Route
One is the direct route north out of Auckland.
Taking this route one
can take a detour on Route 26 back to Devonport to enjoy a very vibrant
area. It can also be reached by ferry from downtown Auckland.
The drive on Route One continues north through the North Shore region
that overlooks Hauraki Gulf to the east. Soon the heavy populated
Auckland region melts away to farm land and small villages such as
Silverdale, a
small quaint shopping town, and on to Orewa with one of the finest
beaches in the country on Whangaparaoa Bay.
I suggest you get off the motorway at Orewa if you really want to see
New Zealand otyer than hurrying through.
A worthwhile side trip is from Orewa to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and
the Shakespear Regional Park is located. At the Marina is a good place
to park your campervan overlooking the extinct volcanoe known as
Rangitoto Island free.
After Orewa the road starts to climb and twist revealing several
overlooks to the area. Waiwera has a great hot pool complex.
Continuing north a very slight detour to Puhoi is
recommended to see a small historic village still alive and well. Puhoi
cheese is well known and respected.
From here we go on to the town of Warkworth where it is imperative to
take the road east to Matakana, Leigh and on to Pakiri. In Matakana is
one of the finest patisserie in all of New Zealand. I dare you to not
go crazy with their beautiful baked goods. This is also the wine
district for this part of New Zealand. Stop at the Ascension Winery to
see what is created here.
I recommend staying the night in the area at the Pakiri
Beach Holiday Park . The Park offers some
of the best of the picturesque North Island. Walk the 9kms of golden
sandy beach. Great for swimming, surfing, beach fishing and kayaking in
the estuary. .and top accommodations for all needs. One of the
best diving spots is right close by at Goat Island. You'll love
the drive in and out providing ou with some real New
Zealand. Your firat taste of dirt road (just a small bit).
After
a peaceful stay at Pakiri it is back to Route One at Wellsford and
continue on north.
A detour to the East Coast
north of Wellsford takes you to Mangawhai Heads and the startling coast
line north through Waipu then a return to Hgwy 1 at Waipu.
Here on Bream Bay is the Camp Waipu Cove
campground
right on the beach. This has been a real holiday haven for years. have
a look at the web page above. For a smaller more private stay the Waipu
Cove Cottages and Holiday Park also Camp Information.
The Sail Rock Cafe is
the best in the area at Mangawhai Heads.
An
interesting gallery is the Smashed
Pipi in Mangawhai and at Waipu
the Artform Cafe
and Gallery is a must. Great beaches
along this back route.
Once back to
Route One heading north to Whangarei from here. Just out of
Whangarei on Ngunguru Road is the Whangarei Falls and the Whangarei Falls Holiday Park
A great place to stop and stay to take some time discovering
this place. Have a look at the web page above. Nice park with eassy
access to the Falls.
Northland was
the first to be settled
both by Maori and Europeans. 175 kms north of Auckland is the city of
Whangarei the major city of the region:
Whangarei
Information
Take a drive to the Harbour area where you can enjoy the
shopping, cafe and restaurants of the town. Several good places for
coffee in Whangarei:
(see the New Zealand
Coffee Guide.)
Our latest find was Nectar Cafe, banks Street. Top quality everything
from staff, to food, to coffee.
From
Whangarei we continue north on Route One cutting through the centre of
the Upper North and head for the Bay of Islands one of the jewels of
the New Zealand areas.
For those with time and a desire to explore some of the tourist
untouched parts be sure to take the 21kms ride to Whananaki a
small laid-back coastal community. Stay the night there at
the Whananaka Holiday Park - Park Information run by a
lovely lady by the name of Jackie.
She has kayaks you can use too on the river beside the place.
Also one of the best cafes and galleries we have seen is the
Helena Bay Hill Gallery & Cafe on the beautiful costal
route to ward Russell. Gallery
& Cafe - Helena Bay Hill
What a panoramic view. Just fabulous and the owner of the
gallery, Peter Brown was the artist who built the place. Julia Nuechter
& Uwe Krohmann have the cafe and what a great job they do. Well
worth the drive out there.
if you really want to explore and discover the real beauty of this part
of New Zealand take some of these side road excursions. Pure magic!
