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Kerikeri, the largest town in the Bay of Islands on the North Island of New Zealand, is a popular tourist destination about three hours drive north of Auckland, and 80 kilometres north of Whangarei. It is often described as the Cradle Of The Nation, being the site of the first permanent mission station in the country, and it has some of the most historic buildings in the country.
A rapidly expanding centre of sub-tropical and allied horticulture, Kerikeri lies at the western extremity of the Kerikeri Inlet, a northwestern arm of the Bay of Islands, where fresh water of the Kerikeri River enters the salty Pacific Ocean.
It is a far cry from the village established by New Zealand's pioneering missionaries. They called it Gloucestertown, or Gloucester Town, but neither name endured. The Ma-ori word Kerikeri is correctly pronounced almost as Keddi Keddi, or even Kiddee Kiddee, but the town's name is generally pronounced Kerry Kerry.
Original versions of our photos can be purchased & web versions can be shared subject to conditions.