Driving up to Northland yesterday I tried out the Northern Gateway Toll Road for the first time. In other countries toll roads are pretty standard, but for us Kiwis it's a bit of a novelty because this is the only public toll road in New Zealand. In fact, when the road first opened a couple of weeks ago there were traffic jams caused by locals driving up just to try out the new road!
For those driving from Auckland to Whangarei or the Bay of Islands in Northland the new road is a very welcome development. Previously, once you got to the top of the Northern Motorway you had to drive through the seaside town of Orewa and then wind around the hills on steep and narrow roads. Although a pretty drive it could be slow at times, particularly around holiday weekends when there was lots of traffic on the road.
The new Northern Gateway Toll Road takes a much more direct route across the hills and through a tunnel, making it both faster and safer. It remains a multi-lane highway for most of the way too. For cars, it costs NZ$2 to use the road (for motorcycles it's free and for trucks it's NZ$4) but you won't find any toll booths. Instead, tolling happens electronically. Sensors activate the system as your car approaches the toll point and your car's license plates are photographed. (Check out the animation here if you're curious about how it works.)
To pay your toll, you've got several options. You can pay with your credit card online at the Northern Gateway Toll Road website or free phone the call centre on 0800 40 20 20 between 8am and 6pm. Alternatively, you can stop off and pay by EFTPOS, credit card or cash at one of the manual toll points. For northbound traffic this is at BP Connect Dairy Flat on the Northern Motorway (there are plenty of signs to let you know where it is) and southbound traffic can stop off approximately 1 km before the Waiwera exit. You can pay up to 180 days in advance or 3 days after you use the road.
And if you want to take the free option, you can always take the turnoff to Orewa and enjoy the slower road around the coast.
Comments
Thanks for the feedback, Aaron. We'll do our best to keep bringing you interesting new posts!
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to your my.destination-nz account to comment.
Not a member? It’s free to join and easy to sign up, so what are you waiting for!