Blogs from Coromandel, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 37

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

Having fuelled up on a "full works breakfast" at Rotorua's Fat Dog Cafe (can't find an accent aigu on this keyboard!) I went in search of my bus - it turns out schedules are handled in a very relaxed manner in this country and the bus left about half an hour too late, the driver casually checking in travellers as if there was all the time in the world. Knowing I only had 10 mins to catch my connecting bus in Tauranga I got pannicky. How was I to know he'd wait for me? Anyway - all went well and after 5 hours, 3 buses and a windy scenic drive through rain and shine on the Coromandel peninsula (enhanced by the lively commentary of the driver, obviously very keen to pass on his knowledge) I arrived ... 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

On recupere la tente du pote a James et on se dirige vers la peninsule de Coromandel. Endroit absolument magnifique avec foret presque tropicale et cote sauvage. On s'arrete dans un petit camping sympa. Ici les campings sont super classes. Il y a en general toujours une cuisine, plus ou moins ammenagee, une salle tele, un coin barabecue.. bref l'ideal pour des gens comme nous qui n'avont pas beaucoup de materiel. Les principaux endroits touristiques du coin sont Cathedrale Cove, une plage magnifique et Hot Water Beach, ou se situe une source d'eau chaude qui fait qu'a marree basse on peut se creuser sa propre piscine thermale. Le spectacle est assez drole. Tout le monde s'est achete sa pelle et fini le cul dans 30 centimetres d'eau juste chaude! Prochaine etape, Rotorua. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------... read more

On the 17th we left Colville and headed to Whitianga, which is a favorite holiday spot for Kiwis. Once arriving we relaxed at our hostel the Cats Pyjamas. The next day we headed out to Cathedral Cove. After a 45 min drive to the parking lot it was a 35 min walk to Cathedral Cove. Along the way we stopped at Gem Bay in hopes to do some snorkeling but the water was to rough and murky to see anything. And the fact that we got covered in fish eggs was not a major selling point either. So we continued onto Cathedral Cove, and once there we set up shop to do some sun tanning. But it was more like sun burning, after not seeing sun for 5 yrs skin tends to burn to a nice ... read more