The Ultimate New Zealand Travel Guide with
Renting a camper van
So next is the picking up of the rental campervan and the first travel day in New Zealand. Quite obviously one of the most important days of your trip. The only way to really experience self-driving New Zealand is with a camper van. The ease and convenience cannot be matched. None of that in and out of a motel room, packing and unpacking and not having any views. The holiday parks in New Zealand are almost all in wooded natural surroundings and you are encouraged to use their many helpful areas such as the kitchens, TV rooms and internet rooms plus they have clean and tidy showers and toilets.
When in a park with children there is always a play area so they can find new friends and get out from under foot so you can enjoy your surroundings. Take the opportunity to talk with the other campers and share the stories.
When traveling to be able to stop along a lake or a beach and fix lunch or just stop and relax and enjoy the scenery cannot
be done better than with a camper van. It really makes your holiday fun and easy.
After shopping off we went cruising out to Route One south. Our first stop south was to take the Papukura exit (254) to the Clark's Beach Holiday Park.
This is where to stop only 45 minutes south of the airport at a very relaxing spot if you are heading south down the west coast of the North Island and on to the Waitomo Caves (not to be missed plus just before visit the real Kiwis at the Otorohanga Kiwi Bird House. On the road to the park there are a couple very good cafes and also a place selling fresh fruit and vegetables. We will be stopping by for more photos on this trip.
This is especially helpful if you wish to get acclimated to your camper van and the trip before taking off in a long drive. I recommend taking the first day as an easy run. Don't ruin a good thing by rushing it. Mark, the owner/manager of Clark's Beach Holiday Park, is very much into making sure everyone who stops by is well looked after...............nothing is too much trouble.
If you plan to go down the east side of the country after passing the Bombay exit keep in the left hand lane and take route 2 east to route 25. It is an hour's drive to the Miranda Holiday Park and one of my favourite places to stay. The managers Russell and Sacha have created and maintain a warm inviting place for everyone. We started our day at 6:30am with a fabulous dip in their excellent hot pool. Had to drag David out. They are continually upgrading and improving (We did a video that is amazing that will be available here to see after we get home in a month or two)
Just after the turnoff onto route 25 along on the left side of the road at the junction of the Back Miranda road I recommend stopping at the Corogate Cafe . Owners Angela and Pete have dedicated every possible inch of the place to English and the Royal Couple plus the ceiling is a collage of jigsaw puzzles. Not only is the place fascinating and Angie and Bill are wonderful but you can get proper English High Tea and scones and a variety of delicious foods are on the menu.
So now we are on the road and following my itinerary I planned for the next three weeks. I based it upon my past experiences so will be pointing out the scenic wonders, places to visit, activities to enjoy and where to stop the night. You can base your itinerary on it easily as I leave time during the day for you to not rush but see and do what you want.
This trip David and I went toward the east coast after staying at the Miranda Holiday Park mostly as he was anxious to see the manicured horse country near Cambridge and visit Hobbiton near Matamata. Another reason was I wanted to show him the Miranda Shorebird Centre on the First of Thames a short drive up the coast from the Miranda Holiday Park. If you are into birds this is a must.
From here we were back on route 25 and on to the town of Thames as he needed a jacket. We knew it was going to be rough weather but the rain has been overly zealous in its attack on our trip...
From Thames we cut across the peninsula where I was able to show him the real beauty of the Coromandel, in my opinion, with the roads winding their way up the side of the mountains that are the basis of the place and the remnants of long ago forested ancient trees and the first glance he gets at the massive ferns. After twenty plus years I still get a thrill when I pass through these gigantic fern stands. It reminds me of Jurassic Park..
We cruised along the eastern side of the Coromandel through the small community of Tairua then inland until we reached Hot Water Beach Road to the right and motored along blissfully until reaching the Hot Water Beach Top Ten for the evening. We were pleasantly tired and settled in to the park. This is considered on of the top ten beaches in the world for what it has to offer.
We were there in good tide time to go dig up our own pools in the sand and lay down. We really didn't care if it was raining. In fact it added to the enjoyment. We slept very well this evening.
Tomorrow we are off south. If you have time I would suggest if you come this way instead of the hurried trip we are on to enter the Coromandel and north from Thames up the extremely picturesque west coast to the top of the peninsula at Coromandel Town. (I hope to go this route this summer and provide detailed trip) and then around and down the east coast all the way to the surfing paradise of Whangamata and on south to cut through the inland area to Matamata and visit Hobbiton before going on another hour to the geo-thermal wonderland of Rotorua.
