Travel Diary: Road Trip in Northland

I am getting more and more useless at posting on here but being at the end of a lovely New Zealand summer I am inspired to share a little something about my summer road trip up in Northland with Lucas.

Over the Christmas period, Lucas, and I, being “stuck” here in NZ, decided to make the most of it and travel north to seek the sun and the beach and spend some time relaxing, sometimes with friends and sometimes on our own. It was amazing: what a stunning part of the world. We kept it simple and just took our camping gear, with a few plans in place to stay with friends on the way. Here is what we did on our 16 Day Wellington to Northland Road Trip. First Stop, Rotorua.

Day 1 – Rotorua

We drove from Wellington to Rotorua and pitched our tent at the Lake Okareka DOC campsite. This was stunning, we pitched right by the lake and had a morning and evening dip right from the door of the tent. It is not the most relaxing camp but good for an overnight pitstop. While there we visited The Waimangu Volcanic Valley which was a stunning and quiet place to see the thermal activity and enjoy a nice walk.

Day 2 – Uretiti Beach

Travelled north again and camped at Uretiti Beach DOC camp. This was next to a huge sprawling beach and a larger camp with more of a holiday vibe to it. It was quite exposed so a bit windy when we were there but a perfect place to spend the night with beautiful scenery.

Day 3 – Tutukākā

We headed for the Waiotoi Bush Hideaway we had booked for Christmas at the Tutukaka coast via Whangarei. This BnB is where we stayed for 3 nights and it was the best little retreat. Tucked away in the bush with a balcony and mezzanine bed and all the amenities you could possibly need. I would highly recommend it.
We biked down to the coast for a Christmas day on the beach and spent time exploring the local coastline, with beauties like Whale Bay as well as just playing chess and watching movies on the projector in the cottage.

Day 6– Wananaki

Next, we headed up to Wananaki to stay with our friends in their Bach for the New Year period. This is a stunning part of the world. The beach is sleepy, and tree lined and easy to while the day away. We had the treat of being with a boat and travelled out for remote beach visits, and for an amazing day snorkelling at the Poor Knights. We spent 5 nights here and would recommend finding a campsite near here for a magnificent place to stay.

Day 11- Tauranga Bay

Next, we headed further north, just north of Kerikeri to Tauranga Bay. There is a campsite right on the beach and Lucas’ boss pitches there every year for the last 25 years! They kindly gave us a spot in their camp, and we enjoyed 3 nights of glorious chilling. The beach is beautiful, and the vibe is so relaxed, I could have spent longer here honestly. We also went to a cool farmers market at Keri Keri on Sunday that is well worth the look if you are in the area. I had my palm read and found some great vintage pieces.

Day 14 – Cape Reinga

Spent the day driving up to visit the very top of the North Island. This was stunning and a beautiful remote drive, but it is a lot of driving and quite touristy. It’s worth going to tick it off I guess but I wouldn’t be racing back up there again. Because of the time of year, all the DOC campsites were full, so we stayed in a Top 10-holiday park that I won’t link because it’s not that great!

Day 15 + 16 – Raglan

Not having a plan, we decided to pitch up in Raglan for a couple of nights before heading back to Wellington. I have been to Ragland before, (see my post) but it was nice heading there during the peak summer and camping near the beach. Raglan is a busy tourist spot so not as chilled as some of the other beautiful beaches we went to, but you can grab some great food, such as at George’s Beach Club or Rock-It Kitchen. We camped in the Holiday Park, which was crazy busy but our pitch was close to the beach so it was lovely to spend the evening strolling along in the sunshine.