Blogs from Thames, Coromandel, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames October 22nd 2007

Hello all. So I was going to post yesterday, but I only get 30 min for 2 NZ dollars, and my computer turned off, so that is counter productive for what I wanted. Anyway, we are currently in Thames which is just south east of Auckland by about 2 1/2 hours. The area is called Coromandel Peninsula and it is absolutely beautiful! We drove about 3 hours up and down the coast yesterday which, by coast I literally mean right on the edge of the water. Spray from the ocean was actually hitting our windshield at times. Today we hiked about 5 hours, almost getting to Pinnacles, which is pretty literal as the name suggests. It is one of the highest points in the area. There are many of these pinnacles and they are basically lava ... read more
A pinnacle!
The sun setting

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames August 13th 2007

First lesson learnt on this little trip would be don't cycle along roads listed as scenic. I presume the roads are very scenic when you are cruising along in a nicely insulated car at 100km, however this does not ring true when you have sweat dripping in your eyes causing semi blindness whilst struggling to maintain a speed of 20km/hr The second lesson learnt would be ......... don't whistle at big lurcher style dogs in backyards that you assume to be faraway, to alleviate boredom on vast never-ending country roads. Never mind the fact that you assume they are 100 upon 100 of metres away but also how fast can these things run ?! It turns out pretty bloomin fast . According to my speedometer (not necessarily the most accurate thing in the world) 32km and ... read more
hi hooooo silver
hot water beach
Captain Cooks memorial

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames March 21st 2007

I've known that in some places around the world, you're not suppose to speak with the bus driver. What I didn't know is that in New-Zealand, at least, the bus driver talks to you. Every bus driver I've traveled with intercity had used the bus speakers, and most seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. At the very least he, or she, would introduce himself, list the stops on the way, give the expected timetable and apologize for the delays. Also, they seem to be well aware of any connections the passengers might be making and made sure not to miss them. On top of that, most of the drivers, on the longer rides, also gave commentaries on our route. One explained about the history of the settlements in the area, or the type of crops ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames February 13th 2007

Our route took us to a town called Thames the main reason we went there is because we didn't wanna stay in Auckland again the drive tok about 5 hours with a quick pit stop for dinner at Mc-ie D's! I thought NZ was meant to be full of sheep ..? Well we think we have seen more cows since we have been here! Today Zelie took to the wheel and we have driven to a place called Manau beach which is meant to be one of best surf beaches in teh world with the longest left hand break. We are staying at a palce called solspace which has old railway cabins for us to sleep in! Its on teh top of the hill over looking the coast line and is very peaceful with such outstanding ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames February 10th 2007

We haven't wrote for awhile so be prepared to read a lot. When Keith and I arrived in Auckland we hopped on a shuttle bus downtown. From here it was fairly easy to find a place to stay. We wanted to stay at the luxery Basebackpackers, but there was nothing available, so we settled for Queen's Street Backpackers, which was fine. The next day, we decided to hop on a ferry to Rangitoto Island, where we did 1 out of 53 hikes in our "Tramping in New Zealand", Lonely Planet Guide. It took about 4-5 hours (10km). We thought this would be a good one to warm up our legs. We hiked to the summit of Rangitoto Volcano and then along the coast of the island where we saw some great views of Auckland. I have ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames January 12th 2007

mijn belevenissen off the beaten track.. Hey allemaal!! Na mijn tijd in paihia, the bay of islands...(wat erg mooi was! alleen paihia is een erg toeristiche party place)...ben ik met stray/de bus weer naar het zuiden gereist. De eerste stop zou auckland zijn, maar daar had ik nog geen zin in. Had wel genoeg van de stad, en er is overal zoveel te zien, dit hele land is prachtig! Ook zat ik te twijfelen over wat ik na auckland zou doen. Ik kon met de bus direct naar de coromendel, of nog naar een eiland, great barrier bv. Dus ik wilde eerst wat tijd om daarover na te denken! Ik ben dus de bus uitgestapt in orewa, een plaatsje aan zee, mooie natuur, en zon half uur vanaf de stad auckland. En dat was een goede ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames January 11th 2007

On the 11th we headed to Thames, which is the start of the Coromandel Peninsula. Thames is an old mining, and kauri-foresting town. Our main reason for staying in Thames was to do the Pinnacles Walk, which is an overnight hike up native forest to the top of the ranges. The Pinnacles are basically just big rocks on top of a mountain. The day we had booked to do the hike however was very rainy and windy, and we were informed that if we tried to climb the mountain we would be blown off! So we thought we might live longer if we didn’t do the hike!! So our big excitement for staying in the big town of Thames was a gold mining tour, cheese tasting, and buying a clock from the local market! Good times! ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames April 18th 2006

The rest of my trip was what you would call…chill 101, that was until the last day, but you will just have to wait for that one. We spent the next 3 nights with my friend Tom at his family farm. It was so nice! He lives about 25 min outside a pretty large town (for the North Island that is) along this crazy dirt road (that’s right another one) where you have to ford two river to get to, lucky for Heather it had been a very calm few days and the river wasn’t over the bridges yet. His house is made of nothing but windows (including a corner window with pillowed bench seats! I feel in love). All the windows over look the Coramandel Peninsula Valley. It was so green! But we soon figured ... read more
View from Tom's
The girls
Farm Hands

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel » Thames March 17th 2006

I was supposed to be going up to Auckland to see U2... who then canelled (well, hopefully postponed to November but that's another story!):0( As I had already paid for a flight from Auckland down to Christchurch to meet Helen for our weee South Island road trip (that'll be the next blog!!) and I couldn't change it, I thought I'd go up anyway and spend a few days visiting the Coromandel Penninsula... one of the places that I really wanted to see but hadn't had the chance yet. I was really glad that I did - they were having a mini heat wave so I spent 3 days sunbathing on the beach!! Much more fun that the rain and wind I'd left down in Welly! I hired a car from Auckland and drove to a place ... read more
Sunset at Thames
Diving the Coromandel coast...
Driving the Coromandel Coast




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