‘Located east of Whangarei, the Tutukaka Coast was rated as one of the top coastal destinations on the planet by National Geographic Traveller. It’s a detour you won’t want to miss on your journey north.’ – newzealnd.com
Firstly, please check out our first vlog on Youtube on the Tūtūkākā Coast…
We started our Tūtūkākā Coast trip from funky town of Whangārei, (love Whangārei, we’ll do a blog on Whangārei soon enough), headed up past Tikipunga along Ngunguru Road, it only takes around 30 minutes to reach Ngunguru, but we take it easy. Ngunguru, meaning ‘rumbling tides’ in Māori. Ngunguru, visited by waka (Māori canoe) Tūnui-ā-rangi, on its way from the Bay of Islands to Whangārei, which brought Ngāi Tāhuhu to New Zealand according to traditional accounts. The area was named by Puhi, captain of another waka, Mataatua.
You could almost miss Ngunguru, with a population of around 1200 residents, but pull over and take in the view. We passed through en-route to our first campground, Whangaumu or Wellington’s Bay Freedom Campground.
Whangaumu or Wellington’s Bay Freedom Campground is a council authorised roadside camp for certified self-contained (CSC) vehicles only, offering around four spaces all next to each other in a signposted, designated area, and it was full. This is a really good campsite, right next to the beach with awesome views, toilets if you need them and picnic benches to use. We found it on WkiCamps and spent just one night here, as that’s all you’re allowed, we would have liked to stay longer, but can always come back.
In the morning, we did the Whangaumu Bay – Ngunguru Estuary walk, which was awesome! Starting at the campground, on the beach, its a well maintained easy enough track, with a few steps here and there with views over Whangaumu Bay, Goat Island, Hora Hora and Whangārei Heads. Taking you down to Red Rock Bay, only accessible two hours either side of low-tide, the beaches were empty and if you want you can carry right on to Ngunguru settlement. The walk is suppose to take 40 minutes each way, we didn’t keep track of time.
Next stop… 10 minutes up the road to Kowharewa Bay Freedom Campground where it absolutely pissed it down, pretty much all night. We would have liked to have enjoyed this camp more, but we ended up staying in the van, eating, watching Netflix and facials ha. Once again, this a Freedom Campground authorised by Whangārei District Council. There are toilets, but it is right next to the road this one.
It rained pretty much all day the next day, we did want to do the Tūtūkākā Headland walk, to the lighthouse, or light-box, but someone decided they didn’t want to get wet, so we just did a small tiki tour in the van around Tūtūkākā. The marina area was quite nice, and we imagine come Summer, it will get quite busy. A lot of boat tours leave from here to Poor Knights Islands/Tawhiti Rahi.
Camping spot number three on our Tūtūkākā Coast tour, Matapōuri/Wehiwehi Road Carpark. LOVE Matapōuri! Matapōuri is a tiny rural settlement, with just a couple of hundred residents we believe. The Freedom Camping, like the others on this tour is a small designated area, this one in a carpark right by the beach, with the worst toilets we’ve seen so far on this trip, but never mind. Great spot!
In the morning, we did the Matapōuri Bay to Whale Bay walk, which was great. Starting along the white sands over Matapōuri beach, over to tiny Pebbly Bay with black sands?! Then a left up some steps into the Nature Reserve, if you’ve got a dog leave it behind at this point, no dogs allowed, didn’t stop two idiots though, that really annoys us, anyway.
Its a decent, steady climb through native bush, then down to stunning Whale Bay where we had a little swim, without togs or towels, but never mind, standard us. Then we continued along the loop track, over some farmland and through some streets of Matapōuri back to the campsite.
On the way out, we stopped at the Matapōuri Store and Takeaways, met a lovely lady who funnily enough is heading to Pakiri in a couple of weeks, (where we’ve come from), small world or small country. It was about lunchtime so we both had a burger and chips, came to $21.00, yummy, good food and the weather was great so we sat outside on the picnic benches provided. It’s great to support local businesses on our travels.
Next stop Sandy Bay! We were planning on camping at Woolley’s Bay, but as we had had so much rain, this campsite was quite boggy, as was Sandy Bay. Sandy Bay is a great surf beach, loads of surfers were out there having a blast, we started seeing a lot more Te Araroa Trail Walkers (TA Walkers) from here.
In the morning, the plan was to go back to do the Tūtūkākā Headland walk, but en-route we realised this walk is influenced by the tide, bad planning from us, so turned back and did the much longer Whananāki Coastal Walkway. FYI, if you’re going to do this walk, stay parked at the campground or in the Day Use Area carpark, don’t go down Mcauslin Road like we did as its tight for larger vehicles and bumpy.
The walk states two hours each way, this is exaggerated like most walk times are, but take your time, enjoy. Initially you walk through just farmland, with a happy, friendly farmer tooting past on his quad. We weren’t overly taken by the walk at first, you do head through some native bush too which is nice, but give it a chance, after around an hour, you come to see stunning beaches and tiny little settlements. We believe a lot of this area is private and Māori land so do look out for the signs and respect the wishes of the residents, stick to the tracks.
At the end of the walk, you’re rewarded with a beautiful beach you can access and enjoy, and Whananāki Spit Reserve. Wouldn’t do this walk again, but if you’re looking to get your steps in, definitely crack on.
Final thoughts on the Tūtūkākā Coast
Although the Tūtūkākā Coast is only a small route from Whangārei to Whananāki South (up to two hours driving return), we thoroughly enjoyed this area. There are plenty of walks and beautiful beaches with clear turquoise waters and safe swimming bays to enjoy. There are lots of freedom camping spots right next to many of the beaches. All the campgrounds are really close together which we liked. Just remember that the free camps were limited to about four vans, so get in early to avoid disappointment and they all have just a one night stay, and no bins.. We could only fit in four of the nine recommended walks, but what we did was great with some stunning coastline, we’ll definitely be back. FYI, bins are hard to come by along this route, as is drinking water and dump points, so fill up, prepare and empty out at Whangārei before you start.
If you like an uninterrupted sea views from your van, the sound of lapping waves to sleep to, and are happy to spend your days lazing on beaches and swimming then this destination won’t leave you disappointed. In the way of activities or excursions, the choice is limited to some great coastal walks or a cruise from Tūtūkākā.
Unfortunately, Peak season summer freedom camping is banned along Tutukaka Coast under a new bylaw of Whangārei District Council. This means its definitely best to head to this coast outside of peak summer dates to make the most of your time here. Find out more at www.wdc.govt.nz.
