Northland's home to cheese makers, honey producers, chocolatiers, wood carvers, metal workers, glass sculptors, wine and craft beer makers, olive and avocado oil producers, coffee roasters, kombucha brewers, vegetable seedling growers and countless food trucks plus so many more interesting artisan food and drink producers.

The many local markets around the area showcase these products and put a well-deserved spotlight on the people who make them. I highly recommend checking out these markets if you're in the area.

 

Paihia Farmers Market

Open rain or shine and all year round, the Paihia Farmers Market is held on Thursdays from 12pm until 4:30pm. It's set up on the village green opposite the Maritime Building on Marsden Road in the heart of Paihia.

This is a smaller market, focusing more on the organic produce side. Here you'll find locally grown fruit, vegetables, nuts and oils. Many of the stalls are organically certified and most offer tastings. There are a few food trucks and even a bakery and coffee van that's worth the wait in line. Live music or entertainment is usually on offer too.

The Packhouse Market, Kerikeri

This is the largest artisan market in the Bay of Islands, the largest in Northland, and one of the largest in New Zealand - this market has it all! The market is housed inside the old heritage-listed Packhouse building at 5 Kerikeri Road and open on Saturdays from 8am until 1:30pm and Sundays from 9am to 1.30pm.

The Packhouse Market offers everything from vintage clothing, jewellery, massage, clairvoyants, plant nurseries, craft beer brewery on site, local and live bands, potters, fish smokers, antiques, fresh produce, and too much artisan food and products you don’t know where to start.

Here you can grab a hangi, a traditional Māori meal consisting of meat and vegetables smoked under the ground in a traditional earth oven. Made the same way it was over 400 years ago. Local farmed oysters and whitebait are for sale in many forms from chowders to fritters, but my ultimate go to favourite is the mussel fritter served with tartare sauce on a slice of grainy bread, sold by the mother and daughter duo inside the food hall.

I find the food selection at this market is incomparable to other markets around the area, only cause of the grand size of the market itself. It’s easy to spend an entire morning here and it's where you’ll pick up some great local souvenirs.

Start the morning with a coffee and a homemade pie and wander the market. Don’t get afraid to get lost, the locals are chatty and love to talk about their products and wares.

Local wineries often offer tastings here and will offer to post larger quantities back to your home country should you find yourself won over. Why not stay and have a glass while you watch some of the talented musicians?

 

Paihia Art & Craft Market

This market is set up in the same area as the Paihia Farmers Market: on the grass opposite the Maritime Building on Marsden Road. Held on cruise ship arrival days only, it has many of the same stalls as the usual Paihia market, but with more of a focus on local crafts.

Here you'll find amazing handmade balms and soaps made from New Zealand herbs and medicinal plants. There’s clothing and jewellery crafted from pounamu (a sacred green stone also known as jade), traditional Maori art and carved bone jewellery made by local artists, and many more stalls featuring wood and even possum wool products.

This market usually starts in the morning around 9am as the cruise ship shuttles begin to arrive with passengers off the ships, and lasts until the last tenders return around 4pm.

Find out more about the Paihia Art & Craft Market and check out www.visitboi.co.nz to see details of Bay of Islands cruise ship schedule.

 

Read more about food and drink in the Bay of Islands.