With a population of over 4000 people,[2] Kaikohe is a shopping and service centre for an extensive farming district and is sometimes referred to as "the hub of the north".

[3] The town is situated on a relatively level site surrounded mainly by undulating plains[4] and is nearby many former pā sites including Nga Huha, Pouerua, Te Rua-hoanga, Ngaungau, Kaiaia, Te Tou o Roro, Taka-poruruku, Tapa-huarau, Nga Puke-pango, Maunga-turoto, and Maunga-kawakawa.

[5] On the western edge of town, Kaikohe Hill rises 300 m above sea level, allowing views of the imposing sand dunes on the Hokianga Harbour to the west, farmlands to the east and south toward Mount Hikurangi (625 m).

To the north of the Putahi volcanic ridge is Lake Ōmāpere, five km in length, but only two to three metres deep.

[9] The area around Kaikohe, from the southern side of Lake Ōmāpere to Kaikohe Airport and including Ngawha Springs, is the statistical area of Ngapuhi, which covers 175.14 km2 (67.62 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 1,990 as of June 2024,[11] with a population density of 11 people per km2.

[13] Originally a Māori village called Ōpango, Kaikohe is recognised as being the very heart of the culture of the great Ngāpuhi iwi.

In the early 19th century a rival Māori tribe raided the village and fugitives subsisted among the Kohekohe (a native tree) groves on Tokareireia (Kaikohe Hill).

St. Michael's Anglican Church in nearby Ngawha Springs was built on the site of the pā at which the battle took place.

The warrior chief Hōne Heke settled in Kaikohe after fighting ceased, and died there in 1850.

In April 1911, a monument to him was unveiled on Kaikohe Hill by Sir James Carroll, acting Prime Minister.

A park in the town is dedicated to Rawiri Taiwhanga who has a very strong claim to being New Zealand's first commercial dairy farmer.

Kaikohe was an important location for the late 19th/early 20th century kauri gum digging trade.

[18] Also in the town is a Pioneer Village, a 19th-century Northland community recreated with all its colourful atmosphere, history and detail.

The line between Okaihau and Rangiahua was operated for a short time by the Public Works Department before being closed and dismantled during World War II.

Although Kaikohe became the service centre of the Far North, it failed to generate much rail traffic in the early years of the line.

Minimal services were offered, and although losses increased up to 1930, fortunes had somewhat improved by 1940, and by 1950 there was sufficient traffic to justify six trains each way a week.

When railcars were introduced on services north of Auckland in November 1956, they ran through Kaikohe all the way to Okaihau.

In 1977, a relaxation of road transport laws led to a decline in freight traffic on the line and forestry proposals that would have required a railway service failed to eventuate.

Also not far away are the Whangaroa and Hokianga harbours, the Waiomio limestone caves, many beaches and bays, and historic Kerikeri which is Northland's largest town.

Christian Huriwai, winner of the street unicycling competition at the 2010 World Championships in Wellington, is a current resident.

[31] Two professional boxers have lived in Kaikohe including Daniella Smith and Patricia Vaka.

[39] Kaikohe East School has a Māori unit offering bilingual and total immersion classes.