Coromandel Peninsula

We hadn’t really planned anything for today, all that we knew was that we wanted to end the day somewhere near Rotorua, and had mapped out Tauranga as a likely spot.

Having chatted to the owner of the Bavaria Lodge where we stayed last night though, we decided to head down to Thames, and then cruise around the Coromandel peninsula, as apparently ‘it’s quite nice’

This place was stunning! We drove from Auckland to Thames, and it was nice enough, the town itself was really quaint, with loads of those shops that have cool frontages in, just like from the wild west, so we stopped and had a coffee, then drove on up route 25 along the Thames Coast Road.

Seriously good fun, and stunning scenery! When they mark corners as ‘25 kph’ they really mean it, those things were hairpin! Brilliant fun! If only I was on my bike, as that would have been both amazingly scary, and utterly brilliant.

So we thought that was nice driving along the coast, and then the land started to rise a bit. I say a bit…

Like those magnificent men, we went up-diddly-up-up, then came down-diddly-down-down, ‘cept the down bits were, like, really scary! Harpin bends, on a fast down (slalom!) with cyclists in the opposing lane and people trying to overtake them on corners! Eeek!

We got to Coromandel around lunch time, so stopped for a wander around the town (possum wool clothing anyone?) before heading on towards the eastern side of the peninsula at Kuaotunu, then down the Pacific Highway (still route 25) to dabble our dainty white feet in the Pacific in Mercury Bay

Could I be any more English? Perhaps a knotted hanky?!

The Coromandel forest has been massively replanted with loads of trees (duh) and loads of tree ferns, such a pre-historic landscape, very cool.

We then hot-footed it (or rather cool footed it now) over towards the ‘Hot Water Beach’ where a geo-thermal river rises to the surface of a beach, and apparently makes for great bathing. But only at low tide. Guess when we got there. Still, nice beach (and bad drivers!)

  Suz balancing an island on her head.

Tomorrow we’re off to the geothermal mud pools at Rotorua, so we’re preparing for that lovely stench of sulphur. Mmmmmm :)