Coromandel Peninsula

01.03.2009

Weather had perked up today, the sun was back. After a lovely breakfast and chat with two other couples staying at the homestay, we climbed to the top of Mount Paku to get a better view of our location. This was an ideal spot having the sea and beaches one side and the calm waters of the inlet on the other. There is opportunity to surf, kayak, fish and sail, or just enjoy the scenery.

We ventured further on up the coast to Hahei, where there are a number of interesting things to see.

Cathedral Cove
This is a dramatic cathedral shaped cavern, accessible at low tide. It has been used for many films including Narnia.

Hot Water Beach.
Visitors can dig their own thermal spa in the sand between low and mid tides. Spades are available for hire, but our hosts lent us a spade and towels to try this out. We didn’t get round to digging our hole though, as we got to engrossed in our books and just sat on the sand enjoying the lovely weather and peace.

We made our way home, had a drink and chat with our hosts and then walked down to the local restaurant for another lovely meal. We sat outside, watching the sun go down over the inlet.

Next day we left Tairua and continued around the Coromandel Peninsula, still following the Pacific Coast Highway. This led us back across from the East coast to the West coast via a number of mountain passes, into Coromandel Town. This is a quiet fishing and crafts town and owes its name to the 1820 visit of HMS Coromandel which called to load tree trunks for the British Royal Navy. Gold mining featured prominently in the town’s formative years. This is evident in some of the fine Victorian and colonial architecture. It has a very laid back atmosphere and we enjoyed a relaxing evening sat on our balcony overlooking Coromandel Harbour. The tide was going out and slowly revealed rows and rows of oyster beds.