North Island Raglan Surf Trip - Britz

Eight nights and 2,077 kilometres in a loop from Auckland in a campervan, built around the surf at Raglan and taking in most of the North Island on the way round.

Raglan comes first, where Manu Bay sits on a long left-hand point that can run for several hundred metres and the town has organised itself around that fact since the 1960s. The Awakino river mouth follows down the coast, then New Plymouth and Mount Taranaki, with Hawera beyond.

Wellington comes next, then Taupo and Rotorua inland, and Gisborne on the east coast, reached by way of the Motu Road, an old unsealed route through the Raukumara ranges that is among the more demanding drives in the country. The East Cape follows, the easternmost point of the island, then the route returns west to Raglan for a second go at Manu Bay before Auckland.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Nine days for 2,077 kilometres is a real pace, and the Motu Road and parts of the East Cape are unsealed and slow, which is worth checking against the hire terms. Board hire and lessons are available at Raglan. Coming back to the same break at the end is deliberate: the swell will be different and the first attempt is rarely the best one. A camper is close to the ideal vehicle for a surf trip, since the good breaks seldom have accommodation anywhere near them and the dawn session is the one worth catching.