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An Aucklander's How-to Guide
TOLL TUNNELS, TENTS AND OVERTOURISM
How to have an awesome time when you don't enjoy crowds or cheesy tourism, and you have no choice but to travel during peak holiday season.
We discover that it's possible even on a sunny Auckland and Northland Anniversary weekend. |
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NEW ZEALAND Northland Roadtrip: Day 1Auckland (A) to the Kauri Coast (B) via the Puhoi toll tunnels, bottlenecking through Warkworth then Wellsford, turning left at Brynderwyn and cruising State Highway (SH) 12 through Dargaville (212 kms)
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25 January 2019: Dargaville
Heading up the hill towards the museum we make an unexpected discovery. Dargaville is actually pretty in places and the view across the river to the town is stunning! Who knew? We’ve been travelling this way for thirty years and (apologies to Dargavillians) considered it dull and flat, notable only for the Blah, Blah, Blah Cafe, which is always awesome. 
25 - 26 January 2019: Trounson Kauri Park
Nearly 7 pm and we’re a little anxious by the time we get here. Glinks Gully (too blowy) and the Kai Iwi Lakes (too busy) have taken us out of our way, leaving us low on options. We know Trounson is a small campsite and we’re thinking it could be full on a long weekend. It isn’t! Woop. Just enough people to stop it feeling too isolated and the best space is still waiting for us. Long before dark we’ve pitched the tent, pumped up the air mattress and broken out the sundowners. Tucked into the edge of a stand of kauris - the perfect start to a roadtrip.
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WHERE WE STAYED TROUNSON KAURI PARK CAMPGROUND
See the Department of Conservation (DOC) website for details Additional info:
ON THE ROAD
Even at the best of times (but especially on long weekends) there are places on SH 1 where traffic bottlenecks. We queued before the tunnels, after the tunnels, going passed Warkworth and getting into Wellsford. By then we were hot, grumpy and busting for a loo. It's worth considering the alternate route (SH 16) along the Kaipara. As an additional bonus there's no toll to pay - not that it's expensive, just a hassle. ENVIRONMENTAL STUFF
Unlike many places in the West Auckland Waitakeres, you're able to wander around Trounson Kauri Park, which is a real treat. Just keep to the tracks and clean your shoes at the stations provided when you enter and leave. See: Kauri Dieback
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NEW ZEALAND Northland Roadtrip: Day 2Continuing along SH 12 through the Waipoua Forest (A) to Omapere and Opononi. Short-cutting across to SH 1 on a gravel road after Waima; travelling to Kaitia and picking up the SH 12 again to get to Ahipara (B) at the start of Ninety Mile Beach (approx. 140 kms)
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26 January 2019: Omapere, Hokianga Harbour
This view never gets tired. Even though we’re anticipating it as we crest the hill, the first glimpse of the dunes across the Hokianga Harbour takes our breath away. Magic. 
26 - 27 January 2019: Ahipara Holiday Park
This place never gets tired either. Spacious, shaded campsites and recreational nooks and crannies offer privacy even when the park is relatively full. The ablutions are super clean, showers hot and the streamed music app sounds like a party-in-the-loo at 3 am, more than making up for having to stagger forth from our tent in the dark. Foreign backpackers fizzing about the awesomeness of Ninety Mile Beach and New Zealand in general, are infectious. We feel like tourists in our own country. 
