Rawene

Rawene sits on a point in the Hokianga Harbour and is usually counted the third-oldest European settlement in New Zealand, after Russell and Paihia - a timber and trading port from the 1820s that never grew, which is why so much of it is still standing. Several buildings sit on piles over the water at high tide, including the boatshed cafe, and Clendon House of the 1860s, home of the American-born trader and Resident Magistrate James Clendon and later his Maori wife Jane, is open as a museum. The car ferry across to Kohukohu is the practical reason many people come: it is the short way round the harbour and saves a long inland detour, running roughly hourly. The village has a handful of galleries and a bookshop and very little else. The Hokianga is a quiet, undeveloped harbour with strong historical significance in Maori tradition as the departure point of Kupe.

What you actually see

• The stilt buildings - over the water at high tide, including the cafe.
• Clendon House - the 1860s trader's home, open as a museum.
• The car ferry - the crossing to Kohukohu, roughly hourly.
• The quiet harbour - the undeveloped Hokianga around it.

When to go

Any season. Check the ferry timetable if you are relying on it - it stops in the evening. Clendon House has limited opening days.

Honest expectations

It is a very small village with few services. The ferry does not run late. Clendon House is open only on certain days. There is little to do beyond walking and the museum.

Nearby

Opononi and Omapere are west at the harbour mouth; Kohukohu is across the ferry.