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drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

Sydney, Australia
26 posts
2 helpful votes
drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

I’ll be driving from Auckland to Paihia and am looking for interesting spots on the day: views, lookouts, oysters, good coffee (I will be going to Magnolia Kitchen!) - anything to break the travel and breathe some fresh air! Suggestions welcome. Thank you!

Sydney, Australia
30,537 posts
245 helpful votes
1. Re: drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

We enjoyed a stop at Whangarei Falls

The Netherlands
1,300 posts
2. Re: drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

Are you driving there in 1 day or are you planning to stay overnight somewhere along the way?

There are plenty of beaches along the way to get some seabreeze, just depends a bit on how much you're willing to detour. We stopped at various ones when the mood struck us, but I'm sure the experts here could advise some particularly nice ones.

Whangarei and around could fill a few days if need be, but the Whangarei Falls are just a short stop and a nice place to stretch your legs.

North Yorkshire...
1,961 posts
57 helpful votes
3. Re: drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

Keep going if the road ahead is clear and you're feeling OK.

Stop if you're stuck in a long queue behind logging trucks and are getting fed up.

Dunedin, New Zealand
983 posts
12 helpful votes
4. Re: drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

Puhoi Valley for nice cheese and ice cream.

Piroa Falls is pretty cool.

McLeod's Pizza Barn & Brewery in Waipu for great pizzas and drinks (if open).

Whangarei Falls.

We took the more coastal roads back and liked The Cove Cafe at Waipu Cove and Charlies Gelato at Matakana.

New Plymouth, New...
1,985 posts
46 helpful votes
5. Re: drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

I like to make a few stops en route. I might try out the wonderful if expensive food at Matakana - a lot of artisan cheese and fudge, for example. Or I might detour further, past Matakana, and through the little village of Leigh to Goat Island Marine Reserve. It's best for swimming and diving, but even for people like me who don't like either, the area is very pretty and a good place to stretch your legs.

Whangarei Falls is a another good stop.

Some people like the Hundertwasser Toilets at Kawakawa - the fixtures are quite normal (steel), but the tiles are bright and originally placed. You can only see half of them, depending on what gender you belong to.

A little before Kawakawa, on the right off the highway down a short gravel road, is the Ruapekapeka Pa Historic Reserve. A lot of the country's warlike history is hidden, but at Ruapekapeka (the bat's nest) the main battle, part of the flagstaff war when Hone Heke kept cutting the British flag down at Karorareka - now Russell, is explained via sign boards and lines of sight that show how the cannons were laboriously brought in. The British lost the battle, but did, however, manage to blow up the Maori force's only cannon, which annoyed Mr Heke very much.

It's my favourite place to stop, a very quiet, out of the way spot, yet close to busy State Highway One.

As another note, you will see bullet holes in the walls of Christ Church at Russell. Mr Heke was very angry with his solders over that one, for when you are at war, the people on the battlefield who are NOT to be harmed are the Priests, who has been chosen by the Gods. If a Priest were killed in battle, there was one hell of a to-do, and an instant ceasefire while each side tried to find out what the Gods' will might be, generally followed. Similarly, Hone Heke announced that the enemy's temple for their Gods was tapu (sacred/forbidden), and I think he had several of his soldiers put to death after the church was fired on.

Have a great trip!

Edited: 5 years ago
Rarotonga, Cook...
Destination Expert
for Rarotonga, Waiheke Island, Southern Cook Islands, Auckland Central, New Zealand, North Island, Cook Islands
29,465 posts
82 helpful votes
6. Re: drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

Whangarei Falls is attractive. However, I favour a better spot to stop off the main road, and much closer to the main road too. As you drive along the Western Hills bypass through Whangarei, there are two wonderful hidden gems.

First there is the Quarry Arts Centre (signposted) at the traffic lights where Burger King is on the right. Turn left onto Selwyn Avenue, and keep going into the road marked Quarry Arts Centre. Little studios filled with individual artisan works and the Yvonne Rust gallery. Tiny coffee shop, and a pretty waterfall.

https://quarryarts.org/

Second is the Russell Road Quarry which was a larger quarry compared to Selwyn Avenue. Once you are through the Selwyn Ave intersection continue along Western Hills bypass for another 300 metres, turn left before you reach Kensington Avenue roundabout, and you enter another lost world (to traffic and suburbia). The splendid Quarry Gardens are modelled on the Butchard Gardens in Canada. Individual themed gardens, walking tracks, native birds, and a nice waterfall spilling down into a pool in the extreme corner of the former quarry. This garden also has an onsite cafe.

https://www.whangareigardens.org.nz/

NZTA and the Northland road safety council advice motorists to stop every 2 hours to stretch legs, and have a break from concentration. As you reach Waipu flats there is a road truckies stop at Uretiti, opposite the DOC camping grounds. It's left of the main road heading north, and you obtain wonderful views of Whangarei Heads, and the Hen and Chick islands. Good spot to sip water before driving into Whangarei.

7. Re: drive Auckland to Paihia - nice stops en route?

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