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WHERE WE STAYED AHIPARA HOLIDAY PARK
See their website for details See my blog for our previous experience of camping here Price: 2 adults camping in a tent on an unpowered site: NZD40
ON THE ROAD - SHORT CUTS
The map above shows the straight forward route from Trounson to Ahipara via Kaikohe. Another option is to use the vehicular ferry at Rawene. A third is a short cut that looks ideal on our simplified and (as it turns out) somewhat inaccurate map. The road is unsealed and winding so it's slow going in a small car with wheels meant for city streets. If you want to try it, the turn off is after Waima and goes via the Wairere Boulders (a non-event) and Horeke (tiny) bringing you, eventually, onto SH 1. We won't go this way again. OVERTOURISM
Back in the day we used to wander through the Waipou Forest to see Tane Mahuta, the giant 2,000 year-old kauri tree, and maybe there were a couple of people around who respectfully kept their distance. It was a highlight; awe-inspiring, kind of spiritual, immensely peaceful. Now it's all go. Coachloads of tourists complete with megaphoned tour guides, campervans, ice cream vans, family picnics, selfies enough to fill the digital universe... groan. Boardwalks have had to be built to protect the forest and there are so many rules and regs. We don't even bother to stop.
Links: Waipou Forest | Kauri Dieback |
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NEW ZEALAND Northland Roadtrip: Day 3Ahipara (A) to Kaitia, then travelling north on SH 1 as far as Rarawa Beach (B). Backtracking down to Awaniu, going east along SH 10 and following it to the Hihi turn off (C). Approx. 150 kms
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27 January 2019: Rarawa Beach
Careful what you read in tourist brochures. A DOC campground on the edge of a remote white silica sand beach sounds idyllic, right? Turns out that what the campsite lacks in facilities, space and shade, it more than makes up for with holiday makers. The ‘pristine’ beach is full of vehicles driving up and down on it like it’s a road without rules, then parking up at the estuary and spilling families, their picnics, BBQs and ball games. If you can see past that it is a beautiful beach, but why would you stay? We didn’t. 
26 - 27 January 2019: Hihi Beach Holiday Park
Plan B and we’re cautious. I’m sure I would dislike this spot intensely during the height of the holidays. Sardine-style camping and loo queues are not my best thing. Fortunately it’s the tail end of the season. You can still camp on top of other people if that’s your preference, but there are plenty of different areas and options, each with its own unique feel. The top terrace offers spectacular views, then there’s an enticing row of pines with nobody in it. We opt for grassy shade at the very edge of the campground (no. 14); meadow on one side, verdant bush hiding a stream on another. The air sizzles with cicadas while a feisty little breeze blows through, cooling everything down. An oasis in the summer. 
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WHERE WE STAYED Price: 2 adults camping in a tent on an unpowered site: NZD40
Hihi Beach at Sunset
The beach is directly across the road from the Holiday Park. It’s low tide this evening which means that there is some beach and access along the shoreline. The stand-out thing is the colour. Orange, orange cliffs, reflected in the sea and turned even more fiery by the sunset. Stunning. ON THE ROAD - IN SEARCH OF A HITMAN KILLER COFFEE
Keith's a coffee fiend and the promise of a killer coffee is irresistible. He's spotted it on a map in a guide to the far north of Northland, which lists activities and amenities. Although the exact location is a little ambiguous, we can see that it's near a place called Pukenui. This is a skinny, relatively sparsely populated strip of land with few roads, so we figure that we'll be able to locate it without too much trouble. Long story short, we still don't know if we've actually found the Hitman Killer Coffee. What we have found (eventually, with help from a friendly DOC officer) is a pop up coffee cart in a container on the side of the SH 1, set alongside another selling pies, ice creams and farm stall produce. While waiting for our order we peruse the book exchange offerings in an old fridge painted yellow. Kind of random, but hey, the coffee is good. |
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NEW ZEALAND Northland Roadtrip: Day 4Mangonui (A) to Whangarei (C) on SH 10 through Kaeo, bypassing KeriKeri, looping to Pahia (B) on SH 11 and rejoining SH 10 at Kawakawa. Turning inland south of Whangarei and following the backroads down to Paparoa, then onto SH 12 to Matakohe (D). Approx. 200 kms
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29 January 2019: Mangonui Harbour
The pictuesque little village of Mangonui is all about fishing and tourists. Today it’s busy but not full-to-bursting so it’s a nice place to be. We have coffee and chips at the (world-famous in New Zealand) Mangonui Fish Shop, watch a few sea birds sneaking in for a hand-out and enjoy the flowers. The colour theme in this instance is pink. 
