The Best Things to Do in Kerikeri

Kerikeri, the largest town in Northland New Zealand, is a popular tourist destination about three hours drive north of Auckland, and 80 km north of the northern region's largest city, Whangarei. It is often called the Cradle of the Nation, being the site of the first permanent mission station in the country, and it has some of the most historic buildings in the country.A rapidly expanding centre of sub-tropical and allied horticulture, Kerikeri is in the Far North District of the North Island and lies at the western extremity of the Kerikeri Inlet, a northwestern arm of the Bay of Islands, where fresh water of the Kerikeri River enters the salty Pacific Ocean. A fast-growing community, the 2001 census showed the population of 4,878 was an increase of 16.3 percent over the 1996 figure, and the 2006 census tally of 5,856 was a further population growth of 20 percent, and at the 2013 census had increased by a further 11 percent to 6,507.The village was established by New Zealand's pioneering missionaries, who called it Gloucestertown, or Gloucester Town, but neither name endured. The Māori word Kerikeri was spelled and pronounced as Keddi Keddi or even Kiddee Kiddee, but the town's name is today generally pronounced Kerry Kerry but with a rolled r by Māori. Explore the family-friendly attractions of Kerikeri and add them to your vacation plans using our New Zealand road trip planner.