Onward and upward along Route One! When you reach Kawakawa take Route
11 to Paihia
but first make sure you stop in Kawakawa. Top cafe there plus the
world-famous Kawakawa toilets. You read it
right...public toilets believe it or not. Internationally renowned
painter, architect,ecologist and philosopher, Friederich Hundertwasser
lived in seclusion on the Waikare inlet in Northland near the town of
Kawakawa.
His colourful ceramic creation for the people of the town
won the Premiere Award in Urban & Landscape Design.
You just got to experience it!
From
Whangarei it is then on to
the: Bay of Islands:
Russel,
Paihia, Kerikeri and a stop at Waitangi is a must. This is the
treaty grounds where Maori and European settlers signed the Waitangi Treaty in 1840. This
is New Zealand's history at level one and also the place where
everything up here is centered around. Kerkeri is one of our
favourite places and is the heart of the region with the town having
top quality shopping. Our choice for cafe is always Posh Nosh. Kerikeri
has, without question, the best supermarket in all of New Zealand with
the greatest choice of meats and fish I have ever seen plus the
Kerikeri meat market has such things as American cut prime rib!
From
Whangarei to the Bay of islands is the top big game fishing area
of the country along with a lot of special water related sports and
excursions.There is a
short distance of 14kms from Paihia to Puketona on Route 10.
East
of Route 10 there are many roads to the sea where one can enjoy a night
at one of the holiday parks available through to Cable Bay. Now Route
10
curves back to the west and at Awanui meets up with Route One. Here is
a must stop - The Ancient Kauri Kingdom
website. You will
never see artistic woodwork like this anywhere and all created from
45,000 year old kauri trees. Walk up the centre of a kauri trunk to the
second floor.
North now to
the very top of the North Island at Cape Reinga is now reached by Route
1. A drive that will take you through the long narrow peninsula with
the Pacific on one side and the Tasman Sea on the other. The last 1/2
hour drive will be on dirt road. You may wish to take a tour out
of Kerikeri or Paihia.
After the
visit to Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach we now turn around and head
back. be sure to see the giant sand dunes and maybe you will be lucky
to
spot some wild horses.
On our return
south we will go south on Route One through Kaitaia and then on south
to the
Hokianga Harbour area on the west coast area of the north. The
interesting sealed side road is from Kaitaia west to Ahipara, south to
Herekino and on to Kohukohu where you take your vehicle on the ferry
across the Hokianga Harbour to Rawene and on south on route 12.
Good cafe and coffee on the northern side of the ferry crossing, the
Waterline cafe and Jan McCulloch has the Ferry Stop Coffee Cart that
serves real Cuban Coffee!
If you need to stop for the night here there is a small camp at
Ahipara. Ahipara camp
website. Nothing flash but well maintained.
They
call this the Twin
Coast Discovery Route. No sense not seeing all of it and not have to go
back the same route you came up on. You will miss a very interesting
part of the country otherwise. Now we will travel to Opononi and
Omapere on the Hokianga Harbour and south through the Waipoua Kauri
Forest with massive kauri trees some
over a thousand years old. One Kauri tree, Tane
Mahuta(God of the
Forest) is
51.5metres high, 13.5 metres girth estimated at 1200
years old. The road leads through the forest and a walking track is
provided to the large kauri.
Continuing
south on Route 12 you will come to Dargaville. Take the road to the
coast on the Ripiro Beach one of the most beautiful in the country.
Great place to stop awhile.
The holiday
park recommended to stay in this area is the Baylys Beach Holiday Park
14 kms west of Dargaville.website: Baylys
Beach
Holiday Park. Give one of their quad bikes a run down the beach.
From
Dargaville we continue south on Route 12 until it meet up
with Route One at Brynderwyn.
Along this route at Matakoe is the Kauri Museum.
Kauri timber
was once the major export of New Zealand as was the kauri gum. In 1899
over 11,000 tonnes of gum were exported and used for making
varnish. Synthetics put a stop to the gum digging. When in this
part of New Zealand you have to stop at the Kauri Museum.
Another
way is to turn off on Route
16 at Wellsford and take the back way into Auckland through the
vineyards north of the city. At Parakai are the Thermal Pools you might
enjoy.
