East Cape Long Adventure
A 296 km loop
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Why this ride
A rider’s loop: clean exit, memorable middle, calm return. Out of Titirangi and back again: 296 km, roughly 5 h 23 in the saddle. The stops in between: Rosebank, Scenic stretch near Rothesay Bay, near Warkworth and Auckland / New Zealand. Titirangi is the high point.
Roadbook
- Fuel stop near Titirangi
fuel
Titirangi calls itself the gateway to the Waitākere Ranges, and it fits the role: a bohemian village of artists, writers and bush-clad houses, built on steep slopes above the Manukau Harbour, where the suburbs of Auckland end and the native forest begins. The finish is a few kilometres from the village, on the harbour side towards Lynfield and Blockhouse Bay, and it serves as a calm finish for long rides back from Northland.
The painter Colin McCahon, often considered New Zealand's greatest artist, lived and worked in a small house in French Bay, below Titirangi, in the 1950s, and the house is now a museum with a residency for artists. The village has galleries, cafés and the Lopdell arts centre, and a relaxed, slightly eccentric atmosphere.
From Titirangi, Scenic Drive runs along the crest of the Waitākere Ranges, through dense native bush of tree ferns, nīkau palms and kauri, with views over the city and the harbour. The Arataki visitor centre, perched on the ridge, has a lookout and information about the forest. Many walking tracks in the ranges have been closed in recent years to protect the kauri trees from kauri dieback, a fatal disease spread through soil, so check which tracks are open and clean your boots at the stations.
Riding back to Auckland after the long road from the Bay of Islands, the last part of the day is likely to be on the motorway through the city, with heavy traffic. Once you reach the western suburbs, the roads become quieter. Scenic Drive itself is narrow, winding and often wet, with tight bends, cyclists and buses, and it demands concentration. The local shops in Titirangi and the surrounding suburbs have fuel, food and coffee. A late afternoon finish, with the sun dropping over the Manukau and the bush glowing gold, is a fine end to the trip.
- Titirangi
pass
Titirangi feels like the last stop before the wild west of Auckland, and in a sense it is. The village sits on a ridge at the edge of the city, with cafes, a few shops and houses hidden among native bush, and beyond it the Waitākere Ranges roll west toward the Tasman Sea. The name is usually translated from Māori as fringe of heaven, and on a clear evening, looking out over the Manukau Harbour with the light fading behind the hills, it is hard to argue.
The Waitākere Ranges are old volcanic hills covered in dense rainforest: kauri, rimu, nikau palms and giant tree ferns that close over the road like a green tunnel. Kauri dieback, a disease that kills these ancient trees, has led to the closure of many walking tracks, so check which are open and clean your boots at the stations if you walk. The Arataki Visitor Centre on Scenic Drive, a few minutes from the village, has a superb lookout over the forest and the harbour and explains the area's nature and Māori history.
Scenic Drive is the road for riders, winding along the spine of the ranges from Titirangi toward Swanson, with tight, blind bends, steep drops and a surface that can be greasy under the trees after rain. It is narrow and popular with cyclists and locals who know every corner, so keep it tidy. From it, roads drop down to the black sand beaches of the west coast, Piha and Karekare, where the surf is powerful and the rips are dangerous; swim only between the flags where lifeguards are on duty.
The rides that start here head the other way, south out of the city. The Hobbiton ride goes down through the Waikato to Matamata and the green, rounded hills where the film set of the Shire was built on a sheep farm. The East Cape adventure is a much bigger undertaking, a long journey around the remote eastern tip of the North Island, with Māori communities, empty beaches and long stretches between towns. Both begin with Auckland's motorways, which are congested at rush hour, so time your departure carefully.
Titirangi village has cafes and a small supermarket, and fuel is easy to find in nearby New Lynn, Glen Eden or the suburbs toward the motorway. Auckland's weather is changeable, humid and often wet, and the ranges catch more rain than the city, so pack waterproofs even when the morning looks bright.
- Near Rosebank
finish
After a long ride around the East Cape, with its lonely beaches, Māori villages, steep hills and the lighthouse at the easternmost point of New Zealand's mainland, coming back into West Auckland can feel like a rude awakening. The finish is in the western suburbs, between Te Atatū and Massey, near the upper reaches of the Waitematā Harbour, a suburban area of houses, parks and shopping centres, and it is the finish line for that long adventure.
The upper Waitematā is a quieter, more sheltered part of the harbour, with mangroves, mudflats and creeks winding inland. The Te Atatū Peninsula juts out into the harbour, with walking paths along the shore and views across the water to the city skyline and the Harbour Bridge. Ten minutes on foot there does wonders for knees that have spent days folded on a bike.
West Auckland has a distinctive identity, shaped by the Waitākere Ranges, the wild west coast beaches and the waves of immigrants who settled here, from Dalmatian winemakers to Pacific Islanders. The area around Henderson and Kumeu, just to the west, is still dotted with vineyards, some of them run by families who have been making wine here for generations. A visit to a cellar door is a pleasant way to celebrate the end of a long ride, though obviously after the bike is parked.
