Near the northern tip of the North Island is Kaitaia, a commercial center for the surrounding area. It is a good base for excursions northward via Waipapakauri and along Ninety Mile Beach to Cape Reinga or westward to the Maori settlement of Ahipara, at the south end of Ninety Mile Beach. The road to Cape Reinga is good all the way, but most car
-rental firms prohibit driving along the beach itself.
The population of Kaitaia includes a strikingly high proportion of Maoris, as well as many descendants of 19th C. immigrants from Dalmatia (at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian empire) who made a living as gum diggers.
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