(but that's to be continued tomorrow)
back to page 1 of this blog
Coroglen Cafe
So next is the picking up of the rental campervan and the first travel day in New Zealand. Quite obviously one of the most important days of your trip. The only way to really experience self-driving New Zealand is with a camper van. The ease and convenience cannot be matched. None of that in and out of a motel room, packing and unpacking and not having any views. The holiday parks in New Zealand are almost all in wooded natural surroundings and you are encouraged to use their many helpful areas such as the kitchens, TV rooms and internet rooms plus they have clean and tidy showers and toilets.
When in a park with children there is always a play area so they can find new friends and get out from under foot so you can enjoy your surroundings. Take the opportunity to talk with the other campers and share the stories.
When traveling to be able to stop along a lake or a beach and fix lunch or just stop and relax and enjoy the scenery cannot
be done better than with a camper van. It really makes your holiday fun and easy.
After shopping off we went cruising out to Route One south. Our first stop south was to take the Papukura exit (254) to the Clark's Beach Holiday Park.
This is where to stop only 45 minutes south of the airport at a very relaxing spot if you are heading south down the west coast of the North Island and on to the Waitomo Caves (not to be missed plus just before visit the real Kiwis at the Otorohanga Kiwi Bird House. On the road to the park there are a couple very good cafes and also a place selling fresh fruit and vegetables. We will be stopping by for more photos on this trip.
This is especially helpful if you wish to get acclimated to your camper van and the trip before taking off in a long drive. I recommend taking the first day as an easy run. Don't ruin a good thing by rushing it. Mark, the owner/manager of Clark's Beach Holiday Park, is very much into making sure everyone who stops by is well looked after...............nothing is too much trouble.
If you plan to go down the east side of the country after passing the Bombay exit keep in the left hand lane and take route 2 east to route 25. It is an hour's drive to the Miranda Holiday Park and one of my favourite places to stay. The managers Russell and Sacha have created and maintain a warm inviting place for everyone. We started our day at 6:30am with a fabulous dip in their excellent hot pool. Had to drag David out. They are continually upgrading and improving (We did a video that is amazing that will be available here to see after we get home in a month or two)
Just after the turnoff onto route 25 along on the left side of the road at the junction of the Back Miranda road I recommend stopping at the Corogate Cafe . Owners Angela and Pete have dedicated every possible inch of the place to English and the Royal Couple plus the ceiling is a collage of jigsaw puzzles. Not only is the place fascinating and Angie and Bill are wonderful but you can get proper English High Tea and scones and a variety of delicious foods are on the menu.
So now we are on the road and following my itinerary I planned for the next three weeks. I based it upon my past experiences so will be pointing out the scenic wonders, places to visit, activities to enjoy and where to stop the night. You can base your itinerary on it easily as I leave time during the day for you to not rush but see and do what you want.
This trip David and I went toward the east coast after staying at the Miranda Holiday Park mostly as he was anxious to see the manicured horse country near Cambridge and visit Hobbiton near Matamata. Another reason was I wanted to show him the Miranda Shorebird Centre on the First of Thames a short drive up the coast from the Miranda Holiday Park. If you are into birds this is a must.
From here we were back on route 25 and on to the town of Thames as he needed a jacket. We knew it was going to be rough weather but the rain has been overly zealous in its attack on our trip...
From Thames we cut across the peninsula where I was able to show him the real beauty of the Coromandel, in my opinion, with the roads winding their way up the side of the mountains that are the basis of the place and the remnants of long ago forested ancient trees and the first glance he gets at the massive ferns. After twenty plus years I still get a thrill when I pass through these gigantic fern stands. It reminds me of Jurassic Park..
We cruised along the eastern side of the Coromandel through the small community of Tairua then inland until we reached Hot Water Beach Road to the right and motored along blissfully until reaching the Hot Water Beach Top Ten for the evening. We were pleasantly tired and settled in to the park. This is considered on of the top ten beaches in the world for what it has to offer.
We were there in good tide time to go dig up our own pools in the sand and lay down. We really didn't care if it was raining. In fact it added to the enjoyment. We slept very well this evening.
Tomorrow we are off south. If you have time I would suggest if you come this way instead of the hurried trip we are on to enter the Coromandel and north from Thames up the extremely picturesque west coast to the top of the peninsula at Coromandel Town. (I hope to go this route this summer and provide detailed trip) and then around and down the east coast all the way to the surfing paradise of Whangamata and on south to cut through the inland area to Matamata and visit Hobbiton before going on another hour to the geo-thermal wonderland of Rotorua.
(but that's to be continued tomorrow)
back to page 1 of this blog
Coroglen Cafe
