Hawke's Bay Marathon: 10 Day North Island Campervan Itinerary for Nature, Trails and Taste - Britz

Nine nights and 1,200 kilometres in a loop from Auckland in a campervan, built around the Hawke’s Bay Marathon.

The race is run through the vineyards near Napier in autumn, which is about the best weather the region offers. Hahei and Whitianga come first on the Coromandel, with Cathedral Cove, then Rotorua.

The Whakarewarewa Forest at Rotorua was planted with Californian redwoods as a timber trial and is now among the best trail running networks in the southern hemisphere, which makes it a useful stop before a race. Wai-O-Tapu nearby is the most colourful of the geothermal fields, with the Champagne Pool and the Lady Knox geyser. Lake Taupo and Napier follow for the marathon, then two days in Tongariro National Park under Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, and Waitomo before Auckland.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Ten days allows for the race and a holiday either side of it, which is how a trip like this should be built. Accommodation around Napier is tight on race weekend, which is where a camper earns its keep. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing needs a shuttle booking and is a poor idea on tired legs. Placing Tongariro after the marathon rather than before it is the right way round, since the two days there are the reward rather than part of the training.