Blogs from Coromandel, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 39

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

If Auckland appears to have hit the 21st century running, you don't need to travel too far to discover that the 1980's are still alive and kicking elsewhere.....indeed this might be generous as the music in the Goldfields Shopping Centre in Thames was distinctly 1974. Thames as you would guess from the above is a former gold mining centre that has found modern day solace in being the regional town for the Coromandel Peninisula and having the longest straightest shopping street in NZ. The drive to Coromandel Town was a very scenic wind up the coast - a delightful little town that has found it's niche after gold in cappucinos and art galleries and boasts a truly fine fish and chip shop (that knows what scraps are!!). The backpackers at the Lions Den also takes some ... read more

From Auckland I decided to try out my new car and drive to the Coromandel. The Coromandel is a peninsula situated a couple of hours drive from Auckland and is famed for its rugged scenery and seclusion. This was not always the case. Gold was discovered here in 1867 which led to an influx of prospectors. Nowadays the prospectors are long gone, as too the loggers that followed them. Now far fewer people live in the small, scattered towns that litter the cape and many of these call themselves “alternative life-stylers”. Hippies to you and me. * In the first hostel I stayed at I got talking to an Aussie girl who was hitching around the North Island. When I told her of my new vehicle she offered to be my car-mate for a bit of ... read more

We started off our week on Monday by heading out to the Coramandel Peninsula, just east of Auckland. Our first night was spent camping at the trailhead to the Pinnacles, a very cold night, where we seemed to be the only people in the entire park camping. The trail to the Pinnacles the next day was an 8 hour hike, which despite camping at the trailhead, we got a late start and made it back right at sunset. The trail was awesome with scary suspended footbridges, many beautiful rock staircases, and steller views. The next day, Wednesday, we went to the Waiau Waterworks, a quirky little tourist trap with all of their main attractions powered by water. The best part about this place was the children’s area though, with rides such as flying bicycles, a hamster ... read more

The minute the heavy machinery arrived on site the rain started. They are having to dig so deep for the storm water to get the fall which makes the sides very unstable and they fall in and the hole gets bigger. We are having to cut the big hedge down at the side which will leave things a bit open, but we will be planting the biggest trees we can. It is hard to imagine that the mess will all be gone by summer. It had better be. Wyn and Shirley Fountain had their diamond wedding anniversary and we all dressed up in 1940's gear. It was very successful. Lyn now has a hankering for a silver fox fur! The management meeting went very well after they decided J's cold wasn't infectious.... read more