One of the first stops on my late 2008 tour of New Zealand’s Northland was Whangarei, the largest town (and technically classified a city) north of Auckland. Whangarei is a pretty non-descript town, but I was lucky enough to stay at a little backpackers about 6km out of town, called Little Earth Lodge. It’s really more of a bed and breakfast in terms of standard of decor, simply but stunningly decorated in the Balinese style. It is also surrounded by cow pastures and typical Northland scenery, and is the starting point of my walk to Whangarei Falls.