Blogs from Coromandel, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 5

Après une bonne nuit de sommeil, direction Whitianga à 5h au sud-est d'Auckland avec une bonne partie d'autoroute. A ce propos des portiques scannent la plaque d'immatriculation, le péage peut alors se faire par Internet ; là encore la lutte acharnée pour rechercher des free hotspots est de mise. A 50km de notre destination, la nuit tombant et épuisés par la trop douce voire inexistante suspension du Mighty monster, nous sommes partis à la recherche d'un lieu pour dormir. Le hasard nous amena en bordure d'océan. Seuls, isolés, avec le chant perpétuel des vagues du Pacifique, l'endroit était idéal. Vers 7h, réveillés par la lumière transperçant les rideaux de notre "chambre", nos yeux se sont écarquillés sur une plage magnifique illuminée par un soleil resplendissant. Une trempette d'orteils s' imposait ! Soudain, stupeur ! Un officier ... read more

26-27 fév On prend la route cette fois pour rejoindre Whitianga, sur la côte est de la péninsule de Coromandel. L'odorante Rotorua est derrière nous maintenant. On s'arrête pour luncher à Waihi beach, assis sur un tronc d'arbre mort face à l'océan. Aux alentours reposent 9 kilomètres de plage complètement vidés de touristes. C'est le calme plat sous le brûlant soleil de midi. On en profite pour se trainer les pieds dans les vagues qui s'étendent de tout leur long sur le sable... ...avant de repartir pour Whitianga encore plus au nord sur la péninsule. On s'y installe dans une petite cabane aux allures de chalet, à deux enjambées de la mer, là où un paternel montre à son fils le plaisir de surfer. … Ce n'est que le lendemain qu'on rejoint finalement Coromandel town, dernier ... read more

The bubble has burst…..along with the big water main in the sky. Cape Reinga, at the northern tip of North Island, is a sacred Maori site where the spirits of the dead are meant to leave this world on their journey home to the spirit world..possibly Glenmorangie or Glencadam, who can be sure? Anyway we must have done something to upset them as it hasn't stopped raining since we returned from there 2 days ago & meant to continue for a few days yet! Like Scottish rain, it is persistant and nearly horizontal with the strong easterly winds, which is also unusual as normal is westerly here. On the bright side...the waterproofs work and vindicate the decision to pack them. We were beginning to think they were an unnecessary excess. The kiwis are well chuffed as ... read more

Coromandel was to be our final stop in New Zealand before we returned to Auckland, where we would be flying to the Cook Islands. We left Rotorua at around 10am, and had a drive of around 3 hours or so to reach Coromandel. Once we reached the Coromandel Peninsula, the route took us right along the coast, literally hugging the shore as we went. Unfortunately, the weather took a sudden change for the worse just as we were within half an hour of our destination (it was lovely and sunny most of the way there!) and before we knew it, we were driving through torrential rain! The storm had whipped up the sea a little and a big wave even splashed over the front of the car, which was a little scary but we were not ... read more

This week, we've started to experience slightly more 'New Zealand-y' weather - we've had a couple of mornings spent hiding inside, waiting for the rain to let up so that we can go out exploring...I (Hazel) can confirm that my new cagoul works just fine though!! On Wednesday morning, after a one-night stop-over in Auckland, we hopped back onto the Magic bus at 7am and arrived at Thames, at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, around 9:30am. We had booked a connection bus with Go-Kiwi that afternoon and a nights accomodation to give us a day and a half in Thames, after over-estimating the excitment of the town. After three hours we realised our mistake and re-arranged our plans to spend an extra day on the Coromandel! The driver of the Go-Kiwi shuttle was really helpful ... read more