CAMPING THE KIWI WAY

In early September, a travelling companion and I headed from Palmerston North for a few days exploring with my caravan along Route 52, on the east coast.

The inspiration for the trip came from seeing Simon Burt talk at the Featherston Book Town about his newly published book, “Route 52. A Big Lump of Country Unknown” in which he records a number of trips into the area, with his caravan in tow. route52.nz

Heading to the Tararua District from Palmerston North with the caravan was easily managed over the new Te Ahu a Turanga – Manawatū Tararua Highway, which is a sensational piece of engineering, and thank goodness for a slow lane to accommodate slow towers.

The worrying bit of road was the Dannevirke/Weber Road, which was fearsomely described by Simon Burt , who had badly damaged his caravan when he went through there. It was my caravan that was being towed and I was more cautious than my companion, but with a lot of encouragement I agreed to give it a go. What an anti-climax! The expectation of hitting the bad bit never eventuated, and when we asked the locals, it transpired that the road had been extensively repaired 4 years before.

The benefits of caravans vs camper vans is an ongoing discussion and we decided to maximise the caravan and car potential by basing ourselves at the POP at the Wimbledon Tavern and taking the car out for day trips. 

The Wimbledon Tavern (top) is an icon of NZ rural pub style , and has a round pool table, which is one of a kind. Hosts, Susan and Eric, were welcoming and informative and accommodated us for 3 nights, 2 of which we enjoyed delicious pub food. 

We would have eaten at the pub each night , but in early September, it was closed on Mondays. 

The first day trip was a round trip, recommended by Eric, with the first leg being inland to the Waihi Falls. 

They were in spectacular flow — our reward for tolerating quite a lot of rain over the previous couple of days .

From there we took the Waihi Valley Road to Pongaroa. The Pongaroa pub has a reputation for a very good seafood chowder but is also closed on Mondays in early September. We hungrily sat outside the pub and made use of the first good internet service since Dannevirke.

After an admin catch up , we took the Coast Road to Akitio which is a lovely old-school coastal community with holiday baches, a boat club (below), Norfolk pines, thundering ocean and with freedom camping permitted on the foreshore.

The return trip was via the River Road from Akitio and then the Glenora Road (narrow and gravel) and out to Ti Tree Point, then back to the caravan for the second night, and very welcome food.

The next day was another exploration, generally north of Wimbledon. First stop was Herbertville and a walk to Cape Turnagain, where in 1769 Captain Cook realised that he had completed a circumnavigation of the North Island and turned to head North again.

We realised we were running low on petrol so headed for Pōrangahau which, enquiries assured us, has a pump, but no 96, so that lead to a reasonably big detour to Waipukurau. This was well worthwhile as the Two Taniwha Street Food container-shop served delicious sliders accompanied by beer. We were a bit fixated with finding food by this stage.

Now fed, and not yet done with exploring back roads and coastal communities, we took advantage of the trip to Waipukurau to head out to the evocatively named township of Blackhead and then along the coastal roads back to Wimbledon.

This is certainly beautiful and remote part of the country, and our flying trip, which covered many kilometres, left a real appetite to head into this fascinating area for longer stays.

Keep in mind:

• The area is being heavily impacted by pine forests, and the small communities that would have previously managed through the custom of locals are struggling as people are replaced with trees.

• Because of limited internet coverage, maps are essential. The Kiwi Maps Rural Road Maps 250 series, maps 7 and 8 covered the whole trip, and much more country waiting for the next adventure.

• My map reading skills were very rusty — a shortcoming that was commented on more than once.

• In preparation I suggest that you read Simon Burt’s book, buy the maps, listen to the Warratah’s song about Cape Turnagain and stock up on food and petrol, or at least enough to get you to Waipukurau for a slider and a beer. 🏕️

Photos: ©2025 Christine Batt