Back to Auckland via the Kauri Coast

Change of direction! On the west side of the North Island, we headed back south. The landscape here is still very hilly, and there are huge fjords that make the coastline very rugged. If you want to avoid the highway and drive on the small country roads, the journey is correspondingly long. We use the car ferry near Rawene.

Not only the 90-Mile Beach is impressive, but further south there are breathtaking beaches and dunes that are almost mountains. And apparently, the coast here, at least outside of the bathing season, is not a tourist magnet, as it was surprisingly empty in most places despite fascinating views.

But I should change that soon because on Highway 12 between Omapere and Dargaville, you can see the largest Kauri trees in New Zealand, all within a few minutes' walk from the parking lot. And so that visitors don't carry any germs or fungi from tree to tree, you had to brush your shoes in a kind of sluice and walk over a mat soaked in chemicals.

Since these trees are of course not a secret tip but are mentioned in every travel guide, you are not alone here. A caravan of cars and especially campervans drives from parking lot to parking lot to admire the trees. Among them, of course, many Germans. We were the only motorcyclists there, and with our German license plates, we stood out even more. Accordingly, we were addressed here even more often...

As fascinating as these trees are, we were glad to be in a more isolated area again the next day. On the way further south, we made a stop at the Kauri Museum on HW 12, which is a bit old-fashioned but quite informative.

A little further on the way back to Auckland, the road merges with Highway 1, the only way to cross Auckland from north to south. When we briefly discussed the route on the roadside, a Volvo suddenly stopped next to us. The driver got out and greeted us in German. He is also a motorcyclist and has been living in New Zealand for 30 years, so we stood out again.... see above. He asked if we had just been to the Puhoi Pub, but we hadn't. This is a "must" for bikers in New Zealand. Since it was already lunchtime and time for a break, we spontaneously went there with him and had a good conversation. It was really great, the place Puhoi is an old Bohemian village and consists mainly of beautiful old wooden houses. The Puhoi Pub was also very nice, such an old gnarled pub decorated with a lot of kitsch and delicious food. Unfortunately, we got caught up in the gigantic rush hour on the way through Auckland heading south because of this long lunch break. There it is again, the traffic problem of this city.