Coromandel Peninsula Loop
A 172 km loop
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Why this ride
A proper escape from Auckland with roads worth waking up for. 172 km round from Auckland - plan on about 3 h 07 of riding. The line favours views over speed.
Roadbook
- Auckland
start
Auckland is built on a volcanic field. More than fifty cones and craters, some now covered in grass and sheep, others in houses, stand across the narrow isthmus between two harbours, the Waitematā to the north and the Manukau to the south. The Māori name for the city, Tāmaki Makaurau, is often translated as Tāmaki desired by many, a nod to the fertile soil and the sea on either side that made it a prized place to live long before Europeans arrived. The largest cones, such as Maungawhau, Mount Eden, and Maungakiekie, One Tree Hill, still carry the terraces of old fortified villages.
Today the city is the largest in New Zealand, home to roughly a third of the country's people, and the pace is quick by local standards. The Sky Tower, rising over three hundred metres, dominates the skyline, and the harbour is full of yachts, which is how the city got its nickname of the City of Sails. The Harbour Bridge, with its clip-on lanes added in the 1960s, links the central city to the North Shore.
Riding in Auckland itself means motorways and congestion, with peak traffic that can be slow, so aim for the middle of the day or the weekend. The reward comes when you leave. West of the city, the Waitākere Ranges rise in thick native bush, with twisty roads through tree ferns to wild black-sand beaches like Piha and Karekare, where surf pounds against the cliffs. To the east and south, the road to the Coromandel Peninsula runs along the Firth of Thames, the start of a classic New Zealand loop.
Fuel is easy, with stations throughout the city and on every major road. Weather is changeable, with the saying that Auckland can have four seasons in a day, so carry waterproofs. The best months for riding are November to April, though winter is mild and often clear. Remember to ride on the left, and watch for gravel on corners, since New Zealand roads are often chip-sealed, which gives less grip than smooth asphalt in wet conditions.
- Coromandel
food
Gold was found near Coromandel in 1852, the first payable gold found anywhere in New Zealand, and for a few years the little town on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula boomed with miners and dreamers. The rush did not last, but the town survived, and today it is a laid-back place of wooden villas, artists' studios and fish shops on the edge of a sheltered harbour, with steep forested hills behind and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf scattered across the water in front.
The peninsula is a long, rugged spine of volcanic hills covered in native forest, with surf beaches on the east and quiet bays on the west. In the forest grow kauri, giant native trees that were heavily logged in the nineteenth century; some survivors still stand in protected groves. Mussel farms dot the harbours, and Coromandel is known for smoked mussels and fish, sold in shops and cafes around town.
For riders, the roads here are among the best in New Zealand's North Island. State Highway 25 follows the Thames coast north from Thames along the shore, with the sea on one side and pohutukawa trees on the other, which flower bright red around Christmas, then climbs over the hills into Coromandel town on a steep, winding road with superb views. From Coromandel, the route continues over the ranges to Whitianga on the east coast, and the 309 Road, a narrow gravel shortcut through the forest, passes a waterfall and a stand of kauri trees along the way, though it is unsealed and best left to adventure bikes or careful riders.
The roads are narrow and twisting, with blind corners, steep climbs and descents, and slips after heavy rain. Watch out for campervans, logging trucks and tourists driving slowly on the wrong side of the road. Weather changes quickly on the peninsula, and rain can be heavy.
Coromandel has cafes, restaurants, a supermarket and fuel, and it makes a perfect lunch stop. Thames, about forty kilometres south, is the nearest larger town. On a sunny day, a plate of fish and chips or smoked mussels eaten by the harbour, looking out over the islands, is one of the simple pleasures of the North Island.
- Auckland finish