Dargaville Kumara Country

Kumara is sweet potato, brought to New Zealand by Maori settlers from Polynesia and grown here for centuries before Europeans arrived; the pre-European storage pits, kumara gardens and the elaborate work needed to grow a tropical crop this far south are a substantial part of early Maori agricultural history. Modern commercial growing concentrated around Dargaville on the Northern Wairoa River, where deep alluvial silt and a mild climate suit it, and this district now produces the large majority of New Zealand's crop. Dargaville calls itself the kumara capital and there is a certain amount of signage about it. The visitor reality is straightforward: paddocks of low green vines, roadside stalls selling bags of red, gold and orange varieties direct from the grower during and after harvest, and a small museum in town. It is a drive-through interest rather than a destination.

What to look for

• The river flats - deep silt paddocks along the Northern Wairoa.
• The roadside stalls - red, gold and orange kumara sold by growers.
• The harvest - February to May, when the paddocks are worked.
• The longer history - a Polynesian crop grown here for centuries.

When to go

Harvest runs February to May and that is when the roadside stalls are fullest. Outside that the paddocks are bare and there is little to see.

Before you go

There is no visitor centre or organised kumara experience - it is farmland and roadside stalls. Dargaville is a small working town, not a tourist stop. Stalls often want cash.

Nearby

The Kauri Coast and Waipoua Forest are north; Baylys Beach is west.