escapedtonz

7 days off at the beginning of May. Booked a 6 berth Apollo campervan for the 3 of us so we've plenty of room - picking up in Auckland

Gonna head up Northland and do the Twin Coast Discovery Highway route clockwise via Dargaville, taking in Kai Iwi Lakes, Tane Mahuta, Hokianga Harbour, 90 Mile Beach, Sand Boarding near Te Paki Stream, Cape Reinga, Bay Of Islands, Whangarei yada yada!

Anyone done it ?

Highlights.....what shouldn't we miss and what/where isn't worth the bother ?

Have a rough idea of the route and where we'd like to go but no idea where the best places to stay overnight or the best camp sites that have a power hook up.

Snap Shot

Nice one. Hope you get good weather. We were on holiday in Northland back in February. We stayed at the Tutukaka Coast Motel. There's lovely beaches around the area. The most challenging decision of the whole holiday was which beach we would be going to for our picnic ! Sandy Bay was my favourite IIRC but there's plenty of other bays and beaches. The twin coast discovery is a good albeit windey road. Unspoilt has it's place but can be an unspoken code for, 'no facilities.'

Dargaville - OK for a coffee stop but that's about it. Dargaville is the town that time forgot.

Tane Mahuta - Accessed by a windey road through native forest. It's signposted from the road but you will have to park and walk down the boardwalk, it takes about five minutes. It's magnificent but once you've seen it and taken a photo that's about it.

About five to ten kms prior to Tane Mahuta is Café Forrest in the Waipoua, part of the Kauri Coast. It's down a narrow windey lane parallel to a stream and it's also a visitors centre if you want to park and explore. The café is fairly average but we sat outside to eat our lunch as the weather was nice.

Hokianga Harbour - breath taking. You will see it first as you crest the hill. There's a carpark here for a good vantage point. It's not that interesting once you drive down and are at surface level with the sea. There's a brand new café and Four Square in Hokianga.

We didn't go anywhere further north than Waitangi. Which is worth a look as there's a visitors centre there as well as the historic buildings where the treaty was signed.

We got a boat trip across the harbour at Paihia to visit Russell. The Duke of Marlborough Pub does excellent food. It's also an interesting village to have a walk round - if that's your thing.

Whangerei - Nice provincial town but it might not hold your attention for much longer than it takes to buy petrol. The town basin is where the majority of the cafe's are.

Oh yeah, and talking of petrol, fill up in Whangerei as the next petrol is at Tutukaka Marina and it's expensive. The petrol pumps are on the forecourt of the shop, there's no signage to say it's a petrol station. The cafe's at the marina are ok.

Woodlea

We went round Northland in 2010 and were amazed at the sight that we saw when we drove over the Brynderwyn Hills, we weren't expecting that sight - it was amazing, we were going anti-clockwise so you might not get the same view clockwise. There's nothing I can recommend specifically, it's like the rest of NZ, there's lots of things to see but no particular tourist hotspots just more of the same old take-your-breath-away stunning scenery and landscapes - enjoy!

Pom_Chch

Te Paki sand dunes are heaps of fun! Tiring, but fun!

I would choose to stay in Tutukaka over Whangarei. It's only a half an hour drive north east of Whangarei with beautiful coast line. Loads of walking tracks around the coast, lots of bays and beaches to explore. Tutukaka also has a wee town by the marina which is good for dinner/drinks (Schnappa Rock Restaurant was particularly good).

Cape Reinga was a good day out. I would try and time it with good weather - the ocean just seems to glow turquoise when the sun is shining On your way back down from Cape Reinga we headed east towards the Karikari peninsula (don't confuse it with Kerikeri!) At the end of the peninsula is Matai Bay (see picture!) It's a great spot and has a campsite if you want to stay. Out of all the beaches and bays up that way I would say Matai was my favourite - stunning and quiet as well.

There's a place called Mangonui just south of the KariKari peninsula - good for fish and chips or an ice cream to break up the driving. Oh and a great curry house in Kaeo, which is further south of Mangonui. A tiny town with not a huge amount there, I was really surprised to have such a good curry!

Have fun!

dorrick

I always recommend visitors to go clockwise - somehow driving south on SH1 is easier than driving north. As previously said you don't get the sudden view at top of Brynderwyns but if traffic is light you can pull over to an area at the top.

Kauri Museum at Matakohe is worth an hour - history of Northland gumdiggers- sounds bit naff and I was sceptical but it is really excellent.

If you are having leisurely trip - there is holiday park at Baylys Beach- about 12 km from Dargaville on the coast - so bit of a detour - but it is on Ripiro Beach which is longer than 90 mile - you can drive on it if you want to find a secluded fishing spot -great for walking and unwinding but not for swimming - rough seas. Funky Fish Restaurant adjacent to campsite has great FRESH fish. Not much there but I find the place relaxing.

Four Sisters Walk is about 1 km before Tane Mahuta and people often miss it - I prefer it

Four Sisters Walk: Walking and tramping in Waipoua Forest

Russell road is long so better to visit from Paihia - has quirky little evening activity - movies in the town hall - get the ferry - takes about 15 minutes and is lovely at night
Cinema Kororareka - at the Russell Town Hall Kororareka is original name for Russell


Kawaka on the way back is the pits but if you are interested in mosaic - a 5 minute visit to the see the Hundertwasser public toilets is interesting

Find a dark spot on a beach somewhere and just look at the stars

Northland isn't touristy in the way that say Rotorua is but enjoyable for recharging the batteries - you will find yourself walking slower

Enjoy

mcgarnagle

I spent a week in a campervan around Northland last month although stuck to the east coast.

Russell is a fantastic spot and The Waitangi Treaty grounds are worth a couple of hours. We stayed at Waitangi Holiday Park which was nice although Paihia is boring.

Tauranga Bay is beautiful and definitely worth a stopover especially if the weather is good. The holiday park there is absolute beachfront. Easily my favourite place of the holiday.

The Karikari Peninsula has some great beaches - Matai Bay and Rangiputa were highlights. We stayed at Whatuwhiwhi Holiday Park. Matai Bay has a DOC campground but it didn't look very well maintained.

Mangonui for fish and chips. Coopers Beach looked nice although we didn't stop for long.

Personally, I found Cape Reinga a let down. It's a very long drive for not very much. It's ticked off the list now but I won't be going back. I regret not using that time to see some of the west coast.

j19fmm

Yup, that would be [B]Kawakawa[/B and the toilets are fab! Wouldn't call it the pits, but guess I'm used to it!!!
Matauri Bay is a must, the view from the top of the road is gorgeous and it's a great beach, good camp site too.
Shout if you want to know more, we're in Kerikeri

Bo-Jangles

A lot of it is a long drive for not much, especially on the west coast!!

Dargaville is the pits and Kawakawa comes a close second. I wouldn't waste my time visiting either place but Kawakawa wins by smidgen purely from point of being an interesting toilet stop, otherwise you'd wind the windows up and drive on through. Get as far north as fast as you can as there's really not much of interest on the way.

Tutukaka coast, Ahipara (90 Mile beach), Te paki Stream, Hokianga, Kerikeri, Waitangi, Russell are all lovely. I like Paihia also as lots of options for things to do, restaurants boat trips and such like.

escapedtonz

Thanks for all the advice and tips.

We had a ball. Little boy absolutely loved it.
Gave up the van yesterday arvo and if I'm honest, although we were glad to get home we're a bit sad that we can't carry on with the holiday.
Defo gonna do it again same time next year and do all the bits in between that we missed. Didn't know what to expect all being in such close proximity for a week but on the whole is was a very good and rewarding experience :-)