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New Zealand > Waikato
> Coromandel Peninsula
By Jessica Lloyd
 Just a two hour drive or
a 25 minute scenic flight from Auckland, The Coromandel
Peninsula is an idyllic attraction
for tourists and locals alike. With
sparkling azure blue waters, white
sandy beaches, secluded bays and the
coastal roads lined with magnificent
trees, it is an explorer's paradise.
The character of the Coromandel is formed by protected forests, marine parks
and many other natural features which are easily accessed to give you a
sense of discovery in this unparalleled environment.
A chilled-out hot spot in New Zealand
The Coromandel Peninsula is one of the most
beautiful areas of New Zealand. Despite the logging
that goes on, leaving behind the naked earth and
ugliness, this place is definitely special. When you
arrive to the Coromandel, you are greeted by Kopu, a
tiny little settlement which offers you two choices:
go over the Kopu-Hikuai Road to the East Coast
beaches, or head up the inside of the Hauraki Gulf
to Coromandel Township.
Up the Inside Lane
To get up to Coromandel Township, you have to go
through Thames, a small, historical gold mining town
which was once more populous than Auckland. The road
is winding, so if you get carsick, take your tabs!
Small seaside villages dot this side of the coast,
with places like Te Puru, Tapu, Waikawau and Kereta
offering gas, and maybe some hot pies and cold milk
if you are really lucky.
Up the Outside Lane
The East Coast, accessible via the Kopu-Hikuai Road,
is under an hour from the turn-off at Kopu. On a
sunny weekend day, it could take quite a while to
get across the hill because every Tom, Dick and
Harry decides to go camping or surfing and traffic
can bank up considerably. The road is well kept, but
winding, and normally reasonably busy.
Things to do on the Peninsula
Outdoor sport and recreation is the order of the
day, with fishing, swimming, diving, snorkelling,
water skiing, and tramping at your disposal. Water
sports are big here, because of the many great
beaches, and easy accessibility to the coasts. Some
beaches can be a bit dangerous with rips and fast
currents, and watch your back if you are surf
casting off rocks. Overall, very few outdoor
accidents occur here, though not through lack of
trying. This statement does not include car
accidents.
Camping
Everyone has camping grounds, though facilities vary
considerably from no showers and long drops, to full
hot showers, kitchens, and those ever-elusive and
luxurious flushers.
The People
In summer, tourists bombard the 39,000 permanent
residents. The population of the Coromandel increases dramatically over
summer making it one of the most popular areas visited by tourists in New
Zealand.
The residents of the Coromandel are renowned for
tie-dye, organics,
arts and crafts, pot smoking, simplistic and natural lifestyles
with the rich moving to buy up and develop some areas.
Potters and artists would make up one of the main
professions in the district, creating a very arty
and creative personal space. Things can get a little
wild up here, with ordinary social norms like
shaving and new clothes being ignored for the most
part.
Food and Drink
Seafood: mussels, oysters, kina, paua and fish rule.
Organic beef also roam around the fields, with their
healthy and cute clucking companions who provide
excellent free-range eggs. Some of the most pure
food is grown in this largely non-poisoned and
unspoilt area of New Zealand. Most restaurants will
serve seafood, but freshly caught fish and shellfish
may not be sold in every town.
Coromandel has a couple of very good seafood shops,
such as the Coromandel Smoking Company, who smokes
almost every sea creature that can be smoked. On the
way into town from Thames, there is also a big shop
on the right hand side where you can get sacks of
mussels and oysters.
Coromandel also has its own brand of beer,
Coromandel Ale, which isn’t the tastiest brew in the
country, but as far as localities go, best to try
one anyway! Most settlements have at least a pub and
a fish and chip shop, but watch out because
sometimes they tend to close early, especially if
the summer season is over.
Night Life
Thinking bars, clubs and cocktails? Think again.
There are pubs, and bottle shops. You make your own
parties here, unless you happen to be in a main
centre like Whitianga,
Coromandel Township, Whangamata or
Tairua, in which case there might be a
couple of pubs, and there are definitely some
excellent restaurants. The Coroglen Tavern is a
great spot which sometimes has New Zealand bands
playing (think Salmonella Dub, Finn Brothers), and
attracts people from all over the Coromandel. It is
a pub in the middle of nowhere but has good
facilities, and is very popular amongst locals.
