Auckland to Coromandel Road Trip - Britz

Six nights and 259 kilometres from Auckland to the Coromandel in a campervan, in daily drives that rarely reach an hour.

Miranda comes first on the Firth of Thames, where a shorebird centre sits beside tidal flats supporting tens of thousands of migratory waders, several species of which fly in from Siberia and Alaska each year.

Thames follows, an old gold town, then the Kauaeranga Valley behind it, where the Pinnacles walk climbs through old kauri logging country on steps cut by the bushmen. Coromandel Town comes next, then New Chums Beach, reached only on foot over a headland and consequently empty, and Whitianga. Cathedral Cove follows, a limestone arch on a beach reached by water taxi or on foot, and Hot Water Beach closes the trip, where a hot spring rises under the sand around low tide and visitors dig their own pools in it.

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. Seven days for 259 kilometres makes this the most leisurely itinerary in the New Zealand range, and the point of it is to stop rather than to drive. Cathedral Cove access has been affected by storm damage in recent years and is worth checking before setting out. Hot Water Beach works to the tide table, so the timing matters more than the schedule. For a first camper trip, or for anyone travelling with small children, this is the gentlest itinerary Britz publish in New Zealand, and Auckland is only two hours from the first stop.