Paihia

The lawn where British officials and Maori chiefs signed the treaty in 1840, the period residence and a carved meeting house share one site. A ticket covers two days running, so the show and museum can be split. On the 6 February anniversary parking is hard.

A small town across the bay by ferry, rough enough in the whaling days to be called the hellhole of the Pacific. Now it is a quiet strip of old timber buildings along the waterfront. Check the time of the last ferry back before you settle in.

Built in 1835, the oldest church still standing in the country. Musket ball holes from the fighting of 1845 remain in its timber walls. Charles Darwin, calling in while funds for the building were raised, gave money too.

French Catholic missionaries built it of rammed earth and inside printed religious books in Maori and tanned leather. On the guided tour you watch the old press at work. You find it where the Russell waterfront ends to the south.

The hill where the chief Hone Heke cut down the British flagstaff four times between 1844 and the following year. From Russell it can be reached on foot or by car, and the islands of the bay lie scattered below. Many climb it for sunset.

A tunnel through a rock island off Cape Brett, far east in the bay; in calm seas cruise boats pass straight through. With a swell running they turn back at the mouth, so it is never promised. Dolphins often join the trip out, but swimming with them is banned.

A broad fall that curves in a horseshoe, its name meaning big noise in Maori. From Waitangi a boardwalk over the mangroves leads there on foot, and by car you pull up right in front. The day after rain carries the most water.

The largest island in the bay, where many birds have come back since rats and stoats were cleared. Before boarding you are asked to check shoes and bags for seeds or soil. Terraces of old Maori fortified villages mark hilltops across the island.

Built in the 1830s, it is the oldest stone building in New Zealand, and the ground floor still sells old-style goods. Kemp House next door, finished in 1822, is the oldest building standing. A 30-minute drive from Paihia makes it a half-day trip.

Public toilets by the Austrian artist Hundertwasser, who lived nearby, in coloured tile, bottle glass and crooked columns. People still use them, so photographers queue with those who just need to go. On Kawakawa's main street, 15 minutes south of Paihia.

The Kerikeri River drops 27m off a basalt cliff here, known in Maori as Waianiwaniwa. You reach the lookout minutes after parking, or follow the riverside track from the Stone Store. When afternoon sun strikes the spray, a rainbow forms as the name promises.

Below the lighthouse at the North Island's tip, the Tasman Sea and the Pacific meet in a line of clashing waves. Maori believe spirits leave via a cliff-edge pohutukawa, so please do not eat here. Day tours from Paihia drive up Ninety Mile Beach.

The largest living kauri, in Waipoua Forest on the west coast, named for the god of the forest. A few minutes from the road, a boardwalk ends beneath its massive trunk. To keep out kauri dieback, scrub your soles at the cleaning station first.

The Maori pa where the last battle of the Northern War, fought from 1845 into the next year, took place. Trenches and bunkers dug under chief Kawiti still mark the grassy hill. Panels at each point let you compare the British gun positions with the pa.

Limestone caves near Kawakawa, guided for generations by descendants of chief Kawiti. Follow the boardwalk in, lamps go off, and glowworms float on the ceiling like stars. The bush walk outside shows limestone eroded into strange shapes.

A walk from Paihia south to the port of Opua, following the shore and mangrove forest. Boardwalks through the trees alternate with small beaches. A few rocky stretches are impassable when the tide is in, so set off at low tide.