So we have
been north now it is time to turn around and return south.
depending upon your time schedule you can take make up a different
route back. After Auckland there are
three
major
ways to go south...................
FIRST ROUTE VIA TARANAKI
REGION:
Now
toward
Taranaki, south to Rotorua or
along the East
Coast. Your call............remember if you want a
place to stop along the way south we recommend the
Clarks Beach Holiday Park.
It will depend upon your time and what you may
have seen before if this isn't your first trip. You have to see Rotorua
if it is a toss up.
With just as little bit of extra time a side trip to the Waitoma Caves
region is recommended.
A little about the Waitoma area:
Leaving
Auckland south on St Hgwy 3 one of the New
Zealand's highlight attraction areas is south of Hamilton an hour. Turn
to the Waitomo Caves area.
Take a boat ride or a raft trip in the caves. Stop by Woodlyn Park for
the 1:30 show, a true Kiwi experience. You might want to drive your own
jet boat or even stay the night in a train or perhaps an airplane or
even a hobbit hole. Whatever the area has a lot to
offer the traveler. You might even want to stop and watch them shear an
Angora rabbit!(what!)
For those who enjoy a walk here in the Waitomo
area you can go on the Dundle Hill Walk, a two day medium level walk
through the picturesque countryside. It is a 27 km walk with a
new 32 bunk Kayes Cabin about half way along.
Check out their website: Dundle Hill Walk.
Please have a look at these other websites
also:
Billy Black's
Woodlyn Park
Waitomo
Caves
Black
Water Rafting
Waitomo
Museum of Caves
Waitomo Adventures
Now
let's go on south..................oops wait a minute!
Let's
not overlook a place just 30+ minutes out of
Hamilton (take Route 23 west)
approx 50kms - less than an hour's drive) worth visiting
for those with time, Raglan. A small wonderful community built on a
surfing laid back lifestyle but now boasts quite a town of interest.
Great place to park up and stroll around.
The best way to really enjoy Raglan is to stay at the Raglan Kopua
Holiday Park just a very short scenic walk across the footbridge to the
centre of Raglan situated right on the Raglan Harbour.
Have a look at their web page:
Raglan Kopua Holiday Park
____________________
From here we continue on south to the Taranaki
region
..................Take
Route 3 and have a pleasant drive through the
countryside
of New Zealand and a number of small towns. You will soon reach the
colorful route along the Awakino River before finally
reaching the west coast at the town of Awakino. The rivers along this
stretch are known for whitebaiting. Good place to get your introduction
into one of the country's top culinary delights.
Soon you will
find the road beginning the climb up Mt. Messenger, a
twisting and turning route that will eventually bring you
'back down to along the ocean. After about 80 kms out of Awakino you
will be in New Plymouth.
A very
forward thinking community that
provides a pleasant place to stop. Everything in this region is
dominated by Mt Taranaki.
We recommend
staying in New Plymouth at the Fitzroy Beach Holiday Park, New
Plymouth's camp on the beach within walking distance to restaurants and
shopping centre. Check out the web page: Fitzroy
Beach Holiday Park.
As a visitor to the area
you should take the circle Route 45, the surf highway, around the
mountain stopping at
Oakura and Opunake to check out the shops and gallerys.
Also don't miss
Okurukuru, New Plymouth's first commercial vineyard,
between New Plymouth and Oakura.
Perched on the edge within the vineyard is an architecturally supreme
restaurant with one of the most startling coastal
views in the country plus the added feature of Mt Taranaki dominating
the scenery to the east. Check out their
website: Okurukuru
Good idea to
take a
side road up the mountain out of Stratford and perhaps a visit to
Dawson Falls. A day or so in the region wold be most rewarding.
Out of Taranaki
on Route 3 we pass through vast acreages of dairy
farms (corner of SR#3 and Wehareroa Road is the Dairyland Visitor
Centre
, the largest dairy manufacturing site in the world) on our way to the
city of Whanganui and on to Wellington (about six hours drive from New
Plymouth to Wellington) on Route One after the town of Bulls.
