Blogs from Whitianga, Coromandel, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 6

Arrived here in Whitianga (on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula; Coromandel "town" is on the west coast) yesterday after yet another highly scenic bus ride through the mountains of the Coromandel peninsula, be it through thick cloud and drizzle - it's still gorgeous. In Whitianga I received a very warm welcome at the "Cat's Pyjamas" Backpackers hostel, infintely friendlier than the impersonal lodge at coromandel - although that did have an outdoor spa. You can never have it all by the look of it. The Cat"s name by the way is Mr. Darcy!!! Whitianga itself has a beautiful golden beach, a pretty marina, palm trees and a very mild and humid climate. There's also plenty of wind - great for the surfers, but what about the rest of us??? After having a quick look ... read more

Hello, i am back! After a few days on the road without much internet access, we are back in a "big" town and i hope to catch you all up on the events of the last few days. After a nice stay with Bob and Pam in Auckland on the night of the 1st, the Kiwiexperience continued with an early morning pickup to travel to teh Coromandel Peninsula and Mercury Bay. After a quick tour of Auckland and the views of Mt Eden, we checked in with the Kiwi Tour office, to get everyone's schedule sorted out, and then it was off to the East Coast. We had our first stop in Thames. A little town that used to thrive on the gold mining industry about a century ago. Today, there is not much to do, ... read more

Sunday 3rd December We left our campsite and drove back down the road into Thames itself. The town apparently has the longest main street in New Zealand but we didn't bother stopping and browsing the shops as they were all closed due to it being a Sunday. Instead, we drove inland to a place called Kauaeranga as we were hoping to have a walk around an area called "The Pinnicles". We didn't find out what they were though as after 10km on a gravel road we decided to stop at another walk and make do with that one. The walk followed a stream uphill, providing many crossing points which we had to navigate to make sure we didn't get wet feet. We managed to get all the way to the top where there is an old, ... read more

Just two nights at a reet tidy hostel in Whitianga (say Fit-ianga) in the North West of the North Island. The town was fairly quiet but it is not yet their high season. You can tell this due to the rain and cold! But the sun does pop out every so often. Stopped off on route to a place called cathedral cove which was really really nice. Check out the photo!!... read more

Well my time in New Zealand is coming to an end but not before I experienced a few more once in a lifetime activities with my dolphin swimming trip and a skydive! The dolphin trip was remarkable. The weather held out and although I was seasick on the boat we were able to enter the water four times to swim with the dolphins as the pod passed through the area the baot was floating in. The dusky dolphins are completely wild and the pod we came across numbered about 200-300 dolphins. Divers were providied with snorkels and masks and we just jumped right in with the dolphins! They were quite inquisitive and responded well if you tried to make noises through your snorkel at them or sing to them. If you swim in a circle then ... read more