NZ North Island Farewell
One Last Kiwi Adventure
Seven years in New Zealand ended with a submitted PhD thesis and a one-way ticket to Singapore, two weeks apart. There was only one sensible thing to do with the gap: load the bike and ride until the fortnight ran out. No bookings, no route, just 5000 kilometres of goodbye.
The Route
Coromandel Peninsula: Coastal beauty and laid-back beach towns
Tauranga: Bay of Plenty sunshine and surf culture
Wellsford: Rural heartland and rolling hills
Kawakawa: Historic Northland town with quirky Hundertwasser toilets
Paihia: Base for the Bay of Islands
Dargaville: West coast return through Kauri country
Total Distance: ~5000 km over 2 weeks
The Freedom Camping Life
I camped wherever the evening caught me: DOC sites, freedom camping spots, the occasional beach car park of questionable legality. Showers were two-dollar fuel station affairs. Mornings started with whatever small-town café opened first, and dinner was farm produce bought from roadside honesty boxes, paid for with coins left in a tin. Kiwi trust, it turns out, scales remarkably well. Evenings ended at small-town pubs, swapping road stories with locals over a beer.
Why This Trip Mattered
New Zealand taught me to ride. My first solo trip on the Forgotten World Highway lit the fuse; this was the send-off. I wanted to bank as much of the country as two weeks would hold: every coastal view, every quiet village, every morning of waking by the ocean with no agenda beyond the next tank of fuel.
Singapore was waiting with new work and a new life. This was my way of saying thank you to the country that taught me how to adventure, and how to be comfortable not knowing what comes next.
The Journey Map
Highlights of the Journey
🏖️ Coromandel's Hidden Beaches
Winding roads to secluded coves, Hot Water Beach, Cathedral Cove. The kind of coastline that makes you forget you have somewhere else to be.
🌊 Bay of Islands
144 islands scattered across turquoise water, and sunsets that looked colour-graded.
☕ Small Town Coffee
Every village had one great café: a properly pulled flat white, a homemade muffin, and a local with opinions about which road to take next.
🏕️ Nights Outdoors
Tent, camp stove, birdsong. No reservations, no check-in times.
If You Go
- •Camping: The CamperMate app finds legal freedom camping spots; DOC campsites run $6-15 a night and book out in peak season.
- •Showers: Many BP and Caltex stations have them for a few dollars. Pack a towel.
- •Pack light: Warm layers and rain gear, whatever the forecast says. NZ weather does not negotiate.
- •Timing: February and March give you summer conditions without the December crowds.
Gallery
