Advertisement
Published: October 18th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Day 561 (10.10.08)
Our first full day in the Coromandel and we started it off with a drive along the coast northwards. Spotting a great little beach on the way we pulled in for a walk finding a rock FULL of cormerants and coated in oysters. Sadly we didn't have the penknife on us or a snack of oysters would have been great!
Further on up the coast we reached Coromandel Town. On our way through we couldn't resist a stop at the renowned local Smoking Shop and after tasting some of their local fair, opted for some smoked mussels and a whole smoked fish that neither of us can pronounce the name of.
Chatting to the ladies at the i-site we then took a little detour up Route 309. This took us up a hill and the start of a walk through to a Kauri Grove to view some of these huge native trees and see some tree ferns unfurling their new leaves. Nice if you have the time.
With a lack of space on the camera cards we then found a great little cafe north of Coromandel Town, the Driving Creek cafe, with the best
tea and cake and the slowest computer in the world. We whiled away the afternoon with our snacks, tea and books eventually managing to put some pics on a CD to send home.
Back on the road and we reached our bed for the night at Colville Farm. As we arrived we gladly helped the lady who owned the farm feed the orphaned lambs, Lucky the orphaned calf, the farm dogs and the chickens. We even were allowed to collect the eggs and keep them for our breakfast. Mmmmmmm!
Our home for the evening was a whole farm cottage which it seemed we would have to ourselves. We chopped some logs and after a superb dinner and lighting a fire in the lounge we relaxed for the evening in front of the TV and with our books before going to bed - or so we thought! Later that evening our peace was invaded by a young jovial group of germans and italians who proceeded to keep us awake until the early hours of the morning. Buggers!
Day 562 (11.10.08)
We wanted to walk some or all of the Coromandel coastal Walkway right at the northern tip
of the peninsula today so we set off early. We wound our way along the windy, precipitous gravel road to Fletcher bay at one end of the walkway enjoying the rugged coastal views along the way. The weather was a bit undecided as we set off from the car with some rain in the air and throughout the walk alternated between sunny, windy, rainy and cloudy. The walk took us across some rolling farmland and then the path continued along hugging the coast and going in and out of bush and up and down to a couple of bays. The views of the steep cliffs, clear green ocean and tiny bays were excellent and we decided to make our lunch spot and turning point at the lookout, a large rocky outcrop giving great views down the coast on either side.
Back at the car we retraced our route and were lucky enough to see a large pod of dolphins swimming alongside us. We stopped to watch them as the arced their way in and out of the waves and headed out to sea and then we headed away from the coast across the peninsula to Whitianga our stop for
the night. We stayed at the Cat's Pyjamas where Sue, the lovely host there, made us feel right at home and we chatted the night away.
Day 563 (12.10.08)
We had today to explore the east coastline of the Peninsula and had a time table to stick to to reach places at low tide. Our first pit stop was Cathedral Cove. After a brisk 30 min walk we came down into a stunning bay complete with its own arch on the beach through which you walk to get to the rock for which the cove is named - which, unsurprisingly, stands from the water like a Cathedral's spire (or with weathering like the sail on a ship - you make up your mind). Back to the car and feeling like we'd done our days exercise already, we had to push on to catch Hot Water Beach whilst the tide was still low. Hot water beach is quite unique that it has a geothermal spring that emerges on the beach and at low tide you get locals and holiday makers digging holes in the sand which fill up with this naturally heated water. Voila - you own natural spa!
We arrived just after low tide and were lucky enough that someone had already done the hard work of digging out our spa, we just lay back and enjoyed it! You do however have to be careful, as some of the water coming out is VERY hot - choose your spot carefully!
Having reached our low tide sites we now had time in the afternoon to relax and took full advantage of this by finding a deserted beach in Opoutere. There is apparently a lot of seafood you can get from this area at low tide - however we were satisfied with a good book on a great beach. Feeling utterly relaxed we drove over the peninsula once more to Thames.
Our rental car had been playing up over the last few days, so after a quick phone call through to the Auckland office we arranged a replacement - the beauty of renting a car!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.102s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 13; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0455s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Meryl
non-member comment
Hot water
This place looks great. You'd need it today - we have had two days of winter rains and temperatures to match!! Coldest day for 40 odd years in October. Keep having a great time. I am trying to keep up with you!