29 - 30 January 2019: Matakohe Holiday Park
An oldie but a goodie. At the end of a short road behind the Kauri Museum at Matakohe you’ll find this lace and lavender holiday park, a favourite with international campervan tourists. We forego our usual campsite (no. 30) with its ample space, privacy and proximity to a field of cows and/or sheep, for one behind it that promises more shelter from the gusting westerly. As always the holiday park’s amenities are spotless and today the kitchen and lounge area are empty, letting us cook, eat and watch the weather on TV like we’re home alone.
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WHERE WE STAYED MATAKOHE HOLIDAY PARK
See their website for details See my blog for our previous experience of camping here Price: 2 adults camping in a tent on an unpowered site: NZ$40
ON THE ROAD - BACKROADS
The Day 4 map shows the direct route from Whangarei to Matakohe via Brynderwyn. There is another, much quieter way. We don't use a GPS when we travel and our hard copy maps only approximate the route. We can't say exactly which backroads we take - we turn right just south of Whangarei near Portland and follow what appears to be the most well-used of the roads (they're all tar sealed), looking for sign posts to Paparoa or the Kauri Museum. It's about 60 kms and vague as it sounds, we always get there. A great drive. OVERTOURISM
Paihia, urgh! We detoured from SH 1 because we needed a service station and thought it might be nice to revisit Pahia while we were at it. Bad idea. It's hot, crowded and, well, tacky somehow. The cutesy little islands in the bay can't compensate for the commercialism and we can't leave fast enough.
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NEW ZEALAND Northland Roadtrip: Day 5Matakohe (B) to Dargaville (A) on SH 12, detouring to Maungaraho Rock on the way back, then continuing through Ruawai and Matakohe to pick up SH 1 at Brynderwyn. Travelling to Auckland (C) via Wellsford, Warkworth and the Puhoi Tunnels (approx. 200 kms)
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30 January 2019: Maungaraho Rock Scenic Reserve
Someplace new. It’s the last day of our road trip and we’re in we-could-drive-forever mode. We decide to backtrack 50 kms out of our way for a coffee at Blah Blah Blah Cafe. Although we’ve seen this rock every time we’ve travelled the long, flat, otherwise featureless road between Ruawai and Dargaville, it’s the first time we’ve detoured for a close up look. It has a real presence. Not another soul in sight and for once we almost wish there was. 
30 January 2019: Auckland
The heat haze makes for an atmospheric view of Auckland city as we're heading over the harbour bridge. We can't decide which is the hero here, the skyscape or the most enormous cruise ship, too big to tie up at the wharf. 
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UNDERTOURISM
Undertourism is my own made-up term for places of interest set up for visitors (eg. with signage, tracks, parking areas) but with no other infrastructure and no-one around. Although this might sound idyllic, and New Zealand is a relatively safe place to travel, stuff happens everywhere. Unsavvy tourists make easy pickings. Trust your instincts. In this instance we feel uncomfortable leaving our car unattended for hours to go exploring Maungaraho Rock Reserve, choosing instead to picnic in a grassy field at the entrance.
ON THE ROAD
The long weekend ended yesterday and we decided to stay away an extra night in the hopes that the road back to Auckland would be quieter. It is. The only queues are at the traffic lights in Warkworth, otherwise it's a cruisy trip home. |
ON THE ROAD - GALLERY |
Trounson Kauri Park:
Wandering in the cool of the forest, just us and the tuis, a flock of noisy rainbow lorikeets the only other tourists. |
Ahipara:
Sitting at the entrance to 90 Mile Beach, waiting to see if any 4WDs get stuck in the sand. (We weren't disappointed.) |
Dargaville:
Summer invaders (Australian flame bottle tree, lavender, agapanthus) join native flax to pretty up the river view. |
Mangamuka Gorge:
Surprise company and an impromptu picnic alongside a swimming hole in the scenic reserve on the road to Kaitaia. |
