks up just for you as you send your ball back up the gradient on the impishly-grinning par-3, 158-metre 12th. Deceptively close, well guarded and, cometh the par, the perfect surroundings for a moment of unbridled air-punching.
These two back-to-back holes represent one of the finest course corners you’ll ever find and that’s saying something because the course, split into a superb parkland front nine and splendid seaview back, is a reminder of how great an established layout can be.
On some championship layouts the challenge is to finish with the same ball. Here, you get the chance to think your way through the game and actually post a respectable score.
Anyway, even if your golf’s turned to custard, sneaky close-up peaks of the coastline give you snapshots of fishermen chasing supper off the rocks, and dinner comes into mind.
You needn’t worry, nearby Paihia’s compact but well versed in tourism and dining choices.
The Golf Vacations pick is 35 Degrees South, overhanging the sea and complete with a massive aquarium.
The food is so absurdly good that on your second round at Waitangi you’ll be comparing notes with the hugely friendly locals and preparing yourself for a return visit.
Of course somewhere in there you need to tear yourself away from the golf course and head into the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where peace in New Zealand was eventually bartered in Britain’s favour with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, after years of muskets versus Maori clubs.
Despite the Maori proving themselves excellent battle strategists, the conquerors’ fire power and numbers finally forced the issue and now the grounds and an excellent exhibition and cultural show stand as a reminder of a major turning point in New Zealand’s history.
It’s also the home of the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Bay of Islands, a perfectly-positioned property for great walks, beach access and more historical exploration.
Stay there and you’re in strolling distance of Waikokopu Café, a calming lunch spot with some innovative takes on traditional Kiwi food, definitely worth a visit.
All the time in Waitangi though, you’ll have been looking at the ocean, and getting on it, as you might imagine, is ever so easy.
For ultimate luxury, Ipipiri, a 60-berth cruise ship takes you on a tour of the Bay of Islands with barely a wobble to remind you you’re onboard ship.
Nosing into sheltered, sandy coves on the outcrops that give the region its name you’ll see wildlife, birdlife, and more dolphins than you can shake a five-iron at.
Kayaking, snorkelling and island walks are definite must-do free options and, if you’re keen to get into some of that angling action, then for an extra charge the skipper can whistle up Spot-X, a fishing company who’ll take you somewhere special for the fight of your life with snapper, kingfish, marlin, shark… you name it, they’ll know where to find it.
And after all that, and a surprisingly varied buffet on board, you can fall asleep in your ensuite cabin and wait to be woken up by more smiling dolphins leaping about outside the window.
Nothing like performing mammals to make you feel like another 18 and while Bay Of Islands Golf Kerikeri might not get you turning cartwheels in the water it’ll put a similar big grin on your face.
The long driveway winds up through dense bush to deliver you onto a bright plateau, brilliantly drained thanks to its volcanic origins, which makes all-weather golf something of a guarantee.
Laid out on a parkland formula with established trees to guide you round, each hole has an intriguing name to set you guessing its lineage.
Unlike the signature par-3, 103-metre 13th which is called ‘Eagles Prospect’ for very obvious reasons.
In another of those classic course design illusions the green is so far below your feet you feel like the putter’s the right choice.
Feel free, you’ll be picking the ball out of the bushes on the hill. This hole demands a steady nerve and total confidence in your weapon of choice. Which club will organise the perfect trajectory within that 103m envelope to finish with a vertical plummet? This is the perfect place to remember you can never coulda, woulda or shoulda.
Kerikeri’s the ideal course to finish off your first visit to the Bay of Islands, a delightful track with great clubrooms and welcoming members to make you feel at home.
It’s close to Bay of Islands airport too so if you’re squeezing that final round in before take-off, the stress level goes down even further.
Or even better stay the extra night somewhere very special like the idyllic Decks of Paihia, in the heart of the bush overlooking the town and out to the bay. It’s a great spot to relax among the birdsong and remember every stroke.
Bay of Islands is one of those spectacular bits of a country where spectacular is the default scenery function.
As well as that the weather defies the myth that New Zealand actually experiences all four seasons, so while it’s temptingly close enough to make a weekend foray to check it out, chances are you’ll regret it as soon as you have to leave for home.
Take a tip, book a proper break either side of the peak season and have the place to yourself.
It really is that good. Simple as that..
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