Blogs from Coromandel, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 29

The last time Kaye & I went away we had the help of a bottle of Jamieson's for our inspiration and it worked a treat. Alas, this time there was no Jamieson's (very remiss), but we still had a lovely time, depsite the shoddy weather & my possibly fractured foot. Kaye met me in Tauranga & we drove up to Whitianga, where we haggled with & then stayed at Thelma's. Great motel with a fabulous beach front view, we discovered as we were about to leave. Previously it had been hard to distinguish what we were looking at through the clouds, fog, mist, rain, and the spray that was being blown about by a howling gale. We spent the first day pottering about having coffee, lunch, browsing around the (few) shops of Coromandel town and driving ... read more

Rotorua- not the place you´d live if you´ve a very sensitive olfactory system cause the stench of rotton eggs is a bit overbearing at times. Nonetheless we did enjoy our short stay there. We arrived that afternoon & had planned to go white- water rafting with a fella we had met again from Tasmania. Small world. There were only 3 of us on the raft plus the 2 instructors. A short trip yes but it was great craic & I never laughed as much; especially when I was saw the 7m drop that lay ahead.....but that was more of a hysterical laugh.....& watching the video back later it was mad seeing the raft plunge vertically into the water & completely disappear for a few seconds. Thankfully we all managed to cling on for dear life.....an earlier ... read more

Saturday 23rd Woke up to a dry but overcast day, so this looks promising, but as we drive off with our driver 'Purple', it starts to rain and it just gets heavier and heavier. We whizz through the mural town and the much hyped photo stop with the large Lemon and Peroa bottle - I shoud have asked him to stop - just got that blurred image out the window. We get to Thames a bit late, just time to swap onto the other bus, smaller - with our driver Luke. We head into the windy Coromandal hills, see plenty of swollen rivers and things bending in the (we later hear 40 knot) winds. We draw up to a couple of beaches, but miss out on 'Hot Water Beach' - where you can dig your own ... read more

Day 2-Coromandel Adventures (Sat. 2/16) We headed south of Auckland on #1 and then east to the Coromandel Peninsula with no idea of what we might find. What we found was a 100 miles of some of the most beautiful landscapes we have ever seen. The Coromandel Peninsula is not really pushed in the travel propaganda. I think the Kiwis just decided to keep it to themselves. The drive from Thames to Coromandel up the west coast was just stunningly beautiful. Near Coromandel we ran into a bike rally and the hills were almost straight up. The bikes were having a hard time making it up the hills and our little rice burner barely made it. They were also having a motorcycle rally in Coromandel. There must have been 500 motorbikes in town. Evidently the narrow ... read more

After watching the english Cricket team do us proud we left Auckland and headed for the Coromandel Peninsula. We were advised to stay in Hahei, a small town on the east coast. We went straight to its beaches when we arrived and enjoyed an afternoon on its white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. The following morning we left and headed towards Cathedral Cove and the marine reserve surrounding the area, which was stunning. After lunch we went south towards Hot Water beach, famous for its natural hot springs where people can dig themselves a hole and stew in hot water that rises up through the sand! We didn't spend much time here despite the beautiful scenery and headed further south off the Peninsula towards Hamilton. ... read more