Paihia area + Cape Brett + Cape Reinga

I'm looking for people who are around Paihia or are interested in walking the Cape Brett trail or some trails at Cape Reinga. Someone with a car would be great, because the local public transport is somewhere near zero. I'm German, staying in New Zealand for up to 12 months with a working holiday visa and will be in the Paihia area for another 2-3 weeks at least. Cape Brett or Cape Reinga can only be done after this (so mid-September), since I work in the mornings. Also, I'm looking for an interesting volunteer opportunity around then. Anything to do with nature, trail management, counting birds, measuring trees, or historic places would be great (just to give some examples). Maybe someone knows someone who knows someone etc ;)