We just came back from a wonderful long weekend holiday in Tapu. The accommodation I booked for this trip was so amazing that it inspired me to write this post. I think it’s such a hidden gem so I wanted to share where we stayed and what we did.

I also wanted to make this post because when I posted the photo below, I got so many messages on Instagram asking where it is. It was the busiest my DMs have ever been and even Twitter went wild with it being the most liked tweet/photo I’ve ever posted. A lot of people wanted to know where so here it is in more detail.

How amazing is this view though?! This was our view for four lovely days.

I found this accommodation in Airbnb. In my spare time, I love searching on there to find cool places to stay. I think it’s partly because we can’t travel internationally due to the pandemic and I really want to explore NZ more too.

I have many wishlists and this place came up a few months ago. I’ve had it saved for ages and one random day in December, I stumbled upon it again and saw it was available for a long weekend in January. I got so excited and decided to book us there which was my surprise Christmas present to Max (and myself).

Tapu is in western side of the Coromandel. It’s a small town about 20mins from Thames and about 2 hours from Auckland. I chose this area as it’s not too far of a drive and it’s a small beach town. I wanted a nice, relaxing beachfront holiday and this place delivered.

I took so many photos of this Airbnb that I can go into detail as to how great it is. This place is a one bedroom house so it’s perfect for 2 people. The deck with the amazing view is the main focal point but the inside has also been decorated well and the layout is clever too.

The house is only one of a very few houses that fronts the beach. It’s a pretty quiet beach when we were there. I think the length / design of the building was inspired by the trams beside it that were originally from Auckland and converted to baches. There are a few of these around the Coromandel.

The house is one big open plan. You have the lounge, kitchen and dining all in one plus the deck. All the back doors open so you can have the breeze come in and also for the view.

The bedroom is at the back of the house. You get some privacy but also some view towards the beach which is the best of both! The bed is soft and comfortable and the airconditioning is closer to the bedroom which was great for the hot summer nights.

The bathroom is tucked to the side and is clean and spacious. The shower is nice and the water pressure is a lot! The beach/coastal decor is also continued in the bathroom. I didn’t take a photo but the hand towel rail is a dolphin tail which was cute.

What’s also great about this place is the full kitchen. I didn’t take a proper photo but there is a gas stove, oven, microwave and even small appliances like blender, airfryer, nespresso machine, washing machine etc! The pantry was also well-stocked. We brought food with us so we cooked all our meals here. The only I bought were ice blocks from the dairy nearby.

The space has been well-designed with plenty of storage. The sink also has an amazing view so washing the dishes doesn’t feel like a chore. To the right is a dining table with a view.

The best part is the deck where we spent a lot of time reading, sunbathing and relaxing.

It was so hot during the day so the only time we went for a dip was after 5pm when the sun wasn’t as harsh but it was still hot. Then we’d cook dinner and eat on the deck while watching the sunset.

The sunset in Tapu were incredible. It didn’t get fully dark til past 9pm.

I think my favourite time was during the sunset – the golden hour. We’d be finished with dinner and we’ve sat on the couch watching the sun go down and the sky to change colours.

I feel quite proud and lucky to have found this beautiful place available for us during this summer. We had an amazing stay. Would I consider going back here? Absolutely. I highly recommend it.

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We would’ve been perfectly happy staying in for the entire weekend. We brought books and I read all 3 of mine and we could also watch Netflix on TV. However, we did explore a few places around:

Square Kauri Walk

It’s about a 15min drive from the house and this is a short 10min walk up to the square Kauri tree. There are a lot of steps so bear this in mind.

Rapaura Watergardens

Then afterwards we stopped by the Rapaura Watergardens. It’s a nice walk around the gardens and to the waterfalls.

Rapaura watergardens has an entrance fee of $15pp. I didn’t mind it as it was nice to be out on a walk and I like waterfalls. It’s around 40-45mins to go around the whole area.

Waiomu Kauri Grove

On the way back to Auckland, we stopped by Waiomu for the Waiomu Valley Road track to go on a bush walk to see the Kauri grove.

This walk took us about 1 hour and 35mins. It involved a stream crossing (your shoes will get wet unless you take them off), 5 bridges and a lot of steps towards the end.

It was a nice way to end our long weekend holiday. I wish we didn’t have to leave but we had an amazing and relaxing time away.

If you want to check out this amazing Airbnb, here’s the link again. It’s so worth it!

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I feel incredibly lucky that we were able to go away and explore a new place we’ve never been to before. I hope we get to go on more adventures within the country in 2022! Fingers crossed!