Blogs from Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

On Day 15 left Warkworth to drive to Coromandel Town in the Coromandel Peninsula. The roads in the peninsula were again challenging with long and winding coastal roads followed by long and winding mountain stretches. Was happy to park my car that night. Although I arrived mid-afternoon, decided to rest the remainder of the day and continue tomorrow. I did, however, get some good scenic shots as I was going up. Lovely scenery. On Day 16 I was in over-drive. I woke early and was on the road at 730 AM as I wanted to tackle New Chum Beach at low tide. It requires a 30 minute hike, with some scrambling over rocks and beach. To get there I visited Whangapoua Beach which is a lovely beach in and of itself. It is, however, also the ... read more

The sky was bight blue so we thought a coastal walk to a pretty bay would suit everyone. From Waihi beach we took a forest trail which snaked uphill. After 15 minutes Cas thought that the trail reminded her of a dog walking path rather than an idyllic coastal footpath. It was not long after this thought that she realised that we'd taken, well, a dog walking path. We retraced and were soon on the right path. It ran along the cliffs and gave great panoramic views of the islands in Waihi Bay. We then descended to Orokawa Bay, a long, white sand beach that was fringed with overhanging trees, perfect for monkey children. Ed and Hat spent a good hour lying in the surf as waves crashed over then. Cas and I were both in ... read more

Tretji dan najinega potovanja sva zjutraj zapustila hostel in se najprej odpravila proti vzhodu, proti mestu Matamata, kjer so na veliki kmetiji (vzrejajo seveda ovce) snemali prizore Šajerske za filme Hobit in Gospodar prstanov. Hobbiton, ki je v filmih domači kraj hobitov Bilba in Froda, so po koncu snemanja Hobita pustili v izvirni obliki. Ogled se začne z avtobusnim prevozom na kmetijo. Vodič najine skupine je bil Glyn (ravno prav velik za hobita), ki nam je postregel s številnimi citati iz filmov, ki so sovpadali z različnimi prizorišči iz Hobbitona - Bilbovim in Frodovim domovanjem, vaškim pubom in drevesom, pod katerim je Bilbo praznoval 111. rojstni dan. Ogledu lokacije je sledil še kozarec šajerskega piva v pubu Pri zelenem zmaju. Za ljubitelje omenjenih fimov nepozabna dogodivščina! Po kratkem oddihu sva pot nadaljevala proti polotoku Coromandel, ki ... read more

Hi actually back at Snells Beach now. But after leaving Whitianga drove over to Ha Hei on the Pacific Ocean side for a two night camp. Site amazing, right on the beach overlooking the ocean, weather quite windy but sunny. Went to Hot Water Beach and spent two hours waiting for the tide to go out so we could dig a hole to sit in. If you can imagine standing waist deep in water, digging your toes in the sand to feel for the heat, that is where the volcanic fissure is. A real laugh, bonding with other people so we could all dig a big hole to sit in. Photos to follow. Walked over to Cathderal Cove where Narnia was filmed took an hour each way to walk it. Had lunch at Mercury Bay winery, ... read more

Our Final days at Port Jackson have been filled with swimming and fishing. The fishing has been pretty slow but enough for us to eat for another week:). The days have been humid, the sea has been flat and the sun shining. So nice to be able to swim in fairly warm water, however you do get the odd patch of cold water. Makes getting in the cold shower after a swim a little easier. Tuesday afternoon the Old Round the World Yacht ‘Steinlager’ anchored up in the harbour. A large group of youths swam a considerable distance to shore from the yacht today. It looked like they had activities to complete on the beach before returning to the yacht and setting sail again. One afternoon Lance and I walked around the rocks at the Eastern ... read more