Karangahake Gorge
Gold mining tunnels & river gorge
Best for History, Families.
Gorge & Tunnels
- 1
Karangahake Gorge Loop
On-leadThe classic - swing bridges, river terraces and pitch-dark tramway tunnels. Dogs on lead the whole way. The full loop is
- 2
Karangahake Old Railway Tunnel Loop
On-leadThe 1 km glow-worm rail tunnel - bring a headlamp and keep the dog close on the uneven, unlit floor. On lead, about 1.5-
- ~3 km drive
- 3
Dickey Flat Campsite
Dogs welcome, check the rulesRiverside DOC campsite up the Waitawheta valley - dogs welcome on lead. Your base for both nights.
Rail Trail
- 1
Waihi to Waikino Track
Off-lead OKFlat, easy rail trail hugging the river - and the one stretch on this route where dogs can be off lead under control. Ab
- ~14 km drive
- 2
Beach House Café
Dogs at outdoor tablesBeach House Cafe - dog-friendly courtyard at Waihi Beach, roughly a 15 min drive on from the Waihi trailhead. Coffee and
- ~26 km drive
- 3
Crown Track to Dickey's Flat
On-leadBush track up the old Crown tramway that drops you straight back into the Dickey Flat campsite. On lead, a longer 4-4.5
- ~3 km drive
- 4
Trips like this one
West Coast: Hokitika, Punakaiki & Charleston
This coast is on-lead almost everywhere, Kumara's Londonderry Rock loop is the one legal off-lead run, and Cape Foulwind demands a short lead near the fur-seal colony year-round. Steer clear of Paparoa National Park entirely: the Pancake Rocks, Truman and Punakaiki Cavern tracks are all no-dogs, so experience Punakaiki from the cafe courtyard and the beach camp only. West Coast bush and beaches regularly get 1080 and pindone poison drops plus washed-up dead wildlife, check DOC alerts before every track and keep your dog off any carrion.
Auckland West: Black Sand & the Waitākere Fringe
Muriwai is on-lead year-round, and the south-end Otakamiro gannet colony with its clifftop tracks is strictly no-dogs, so keep well clear. Kakamatua Inlet is one of West Auckland's rare off-lead dog beaches, but Auckland Council puts most beaches on-lead 10am–5pm from 1 December to 1 March, so run early or late. This route deliberately avoids the Waitākere Ranges' interior kauri tracks (Piha, Kitekite, Karekare), which are dog-prohibited for kauri dieback, and treats Riverhead Forest as the working plantation it is: on-lead, mind logging traffic, and check for pest-control bait before your dog noses the undergrowth.
Coromandel Loop
Most Coromandel beaches, including Hot Water, Cooks, Shakespeare Cliff and the Whitianga sands, carry summer daytime dog bans or on-lead rules (roughly Labour Weekend to 1 March), so plan beach time for early morning or the shoulder seasons and read the TCDC signs at every access. The kauri tracks at Waiomu and Long Bay have boot-cleaning stations and require dogs on-lead and on the boardwalk to slow dieback. The Broken Hills, Waiomu and Kauaeranga valleys see periodic DOC 1080 and bait-station pest control that is lethal to dogs, so check the DOC pesticide summary and warning signs before any bush walk and keep the dog leashed.