Why this ride
Repeated coastal bends, headlands and frequent viewpoint stops. It also links naturally to Coromandel Peninsula.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Coromandel Loop
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 404 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 43
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Access context
Check NZTA closures, alpine weather, gravel share and ferry status. Specific flag: weather; road works; summer traffic.
Seasonal context
Nov-Apr
Scenic road chapters
Coromandel Peninsula Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 20 km this is Coromandel Peninsula Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 20 km
- Named road
- Coromandel Peninsula Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Auckland
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.
Read the complete Auckland write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Auckland sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Thames.
2. Thames
Thames is the gateway to the Coromandel, and it behaves like one, a handsome, slightly worn gold town that still has a main street of old verandahs and a stack of heritage stories. In the 1860s the strike of gold in the nearby hills brought thousands of diggers, and for a few years this was one of the largest towns in New Zealand. The mines have gone, but the School of Mines building and the mineral museum are reminders, and the long tidal flats on the Firth of Thames in front of the town are a world-class stopover for migrating shorebirds.
Read the complete Thames write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Thames comes up 55 km in. Next is Coromandel.
3. Coromandel
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.
Read the complete Coromandel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 118 km in you reach Coromandel. Next is Whitianga.
4. Whitianga
Whitianga lies on the east side of the Coromandel Peninsula, on the shore of Mercury Bay, a wide, sheltered, sandy bay that has been popular with sea-goers for almost a thousand years. The Māori navigator Kupe is said to have landed here, and in 1769 Captain Cook anchored in the bay to observe the transit of Mercury, giving the bay its English name. Today it is a relaxed little resort town of three or four thousand people, built around a marina, a long beach and a long tradition of fishing, and it is the best base on this side of the Coromandel.
Read the complete Near Whitianga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Whitianga, late in the day. Next is Auckland.
5. Auckland
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Auckland write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Auckland sits at 404 km, late in the day.