North Island East Coast Roadtrip

[qube 3570]

thinking about doing a short 4-5 day trip around the east coast of the north island over the xmas break.

Auckland to tauranga, whakatane, opotiki, gisborne, napier, back up to taupo then hamilton and back.

Any suggestions on places to stay/visit or alternative/better routes?

Have been to Tauranga plenty of times and as far down as Taupo.

Not sure if I want to go any more further south than hastings at this stage.

[kwhelan 241]

the road from opotiki thru to Gisborne is great, not the coast but the direct route following the river. A real drivers road scenic but great bends and flows, really satisfying

[aja540i 1906]

I just did Auck - Hastings and back, down on Monday and back today, nice drive but slows down a bit with traffic especially trucks!

Unfortunately i had to do it in a 2.5 L turbocharged, rear wheel drive, 6 speed manual, 2 door Kia truck!! Would be much more enjoyable in a nice BMW.

I didn't stop and tourist because it was a work trip but there is plenty to see and do on the way, i recommend staying in Napier rather than Hastings, its a lot nicer.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

have done all of those roads. dont bother going around the point, its not worthwhile, just follow the river.

if you are able to add another day, do the gentle annie road back to Taihape and go north from there, turn left at Waiouru, prehaps stay a night in Ohakune, and then go up thru Taumaranui, turn left again at Otorohanga and follow the road thru to Ngaruawahia and up to your home.

[qube 3570]

Thanks for the tips. I was really thinking if it was worth going around the coast from opotiki to gisborne but guess i'll just shoot straight down.

Will definitely stay in napier rather than hastings.

Now the biggest worry is the fact im running non runflats and no spare wheel..

[HardBall66 135]

16 hours ago, _ethrty-Andy_ said:

do the gentle annie road back to Taihape

I second that.  A great road with very little traffic.

[qube 3570]

Do I need to actually go to taihape or take a right onto spooners hill road and back up to waiouru?

Is it better to go left to ohakune and up through via national park or straight up desert road (never been there)

Ideally would probably want to stop in taupo but not crucial

[qube 3570]

Also wondering if people had any opinions on roadside rescue services such as AA.

Any recommendations?

[kiwi535 538]

i dont know why ,if you were going to do the east cape why you wouldnt go round the coast one way and through the gorge the other.Two completely different scenarios and coming from the north its perfectly logical.White island is worth a look but its a whole day,the wharfs at at Tolaga, Tokomaru and Hicks Bays (not all three) are worth a look.I have belonged to the AA for yerars i have only used them a couple of times a couple of lockouts and once when the battery was dodgy .in your case it may be worthwhile if you get a flat.Its a remote area and the road is rough in places esp round the coast.

[KillerX 40]

East Cape coastal road can very rough sometimes and not kind on your rims , and you are in a very remote area. But the vista is worth it. If you like fishing you are in prime kingfish area

[aja540i 1906]

19 hours ago, qube said:

Also wondering if people had any opinions on roadside rescue services such as AA.

Any recommendations?

For a trip like that you should consider throwing one of your spare wheels in the boot, even with AA or similar you could wait a couple of hours on some of those roads for them to show up.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

On 11/30/2018 at 1:08 PM, qube said:

Do I need to actually go to taihape or take a right onto spooners hill road and back up to waiouru?

Is it better to go left to ohakune and up through via national park or straight up desert road (never been there)

Ideally would probably want to stop in taupo but not crucial

Yes you could turn right there, youve done most of it by that point.

As for left or straight ahead at Waiouru, thats up to you. SH1 is a town every 20km and very boring, and the constant left right every km or so of SH1B to avoid Hamilton is annoying, and is the slowest route, despite being SH1 the whole way.
Some people go SH1, turn right at Tirau and take SH27 on to SH2 and come out at Bombays. Both of these are uneventful routes.
As you know i do this run all the time, my preferred route is Ohakune/Taumaranui/Otorohanga/Pirongia/Ngaruawahia comes out at Taupiri. This is through the King Country area and very nice, you can stop at Raurimu Spiral not that you can see much but it is a good place to stop and let your dog have a peepoo and you can read a bit about it, and the Waitomo Caves if you like. there is also one of the highest rail bridges in NZ that the train goes over you about 12m or more above the road, which itself is more than 20m above the valley floor, there is a nice rest stop there and a nice spot for pictures etc . downside to this route is there is no cellphone or radio reception between Taumaranui and Te Kuiti so load up your spotify. 

 

hope this helps

[Remorse 14]

On 11/30/2018 at 1:13 PM, qube said:

Also wondering if people had any opinions on roadside rescue services such as AA.

Any recommendations?

If you're with AMI for normal insurance AMI Breakdown Coverage is really good. Came in handy a few times when I owned the 135i.

[qube 3570]

im insured with classic cars and have roadside with them but dont know the details.

Edited December 4, 2018 by qube

[Karter16 405]

On 11/30/2018 at 8:42 PM, kiwi535 said:

i dont know why ,if you were going to do the east cape why you wouldnt go round the coast one way and through the gorge the other.Two completely different scenarios and coming from the north its perfectly logical.White island is worth a look but its a whole day,the wharfs at at Tolaga, Tokomaru and Hicks Bays (not all three) are worth a look.I have belonged to the AA for yerars i have only used them a couple of times a couple of lockouts and once when the battery was dodgy .in your case it may be worthwhile if you get a flat.Its a remote area and the road is rough in places esp round the coast.

Yeah that is exactly what we did with some friends a few years ago. The coast road has some great scenery. The bridge where the scene in "Boy" was filmed is pretty scenic, and the lighthouse is worth a trip as well. As you say the wharves are good fun to visit as well.

[kiwi535 538]

3 hours ago, Karter16 said:

, and the lighthouse is worth a trip as well.

you mean east cape itself?That is a marginal road .Whilst perfectly navigable,one day a whole peice of it is going to go missing...its already pretty narrow in a couple of spots..

[qube 3570]

Just arrived in gisborne day 1. Whakatane and ohope was nice.

Opotiki was... a bit scary..? Also had the worst coffee ever of my life there. Should have got one in ohope instead.

Drove through the gorge to gisborne. Very cool road plenty of easy bends and some nice straights. 

In gisborne now and drove around the town and up and around the hill. To be honest not much to see but the sea views are amazing.

tomorrow is early morning to napier and hastings winery maybe? then back to napier to sleep. 

 

Any suggestions on places to go in gisborne or napier? Im already in gisborne now so a bit last minute but who knows some people might see this anyway

 

[nzsapper 82]

Try Crab Fram Winery for lunch on the way into Napier

https://www.crabfarmwinery.co.nz/winery-restaurant/

 

 

 

 

[Olaf 3317]

3 hours ago, qube said:

Just arrived in gisborne day 1. Whakatane and ohope was nice.

Pics or it didn't happen!

Napier.  

• Excellent Indian Food at Ahuriri:  Master of India Tandoori Restaurant, 78 Bridge St, Ahuriri.
• You gotta go up Te Mata Peak, for the views.
• Decent British Car Museum in Haumoana, just out of Napier on the way to Hastings.   
• Drive up Hospital Hill, find the lookout over the port.  It's stunning.
• Take a winery tour or two.  Church Road Wines (Taradale) not the bestest wines in the region, though their tour is very informative and fun.  In contrast to Mission Estate - lovely setting though the reception was aloof and cool, and neither obliging nor visitor/tourist focussed.
• Get details on the Art Deco Trail.  Learn about the great Napier Earthquake of 1931.
• Trattoria alla Toscana was amongst the very best of Italian restaurants I'd experienced anywhere on the planet, last time we ate there.  
• There's so much to do in Napier, this is just a small sampling.

 

• PS: Avoid the Lone Star at all costs.  

Edited December 22, 2018 by Olaf

[sweetm3 180]

"Excellent Indian Food at Ahuriri:  Master of India Tandoori Restaurant, 78 Bridge St, Ahuriri."

Second the above, Stunning food

[qube 3570]

Got up at 5am this morning for the sunrise and drove the 35 route a little bit up to pouawa then back. Lovely coastal road. 

 

 

 

[qube 3570]

Since this is a bmw forum..

[qube 3570]

Booked accomodation at crown in ahuriri so looks like its indian for dinner. 

Both me and my gf love indian food so this is perfect. 

Was thinking craggy range winery for lunch.

 

 

[kwhelan 241]

craggy is great good choice, you can see the Te Mata peak as you go past, the restaurant is under it, if you have time blast out to ocean beach for a nosey,

Edited December 22, 2018 by kwhelan

[kiwi535 538]

are you going to go back around the cape?