Attractions
The whole of the Coromandel is an amazing and
beautiful place. It’s fairly rugged and untouched,
except for the logged hills and farmed land, but
hey, you get that everywhere! The popular places to
hit are Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Beach, and
Coromandel Town. Cathedral Cove has interesting rock
formations, and Hot Water Beach has underground
thermals so you can dig a hole in the sand when the
tide is right, and burn yourself in it (not really,
but at 75°C it’s always possible!).
Coromandel Town has all sorts of interesting arts
and crafts and the very popular Driving Creek
Railway. The railway is privately owned by old mate
Barry Brickell, a potter, and goes up into the bush
to the Eye Full Tower where you can see out over the
small islands just off the mainland.
The main attraction of the Peninsula is the beaches
and relaxed atmosphere for getting away from ‘real
life’. Bays are mostly on the protected Hauraki Gulf
coast (the inside lane), and big white sand surf
beaches are on the East Coast (the outside lane).
The best surfing beaches are Tairua, Sailors Grave,
Pauanui and Whangamata.
Roads and Cars and Bikes
If you are not driving yourself, other modes of
transport are buses and erhm… buses. Unless you have
your own boat, hitchhiking is also another
reasonable option, and you will no doubt get a ride
as long as you don’t look like you just escaped from
Paremoremo.
You could also ride your bike, many people do, as
long as you don’t mind going up hills. People are
respectful of bicycles because they are used to
tourists with their homes on their back wheels,
pedalling their little hearts out along the
crazy-edged cliff faces we call roads.
Road users co-exist without too much hassle on the
Coromandel. Locals are the ones to look out for
because they know the roads every crack, gravel pit
and crevice, allowing them to go as fast as their
little car will take them.
Events:
Pohutukawa Festival
November-December 2006
"Celebrate Your Coastline"
The Pohutukawa Festival is the Coromandel Peninsula's official Launch into
Summer. Coinciding with the flowering of New Zealand's favourite native tree,
the festival is a celebration of the regions talented businesses and people.
This years festival includes a range of great Environmental, Cuisine, Sporting,
and Cultural events and a fair bit of partying too!
Additions to this years festival calendar include Kiwi listening encounters, A
jazz lunch at Mercure Grand Puka Park lodge, a scuba diving festival, an
outdoors expo, a Great Debate and more!
Register for festival updates or email to get involved in the festival.
The "Moehau Man"
Coromandel's Multisport Challenge
January 2007
The team that brought you the ARC 24/12 hour adventure race bring you the 3rd
annual " Moehau Man".
122 km of breath taking beauty including 31 km of sea kayaking, 67 km of
mountain biking and
24 km of Coastal running.
This is one of the toughest and most scenic Multisport races in the World. Named
after the highest point of the Coromandel Peninsula, the Moehau, which rises
steeply up to almost 3,000 feet.
History
The
Coromandel Peninsula's place in
history is reflected in a rich
cultural and pioneering heritage that
helped shape New Zealand.
Centuries-old Maori Village sites dot
the coast and wonderful remnants of
our past are waiting to be explored.
The
discovery of gold at Coromandel
township in 1852 ushered in New
Zealand's very first gold rush and
evidence of this can be found nearly
everywhere you look but particularly
in the charming colonial architecture
and historic buildings. Past
industries included boat building,
kauri milling, flax milling, gold
mining, and gum digging. For many
years Whitianga was the leading timber port with
sailing ships visiting from Norway, Sweden, France, Italy and Great Britain.
Other
The possibilities of the Coromandel are virtually endless, and all set
against a magnificent backdrop. The visitors to the area will remember their
unique experience for the rest of their lives. There are opportunities for
sport fishing, diving, surfing kayaking, tramping, golfing, gold mining, or
horse riding. Or take a guided rain-forest walk or a short coastal wander,
bird watch, or gaze in awe at a gigantic 1000 year old kauri tree.
Coromandel
Accommodation
Hotels -
Motels
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