Coromandel, New Zealand
Călin / Nov 22 - Nov 25, 2023
November is our “family” month – we celebrate our anniversary, our first born, our first house, among a slew of other good things. So it is sort of a tradition for Anca and I to go somewhere together and spend some quality time. I almost missed it this year, with all the traveling and the hiking plans. However, after the Routeburn track (post to come, but in the meantime, you can read Rob’s post), I pulled out of the Rees-Dart, and we took off to Coromandel.
Being it a relatively impromptu trip, we took a morning to find out more about what to do, make some reservations, pack and set for the road. We ended up leaving late in the afternoon, around the time schools were leaving the students out, so it took us about 1.5h to get out of town. In the end, this was actually lucky, we managed to see a spectacular sunset from multiple spots on the road. But I digress …
One of the coveted touristic attractions is the “historic” city of Thames. A former gold mining town, looks much like any small town in the Western US – a main street with houses in the 1800s style and shops selling a variety of souvenirs. We did not dig into the mining history, we just made a quick stop at the beach.
In February Cyclone Gabrielle followed in the footsteps of Tropical storm Hale and drenched the Coromandel. It washed out one of the main “commuting” arteries connecting Thames and Whitianga. Most other roads suffered, with the effect that there were quite a few single lane passages across much of the peninsula. Our drive followed the coast up the Northern side of the peninsula, with some spectacular views.
We stopped for dinner in Coromandel Town – a tiny town with several very good restaurants. We ate at UMU and finished just in time to catch the beginning of the sunset.
Our booking for the night, Angler’s Lodge was still higher up, about 13km North the coast, passing through Omaru Bay.
Angler’s lodge is a peaceful retreat, across the road from the beach, next to a stream, with cows grazing next door. No cellular network, except sitting under the road sign, and supposedly internet access, except that our room did not get enough of the wireless signal to be usable. Total disconnect!
The quiet and views to Amodeo Bay make up for everything else.
The next day, after breakfast, we set out to hike the Coromandel Coastal Walkway. The road cuts through pure New Zealand landscapes – green hills, cows, and sheep.
The asphalt gives way to gravel and one-way lanes to reach to Port Charles and the Stony Bay beyond. The walkway was also affected by terrain slips and while we couldn’t go all the way across, we did enjoy another set of spectacular views on a beautiful sunny day.
We returned to our peaceful retreat for another nice, even if not as spectacular sunset.
The following day, the weather started cloudy with some drops of rain. We explored a nature walk at Long Bay and Tucks Bay, where we visited an old kauri grove.
The tree is gigantic, 3-4 m diameter, I should have had a human in the photo for scale.
And with that, we jumped over the other coast toward Whitianga. Not too fast though, because you have to stop to take in the scenery.
On the way to Whitianga, we stopped in Matarangi, for one of the most beautiful beaches that I’ve seen, and a hike up the Matarangi Bluff. After a nap on the beach, we were ready for some exercise and more views!
Finally, we made our way to Whitianga for the last night on the peninsula.
The next day, we took a walk through town. It was the quiet before the Christmas rush. Whitianga is essentially a vacation town, with most dwellings being Aucklander’s batches (vacation homes). During the summer break, between Christmas and New Year the town is a circus. At this time though, we shared the beach with oystercatchers.
Before heading home, we visited Hahei, famous for the its Cathedral Cove (the walk was closed due to storms damage) and Hot Water beach.
And that’s us toward the end of the trip.