We also usually
go to Otaki Beach. One of the finest in the country to stroll along and
enjoy.
Worth the few minutes off the main highway to get there. One of our
favourite restaurants too at Byron Brown's. Leaving Otaki south just on
the outskirts of town is
one of the best cafes in the North Island - Brown Sugar. Never miss a
stop there for a Supreme coffee. Just a few kilometres continuing
toward Wellington one of the most eccentric collections of goodies made
into a museum I have ever seen. Stop at Te Horo on the right
and have a look. It is free and just mind boggling. Great fun. There
are quite a few other shops and a cafe there also. Run into
the lady who owns the Paua Shop and she asked me to mention her
place.(so I just did).
Through the town
of Waikanai and just before the town of Paraparaumu on
the right is a world class auto collection/museum. Anyone into
old cars has to stop here. I really enjoyed the place and don't
consider myself a car enthusiast at all. Tweaks the mind to think all
these cars from all over were brought way out here to New Zealand. Have
a look! Then on to Wellington!
I will write a
bit more about Wellington later. We lived there for eight years and
loved it. Everything in walking distance and jammed pack
full with top entertainment, restaurants, cafes and excitement. Plan to
stop over for a bit before catching the Bluebridge ferry to the South
Island.
You won't regret it. You can park your vehicle next to the Museum right
on the waterfront and stay overnight for $8.00 one block from
the major "fun" streets.
___________________________
Now let's go
back up to Auckland and take another route through the Central North
Island area to Wellington.
SECOND ROUTE SOUTH
FROM AUCKLAND
Probably the
most favoured way. Again it is to
Hamilton but this time we continue along Route One toward Rotorua, home of the hot
pools
and volcanic activity.
Just don't miss this area. Very few places in the world is as naturally
exciting. This is a major must in visiting New Zealand. There is only
one place we recommend staying in Rotorua and that is the:
Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park
They have all the accommodations plus a cafe in the Park in season.
Top quality
all the way through. Check out the web page.
Don't hurry
though there are some exciting places along the way. It is 23kms from
Hamilton to Cambridge. This is the horse capital of New Zealand. Lovely
places and a pleasant town with good cafes.
From Cambridge
continuing south of Route One on your right is Lake Karapiro for most
of the 20kms to the junction of Route 29. Now we are only 20kms from a
place you must stop and enjoy, the town of Tirau, the corrugated iron
capital of New Zealand. You will note in your travels corrugated iron
is the exterior of all farm buildings, now popular in home construction
and even furniture. A giant corrugated sheep and shepherd is the
Information Site in the centre of town.
Tirau is a place you can spend hours checking out all the art,
antiques, specialty shops, cafes. Amazing places with shops such as
Raining Cats & Dogs, Natures' Touch,
Status Jewellery, The Honey Shop and a load of others.
Check out Corrugated Creations - unbelievable!
Tirau is a great
base for central North Island. It also has several walkways and tracks
such as the Te Waihou Walkway to Blue Springs, the Waikato River Trail,
Waiere Falls and Maungatautari Mountain tracks.
You can get in
some fly fishing in the nearby lakes and streams, kayak on Lake
Arapuni, mountain bike Cougar Park. Check out the Tirau Information Centre .
There is a very
special spot I recommend you stop by and stay the night. The Oraka Deer
Park & Restaurant that provides stunning gardens. It is a four star
cottage and homestay accommodation. Have a look at their website: Oraka Deer Park & Restaurant
.
After a good
night's sleep at Oraka you can go on to Rotorua (45 mins) and then
continue south
to Taupo nestled along side one of the best trout
fishing lakes in the world. Lots of other
activities also available.
Two
possible routes from here to Wellington. Either stay on Route One
and go all the way to
Taupo and continue on through the Tongiriro Region where the volcanic
remains are now top ski fields. You also will go through New Zealand's
desert country. Route One goes all the way to Wellington.
OR at Taupo you could turn
on Route Five to
Napier, New Zealand's Art Deco city on the sea. Great spot. It is
one of the major wine regions of
the country. Many people overlook this place and we feel it is one
of the finest places on the North Island to visit. Great shops and
cafes in Napier and just down the road is Havelock
North worth a visit.
