If not, here is some more help - you pronounce it like "fart-a-poo". Ironically, we figured the kids would be all over visiting a place called Whatipu, but they didn't find it as funny as their sophomoric parents.
Getting to Whatipu is a journey. It is in the Auckland area, but between navigating through the city and then managing a seemingly endless twisty narrow dirt road, it took us over one and a half hours to get there. We all agreed that Whatipu better be worth it.
By the time we got to Whatipu, the weather had turned overcast and cold. We walked 20 minutes to find a huge cave that narrowed as you proceeded into it. At the end there was a tiny hole that appeared to continue further on, but we had no idea how much further. Just as we were about to turn around, two kids and their father crawled out from the hole. They told us the cave went on for another 100 meters and the first part was the toughest. Xavier, Quentin and Isaac promptly dove down the hole and disappeared. Mind you, the passage was maybe 10 inches high, so it required some rather cramped crawling. Xavier, in particular, loved it. Gerard considered going through and then thought the better of it. Fortunately, the boys returned from their solo spelunking adventure.
After the cave, we explored the beach and the rocks. Quentin started climbing a cliff and got "stuck" half way up. We explained that he had two options - up or down - and he chose to finish the climb up. Fortunately, this Mother's Day didn't involve a trip to the hospital.
In conclusion, Whatipu is beautiful, but not worth the trip. We prefer Muriwai. (However, Xavier loved the cave.)
