The 309 Road

The 309 Road crosses the Coromandel Range between Coromandel town and Whitianga - about twenty-two kilometres, most of it gravel, named either for the time it once took to travel or for a survey number, depending on who is telling it. It is a shortcut and also a route with several things strung along it. The 309 Kauri Grove is a ten-minute boardwalk to a stand of mature kauri including the Siamese Kauri, two trunks fused at the base. Waiau Falls is a short walk from the road to a fall and a pool people swim in. The Waterworks is a private park of home-built water-powered contraptions made from recycled junk - eccentric and genuinely funny, ticketed and popular with families. And there is a stretch where a local keeps pigs that come to the roadside, which has become a fixture. The road is narrow, dusty and slow, and rental agreements sometimes exclude gravel.

What you actually see

• The 309 Kauri Grove - a ten-minute boardwalk to mature kauri.
• Waiau Falls - a short walk to a fall and swimming pool.
• The Waterworks - home-built water contraptions from recycled junk.
• The roadside pigs - a local fixture along the route.

When to go

October to April. Allow half a day with the stops rather than treating it as a shortcut. Avoid after heavy rain when the gravel is rough.

Honest expectations

Twenty-two kilometres of narrow dusty gravel; some rental agreements restrict it. The Waterworks is ticketed. Do not feed the pigs. Kauri dieback cleaning stations apply at the grove.

Nearby

Coromandel town is west; Whitianga and Hahei are east.