Blogs from Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 6

Me again, you cannot beat free internet access in McDonalds. We headed towards Waihi Beach via Paeroa (mining place), stopped in Te Aroha which is very strange little town. It reminded me of cowboy films. They have got Got to the beach at about 6pm. It was too windy and too cold for me to go and try the water however the beach was full of locals, surfing, fishing, playing rugby, cycling and strolling on the beach. We managed to photograph an amazing sunset. I "survived" the first night in the campervan which was surprisingly very comfortable! It might be quite hard for some people to adjust to this way of life. We headed towards Mauao which is photographed everywhere in brochures and calendars. It was raining pretty much the whole day but guess what...we went ... read more

Pauanui isn't far from Tairua by boat, but we decided to take the long way round by car. We checked out the massive baches (ie holiday houses) on the waterways, did some shopping and grabbed lunch before heading back to Tairua. With the tide coming in, it was the perfect time to do some kayaking before having another chilled out evening at our backpacker's, including dinner in the "treehouse". Later on, Dean went pipi hunting... I'm still not convinced these pipis actually exist!... read more

20thNovember 2011 We saved the best until last! A beautiful sunny morning and by 10.00 we were at Whakarewarewa Thermal Village (thats the short name!!) The long name is Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao which means – All the people that live in this village are direct descendents of Chief Wahiao! Took the guided tour of the village where it was explained that this was still a village where Maori people live and they do their cooking in the hot pools, bathe in the hot water, and the culture of the Maori people. We then had a half hour show of dancing, singing and the hakka before we were then allowed to wander freely in the village, exploring the streets and the churches with its graveyard of the chiefs and guides. We did the hours nature walk which gave you ... read more

The kids were dragging a bit this morning. Unless the car rides count, we really hadn't given them much down time. But this was our last day on the Coromandel Peninsula and we hadn't headed up north beyond Whitianga. So we finally rallied the troops by around 9:30 and started driving north with no destination in particular. It seemed a few degrees colder in the morning than it had been the past few days, so we dressed slightly warmer. We still packed rain gear, swim suits and even some extra clothes. We had a vague plan to hopefully make it to New Chums Beach, a beach described in one travel books as "one of the top 10 beaches in the world". We couldn't get an exact description as to how to get there. We knew it ... read more

Tapu Creek campsite. While cooking my breakfast I met Pam, the mother of the owner. She gave good advice about work. Recommends getting down to Christchurch. Drove to Coromandel. Lots of beautiful beaches en-route. More beach-combing, great hobby. Evening before arrived in Coromandel Town. Big pub-grub burger and a pint. First pint in a while since driving about. Campsite pretty good.... read more