The East Cape ride covers some of the most remote roads in the North Island, and State Highway 35 around the cape is long, winding and sometimes rough, with few services. By the time you get back to Auckland, you will have earned a rest. The western suburbs have plenty of fuel stations, supermarkets and takeaways, and the motorway network connects them to the rest of the city. Traffic can be heavy, especially on Sunday evenings, when everyone returns from weekends away.
- Scenic stretch near Rothesay Bay
scenic
Scenic stretch near Rothesay Bay, about halfway.
- Photo stop near Warkworth
photo
Photo stop near Warkworth sits at 199 km, about halfway.
- Auckland / New Zealand return
swim
Thames, the nearest town, lies at the southern end, and behind it the Coromandel Range rises in a long, dark, bushy wall. It is a landscape of wide skies and low light, with the tide drawing off across the mudflats and the hills turning from green to blue as the day wears on.
Thames was a gold town. In 1867 prospectors found rich quartz reefs in the hills above, and within a few years the population exploded, with dozens of batteries crushing ore day and night and hotels lining the main street. The boom did not last, but the buildings of that era, solid and elaborate, still stand in the old streets, and the School of Mines, with its collection of minerals and mining equipment, tells the story. The town now has seven thousand people and a relaxed, slightly faded air, with good cafés and a small market.
North from Thames, State Highway 25 follows the coast, a narrow and winding road that hugs the shore beneath huge old pōhutukawa trees that lean out over the water. In December they burst into crimson bloom, and the road is lined with red. The surface is generally good, but the bends are tight, the verge is narrow and the sea is close on one side and the cliff on the other. Inland, the Kauaeranga Valley road runs to the foot of the Pinnacles, a jagged volcanic ridge that is the goal of a famous day walk, with a hut at the top for those who want to see the sunrise.
Fuel and food are easy in Thames, which is about twenty-two kilometres away, and the small villages along the coast have cafés and shops, but stations are rare and some close early. Ngatea, on the plains to the south, is smaller, and Coromandel, a long ride north, is a good place to stop for the night. A swim is possible at several beaches on the coast road, though the Firth is muddy and the water is better on the eastern side of the peninsula. Fog can lie on the plains in the early morning, and summer holiday weekends bring a lot of traffic.
- Food stop near Pukekohe East
food
The soil around Pukekohe is a deep chocolate red, the gift of old volcanoes, and it grows a startling share of New Zealand's vegetables. Market gardens, many started by Chinese and Indian immigrants in the twentieth century, cover the slopes with neat rows of onions, potatoes and greens, and the area remains one of the most productive horticultural districts in the country. Pukekohe East is a rural community on the low hills to the east of the town, with long views over the fields.
The landscape is part of the South Auckland volcanic field, a scattering of eroded cones, tuff rings and craters, softer and older than the volcanoes of Auckland itself. Pukekohe Hill, the most prominent, rises above the town, and the Bombay Hills to the east mark the traditional boundary between Auckland and the Waikato. On a clear day, the views stretch across the Manukau Harbour and to the Hunua Ranges.
Pukekohe also has a place in motorsport history. Its racetrack hosted the New Zealand Grand Prix for many years, drawing famous drivers from around the world, and it remains a venue for horse racing. The roads around it are pleasant, rolling and fairly quiet, with sweeping bends over the hills and through farmland. Watch for tractors and trucks carrying produce, and for mud on the road near farm entrances. The weather can change quickly, with showers sweeping in from the Tasman.
Pukekohe has plenty of fuel stations, supermarkets and cafés. Roadside stalls sell fresh vegetables and fruit in season. It suits a short halt before heading north through Auckland towards Northland and the Bay of Islands, a long ride through farmland, forests and along the coast.
- Back to East Cape
finish
Where Auckland ends, New Zealand begins, and this is the place to see it. It is a far cry from the East Cape, whose long journey the label describes, and is a fine place to finish a day.
Whatipu is a dramatic place. The Manukau Harbour has one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world, and in the nineteenth century many ships were wrecked here, including the HMS Orpheus in 1863, New Zealand's worst maritime disaster, in which nearly two hundred sailors died. Wide dunes and a long beach face the Tasman Sea, and a sea cave, once used for dances, opens at the foot of the cliffs. Sea birds gather on the rocks, and gannets from the colony at Muriwai, up the coast, patrol the waves.
The road in is the attraction. Huia Road, from Titirangi, twists and turns through thick native forest, past stands of kauri, with a mix of blind corners, gravel patches and sudden views over the harbour. Karekare, another black sand beach nearby, was the setting for scenes in the film The Piano. The surface is narrow, often damp and shaded, and slips and tree falls can block sections after storms, so check conditions and slow down. In summer, beaches fill with surfers and walkers at weekends.
Titirangi, the village on the edge of the ranges, has cafes, galleries and fuel, and is the last real service before the coast. Take plenty of fuel and water, since there are no shops at Whatipu. Mist and rain sweep in off the Tasman quickly, and temperatures can drop. The colours at sunset, when the sky glows over the dunes, are a good reward.