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

Tuesday we left Wellington and followed the coast road which was much busier than we have been used to with Wellington commuter traffic. After a few miles we branched off inland at Levin and found ourselves passing through a fertile valley which was full of fruit and vegetable growing areas. The landscape became more English looking than before with trees scattered about instead of in large forests. We then saw lots of electricity generating windmills on the top of the ridges all busily rotating in the prevailing winds. New Zealand is largely self sufficient at generating its own power from renewable energies.....wish we were!!! We then wound our way through a very narrow gorge to get to the east side of the central mountains and emerged into a flatter greener plain. This was appeared to be ... read more

Monday January 6th, 2014. The Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand The Coromandel is a favourite holiday spot for New Zealanders as it is within 1 and a half hours of the major centres of Auckland and Hamilton. It is a largely untouched paradise. On the western shore Pohutukawa trees grow along the shoreline and on the eastern shores there are sparkling white sand beaches. The middle of the peninsula is covered with rainforest - so it has everything. We drove out of Coromandel Town and went to look at some of the beaches serving the town. They were very pretty - all the more so because it was a gorgeous day. We then drove back into the town and headed north towards Colville. The area further north of Coromanel Town is an unspoiled paraise - ... read more

The drive from Auckland to Coromandel was excellent. We stopped at Miranda the “seabird” coast. We had a walk to the bird hides on the coast but our timing was wrong and we failed to see the hundreds of migratory birds that settle for a while on this coastline. We needed to be present just after high tide. However we did manage to see a heron and some waders and the scenery was beautiful. We then enjoyed travelling along the coastal route via Thames to Coromandel. From Coromandel we had a good day touring visiting Matangi and Whitianga plus a drive along the Colville Road to Oamaru Bay and Opouri Point. To end the day we stopped for a drink at the Star and Garter Pub in Coromandel and read about the history of the hotel/pub ... read more

Hello everybody, Today we have been in NZ 3 weeks. Yesterday we made our way down the west coast of the Coromandel Peninsula from the beach house in Matarangi to the Bedfords home in Tauranga. We will leave tomorrow for Gisbourn on the east coast (Pacific) about 200 mi. The pictures you see is of a large gold mining operation done in he early 1900's mining gold from quartz. been closed for many years. Horses pulled ore cars around those tracks. 8 images Lowell... read more

Woke up slightly sunburnt from our trip to waiheke island, and I finally needed to pull some money out of a Westpac bank (no service fees, which is important given I'm a cheapskate). We easily made our way out of Auckland due to my superior skills as a navigator (though Alison was a pretty solid driver). We stopped to get some supplies and steal McDonald's wifi for the 5th time of this trip. A very helpful local hooked us up with a map and sent us on our way to Coromandel town in the Coromandel Peninsula. Then. All hell broke loose. If you've ever driven through the Rockies on a road trip to BC, you may have some idea of how windy roads can get. Especially in winter, driving to Fairmont can be quite a challenge. ... read more