NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Travel

Northland: Freedom road

By Peter Donaldson
NZ Herald·
27 Jul, 2016 01:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Uretiti Beach, north of Waipu. Photo / Doug Sherring

Uretiti Beach, north of Waipu. Photo / Doug Sherring

Peter Donaldson ventures into the northern unknown.

The plan was simple: head north until we run out of road.

Looking for a cheap autumn break, we'd booked a two-berth Mighty Deuce campervan, with cooker, fridge and integral shower and toilet. Nine days, including full insurance for just over $1000 seemed a pretty good deal. And then things got better.

On arrival at the Mighty HQ - a free shuttle ride from Auckland Airport - we were informed we'd been upgraded to a premium United van; all the same kit, just newer.

After a full briefing on the do's and don'ts and some helpful advice, we stowed our bags and headed towards the great unknown, Northland.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The long straights and gentle curves of the Auckland motorway network provided a near-relaxing introduction into the power and handling characteristics of the campervan.

And, yes, they are easily capable of cruising at 100km/h, have large mirrors, come with indicators, and have a steering wheel capable of turning the vehicle left to allow faster drivers to overtake.

A lazy lunch outdoors at the delightful pub at Puhoi eased us into the holiday mood. A big shop for provisions at Warkworth ensured we were holiday-ready as we headed deeper into a part of New Zealand where neither of us had ventured.

In keeping with the low-budget holiday theme, our first overnight stop was the unpowered Department of Conservation camping site right on expansive and near-deserted Uretiti Beach, just north of Waipu. It's old-style camping; set up wherever you like, cold-ish showers, but clean toilets, all for $10 each.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Following our "another day, another east coast bay" mantra, our next DoC site was the remote and stunning Otamure Bay, northwest of Whangarei; $12 each. And for that the friendly warden gave us the prime site, No 56, slightly elevated and overlooking the small sweep of a vacant bay.

The Tapotupotu camping ground. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The Tapotupotu camping ground. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Nothing quite beats sliding open a van door in the morning to a warm rising sun and the sight and sound of crashing surf on an empty beach.

We'd been advised about recharging the batteries and we needed a water refill, so on the third day we headed to a fully powered site. We were lucky enough to pick the friendly Beachside Holiday Park on the outskirts of Paihia. Neat, tidy and clean and great value at $18 each.

Again, another peaceful vista and a chance in the early evening to watch gannets circle and lunge into the bay. It also rained. Heavily. We felt sorry for the two young backpackers hurriedly trying to get their tent up.

Discover more

Travel

Northland: The boys are out of town

25 Sep 12:00 AM
Travel

Northland: Time is on their side

20 Feb 08:00 PM
Travel

Northland: Moved by the spirits

13 Mar 08:00 PM
New Zealand

Govt to consider freedom camping changes

29 Jul 10:02 AM

We'd been told Karikari Peninsula, further up the east coast, was a must-do, so on yet another warm day we eased into the DoC site overlooking Matai Bay ($10 each). With no warden on site and no phone coverage, we were unsure where to park. However, with several other vans already parked, we claimed a spot by a shelter belt of trees and slept soundly that night.

We were well and truly in holiday mode.

The next day, and after what seemed a long drive through scruffy bush-clad hills - nothing like the sub-tropical palms and forest we'd somehow imagined - we ran out of road. So we walked to Cape Reinga lighthouse, looked out over the meeting point of the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea, and turned south.

Well, more southeast, on to a steep gravel road to Tapotupotu Bay, New Zealand's northernmost camping ground and quite possibly the cheapest at $6 each. Though remote, for part of the day the beach is a magnet for tour operators who stop there for lunch and swims.

The next morning, with a homeward flight looming, we looked at the map and headed south to Tauranga Bay, north of Kerikeri.

The sight of an elderly Volkswagen Kombi camper (been there, done that, many years ago) in front of us, slowly chugging through the final twisting kilometres to the bay was an omen. For those of a certain age, there's nothing like the sight of a VW Kombi to stir memories and evoke dreams.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Cape Reinga lighthouse.
Cape Reinga lighthouse.

Tauranga Bay is hardly undiscovered, as a scattering of holiday homes and the well-developed camping site attest. But it's certainly special.

With a powered site ($18 each) just metres from the beach, clean facilities, some friendly not-so-near neighbours and continued glorious weather, our planned overnight stop was extended. It really was the perfect setting to tease out the final days with the camper van and gently prepare for our return to reality.

CHECKLIST

Details: Nine days' campervan hire, including insurance: $1017
Diesel: $189
Camp site fees: $184
Food and drink: $600
Total: $1990.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Travel

Travel

Cemeteries worth making a stop at in Europe

03 Jul 08:00 AM
Travel

Husband’s oversight grounds Auckland woman’s 60th Hawaii holiday – but he still goes

03 Jul 06:30 AM
Entertainment

The Kiwi still teaching Aussies to wave after 30 years

03 Jul 05:31 AM

One pass, ten snowy adventures

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Travel

Cemeteries worth making a stop at in Europe

Cemeteries worth making a stop at in Europe

03 Jul 08:00 AM

Europe’s cemeteries are rich in history, art and atmosphere.

Husband’s oversight grounds Auckland woman’s 60th Hawaii holiday – but he still goes

Husband’s oversight grounds Auckland woman’s 60th Hawaii holiday – but he still goes

03 Jul 06:30 AM
The Kiwi still teaching Aussies to wave after 30 years

The Kiwi still teaching Aussies to wave after 30 years

03 Jul 05:31 AM
Winter in Melbourne is a delight, if you know where to look

Winter in Melbourne is a delight, if you know where to look

02 Jul 07:00 AM
Your Fiordland experience, levelled up
sponsored

Your Fiordland experience, levelled up

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP