New Plymouth to Auckland via Insane Back Roads

I like an adventure, and this section of the North Island’s West Coast always delivers. I’ve ridden bits of this route twice and I’m itching to go back again. Here’s a way to get between New Plymouth and Auckland – well, Pukekohe, but you can get a train to Auckland from there. It will take you through the picturesque town picturesque settlement of Kawhia and the pretty surf town of Raglan. There are lots of lovely gravel roads snaking through the bush, with almost no traffic. But take plenty of food and water and expect rain, because the west coast is like that.

You can ride this route in either direction, but I’ve chosen to begin at New Plymouth. This is Taranaki’s only city, a town built on Natural Gas. It has a lovely cycle way which takes you from the middle of town out east to Bell Block. New Plymouth is also home to the Govett-Brewster Gallery, which is the country’s prime repository of Len Lye’s kinetic art. Len Lye was a New Zealand artist about a hundred years ahead of his time and is totally worth checking out.

From Bell Block, you must follow State Highway 3 for a while til you’re a bit north of Mokau. Then you turn off onto Manganui Rd, which takes you on ancient gravel roads up to the turnoff to Waikawau. Waikawau is just a name on the map with nothing there, except for a hole cut in the rock which was used by the local farm to transport livestock and provisions into the farm by ship, before the road was put in. Given the state of the sea – almost always very rough, with black sand – this is quite an undertaking. It’s a bit of a detour, but well worth it for the crash-bang solitude of an empty West Coast beach. 

From Waikawau, keep on slogging until you reach Kawhia, where you’ll probably stay the night. There’s not a lot there – a campsite, a motel, a fish and chip shop and a bit of a jetty for boats. Very pretty, though. The route is hilly, but the lack of traffic and the scenery make up for it.

Next stop after Kawhia is Raglan, a very pretty town with an excellent point break, and so lots of surfers. Good cafes and restaurants, interesting locals. I once saw Shellac play at the Centennial Milk Bar in Raglan, which was a damn sight pleasanter experience than seeing them in a dive bar in Tottenham Court Road in London the year before.

After Raglan, you have various route options, all pretty much of a muchness. On the map I’ve included a slight detour to Waingaro Hot Springs, which has a small campsite attached. [I've just found out it's closed, but by the time you read this, who knows?] Eventually, after yet more hilly, twisty, gravel roads, you’ll reach Port Waikato. I’ve actually never been there, but it’s probably quite nice, in a small town sort of way. From Port Waikato, it’s an quick run up the Waikato River to Pukekohe, where you can catch a train into Auckland. Easy!