As the Great New Zealand Road Trip gets under way, one of our most experienced travel writers reveals his own hidden gems.
“I’m very nosey,” says Peter Janssen, a modern-day explorer of the nooks and crannies of New Zealand. And – on one or two occasions – the escape artist from some hairy encounters.
There are few highways and side roads that Janssen hasn’t traversed – one of our most prolific road-trippers, he has crisscrossed the length of New Zealand 15 times, by his count. That’s tens of thousands of kilometres on the clock.
“I’m very nosey – what’s down this road? I’ve never been down here,” says the Auckland-based writer and author.
“I still find stuff. I still find things, I’ll just go around here – and there’s a little thing I missed. I still enjoy it, because there’s always something new. I think my ‘nosiness’ comes from the tradition of the Sunday drive where on Sunday afternoons the whole family was packed into the car and we just went on a random drive to see what was new.”
Janssen has written more than 20 books about travelling in New Zealand, with more than 100,000 sales since 2007.
He is a specialist discoverer, with an uncanny ability to know what his audience wants.
Two of his books, Worth A Detour North Island and Worth a Detour South Island, were published at an ideal time in New Zealand’s recent history – when the country was locked down by the C-word, confined to travelling domestically.
He says Covid “woke a lot of people up”, in that they were forced to explore their own country – and loved it.
“A lot of people had travelled to the South Island [previously]. They said they wanted to go to the South Island again but didn’t want to do the same thing. The two books Worth a Detour sold like crazy because they had all the things that people had bypassed earlier.”
In an interview with the Herald, Janssen revealed some of his personal, favourite hidden gems, ahead of the Great New Zealand Road Trip, backed by MTF, over the next two weeks.
One of his favourite roads is the inland scenic route 72, from North Amberley in North Canterbury to Winchester in South Canterbury, avoiding the busier, straighter and somewhat more dour State Highway 1 journey.
“It’s got a whole lot of small towns, it’s got the mountains off to one side. You can do side trips up into the Glentui reserve. You can go to the Ashburton lakes. You can go to the Rakaia River and Lake Coleridge, and then down further to Rangitata.
“It’s going through smaller towns. There are plenty of places to stay, and there are really some interesting little spots such as Glentunnel, which is famous for brickworks and potteries and the like. So there’s a lot of variety through there as well.”
He says South Canterbury, more generally, is one of New Zealand’s most underrated regions.
A must-stop is the Silverstream Hotel in Kimbel, near Fairlie.
“Around 1870, the small stone Silverstream Hotel was built on the main road to the Mackenzie Country,” Janssen wrote for the Herald last month.
“Today the pub has been partially restored back to its original stone, while inside the liberal use of wood and a fresh colour scheme has created that cosy ambience we all want in a country pub. Decorated with historical photos, the real gem is the roll call of the Mackenzie Collie Club, an honours board dating back to 1891 listing the local dog trial winners [an event still held today].”
Janssen is quick to highlight a handful of other hidden gems:
Pokohino Beach
“It’s a little beach on Coromandel, just north of Whangamatā. You have to walk down a little bit of a hill, it only takes 20 minutes. There’s a beautiful little cove and sea cave.”
Broken Hills
“If you want old gold mines, everyone goes to Karangahake Gorge but Broken Hills is behind Pauanui. It’s got a number of short walks and the remains of old gold fields stuck in the bush.”
Onekawa Te Mawhai Regional Park
“Northwest of Ōpōtiki – it’s not that well known. It takes about 45 minutes to walk up two old pā sites and the views are amazing.”
Historic Tauranga Bridge
In the heart of the Waioeka Gorge, between Ōpōtiki and Gisborne, is an old truss bridge, which once led to farms. “It’s easy to get to, but it tells the story of farming in this rough country which was eventually just abandoned in the 1920s and 30s. It’s like a Bridge to Nowhere.”
Anaura Bay, East Coast
With its long sandy beach, “it’s probably the most beautiful beach on the cape”.
Danseys Pass, Central Otago to Waitaki
The old gold-coach road hasn’t changed a lot in decades. “I was just about shaken to bits by the corrugation.”
Janssen also loves Mokotahi Hill on the Mahia peninsula. “It’s just magnificent. It’s an old pā site with a lot of history and the views on both sides are just stunning. And the beaches on both sides are amazing.”
He has no qualms about talking about some of his favourite spots, even if it means giving up some secrets. While some places are busy, many aren’t - and still won’t be. “You just need to do a little bit of homework; I’m doing walks that are so lovely, and I never see anybody.”
Many of his walks - he has written a series of books on short walks across New Zealand - are not strenuous. You might not even need a water bottle for some of them.
Janssen’s curiosity has led to some awe-inspiring sights and adventures, but sometimes he thinks: “What am I doing here?”
That’s what he was thinking one day as he explored the old Mangahao power station, built in 1924, in the Tararua foothills east of Levin.
Up a steep hill, the winding road gets narrower and narrower.
“I was coming down, going really slow. I came around the corner, and there was a truck coming up. And I thought, if I slam on my brakes, I’m just going to slide down, there’s no way I can pass this truck. And so I thought, I’ve got to be in control here. I was sliding on this metal and I would have stopped 10 centimetres from the front of his truck. The driver gives me a big thumbs up. Then I had to back up for probably a kilometre.”
His advice? If you don’t know a road well, just take your time. “If something does happen, you’re going to bang at 15km/h, not 50km/h.”
Janssen also notes the rise of small-town museums across New Zealand.
“They are usually run by locals and volunteers. They are often quirky, and there’s lovely people in them. There’s a real understanding of local history that they want to preserve, and they are popping up everywhere, in old school houses and halls and what have you.
“I don’t know about you but really, after an hour in a museum, I’ve had enough. A smaller museum is perfect,” he laughs.
“With smaller museums, they’re local people, and they’ll chat to you. They’re really, really, worthwhile seeking.”
Councils and local communities are also developing areas to assist. “I was thinking about Wairere Falls in the Kaimais. When I first went there there was room for about three cars, now there’s an enormous carpark. The tourists who come to New Zealand love walking as well.”
We’re giving away a set of four of Peter Janssen’s most recent books.
Simply send in a great idea, person, or destination for our road trip editorial series to roadtrip@nzme.co.nz by Wednesday November 27 and you’ll be in the draw to win the books. It could be a wonderful character doing extraordinary things, a quirky detour off the beaten path, or a community issue that you think is worth us highlighting.
* Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor
A large plume above Whakaari/White Island prompted questions.