The Dukes Nose, or Kairara Rock, is one of the absolute jewels in Northland New Zealand that should definitely be added to your must do list if you're exploring this area of New Zealand.

Nestled in the northern reaches of New Zealand, Northland is well known for its rich diversity especially when it comes to landscape photography. With a coastline dotted with dramatic cliffs, turquoise waters, and hidden coves, and some of New Zealand's most incredible podocarp forests (including the oldest and amazing Waipoua Kauri Forest), there is so much to choose from when adventuring through Northland.

The view from the summit is absolutely stunning with tropical blue water from the Whangaroa harbour surrounding the dense North Island coastal forest and the islands dotted throughout the harbour.

There are a couple of options available in getting to the Dukes Nose:

The Walk in: Take the Wairakau Stream Track from Totora North and hike the 5.6km to the Lane Cove Hut (approx 2 hours). Once you reach the Lane Cove Hut, have a rest/drink/refuel, and then continue on up the 500m to the top of Kairara Rocks (approx 45 minutes). This part is not for the faint hearted and includes 2 x steep climb grab rails up vertical cliff face. It is very much worth it for the views however!!

Water taxi in: To skip the first part of the hike, catch a water taxi from Whangaroa Harbour to Lane Cove Hut, then continue the rest of the track up to the Dukes Nose Kairara Rock path (45 minutes).

Photography info: By far the best view is from the summit of Kairara Rock facing North. We started the Dukes Nose hike in the early afternoon so that we could shoot it at golden hour and at sunset. The light was stunning over the harbour lighting up the surrounding forest and landscape around the islands. This is another one of those spots that will work well at sunrise also.