Advice on Traveling in Northland

kiwibound · Testing The Water Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 5

Hi,

I am looking for advice on traveling in the Northland area during late August/early September. My wife and I are from the States, and we plan to fly into Auckland, rent a car, and work our way northward to the Doubless Bay area for some R&R.

My questions are:

1. What is the weather generally like in early September in the Northland area? Is there usually a lot of rain? Is 4-wheel-drive needed?

2. What are the roads generally like? I have heard that the roads are generally single lane, windy country roads. Any advice for driving on these roads?

3. Any advice for someone like me who has never driven on the left side of the road? I'd like to get there in one piece and not end up as a roadkill, but I've heard some interesting stories about Kiwi driving :-)

Many thanks for your help.

Kiwibound

mattford · Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:41 am Post subject:

when i drove around northland it was february and the weather was settled and warm. not sure what it'll be like come august/sept. we rented a
car in auckland. can't remember what it was now, but it was nothing fancy.

the roads round there were all single lane, and in a few cases turned out to be unsealed (gravel!). it didn't ever get busy and the only traffic jams i came across were heading back into auckland on a sunday evening. the main highways were ok, but if they're closed (we had to divert because of a major crash) then you'll find yourself on small winding roads wondering where the hell you are! just make sure you have an up to date map telling you which roads are sealed (on my "detour" the road ahead of me suddenly turned into gravel when i was pretty sure the map said it was sealed. maybe someone stole the tarmac?!). we didn't need a 4WD to handle the gravel, but then it was dry weather.

the road up to matai bay (near doubtless bay) was a 30 min drive on gravel but it's a very rewarding place to stay once you get there. take advantage of any roadside stalls selling fruit and veg (tho in sept i don't know if you'd see any). we picked up big bags of delicious passion fruit very cheaply.

there is a reputation for the roads of nz spawning reckless drivers, though we didn't witness anything scary. there are far worse places to drive! have a look on the new zealand herald website - they report on the tally of road deaths.

it's beautiful up north around doubtless bay. you'll have a great time. also make sure you try out the fish and chips at Manganoui (advertised as the "best in the world"..!). they really are good :)

http://www.doubtlessbay.com/

kiwibound · Testing The Water Joined: 07 Feb 2004 Posts: 5

Matfford,

Many thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it. I'm from California, so I'm sure driving on the wrong side of the road will take some getting used to. But hey, it won't be any worse than driving in LA during rush hour.

Thanks again,

Kiwibound