Raglan West Coast Roads
A 276 km loop
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Why this ride
Built for flow, views and useful stops rather than navigation busywork. A 276 km loop that starts and ends near Auckland, about 5 h 02 of riding. The plan has 1 food stop marked.
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.
- Raglan
food
Surfers have been making the pilgrimage to Raglan since the 1960s, when the left-hand point break at Manu Bay appeared in the classic surf film The Endless Summer. The waves peel along a rocky shoreline for what feels like forever, and on a good swell you can sit on the bluff and watch riders carving one long wall after another. The town has kept a relaxed, slightly bohemian character that grew out of that culture, with cafés, galleries, surf shops and people walking barefoot down the main street.
Raglan sits on a sheltered harbour on the west coast of the Waikato, about forty-five minutes from Hamilton. The road in, State Highway 23, is a pleasant run over rolling hills, with a few good bends and views of Mount Karioi, the old volcano that rises behind the town. Detour on the way to Bridal Veil Falls, Waireinga, where a stream plunges more than fifty metres over a basalt lip into a pool surrounded by bush; it is a short walk from the car park.
South and west of town, the coast road climbs past Manu Bay and Whale Bay onto the flanks of Karioi, turning to gravel in places, with spectacular views over the Tasman Sea. It is narrow, steep and twisty, and the gravel sections demand care, but the scenery is outstanding. The beaches here are black volcanic sand, and the surf is powerful, so swim only at patrolled beaches like Ngarunui, in summer, between the flags.
Raglan is a fine place for lunch. The cafés along the main street serve good coffee and food, and there is fish and chips to eat on the wharf, watching the boats and the tide sweeping in and out of the harbour mouth. The town is small, so services are limited, though basic fuel and groceries are available; Hamilton is the place for anything more. The west coast weather can change fast, with wind and rain sweeping in off the sea, but on a clear evening the sunsets over the Tasman are wonderful.
- Auckland finish