Last 2 days in Coromandel (and Hot Water Beach)

25May

Fletcher Bay to Whitianga:

Today we woke up at beautiful Fletcher Bay and really didn't want to leave. This is at the northern tip of the Coromandel Penn with fantastic views of little islands and the Great Barrier Island in the distance, and steep green hills inland. The campground is surrounded by pasture and we had cows grazing around us all night. We saw the farmer zip by a couple times on a motorcycle and one of his dogs made friends with us - I'm sure the dogs get lots of handouts from campers in the summer! He was friendly, but VERY stinky - definitely living the dog's dream :)

We strolled on the bay again, and then started on the drive south back to Coromandel town. Fortunately the roads had dried out some, so we made better time - even though it's hard not to stop at every turnout to enjoy the spectacular views...

We stopped in the little town of Colville for lunch/brunch at the Colville Cafe. I had pancakes and bacon (the pancakes were almost crepe-like, very eggy) and Justin had a huge steak sandwich. Excellent :)

Then we headed for Driving Creek Railway and Pottery in Coromandel - a great place that encompasses the three passions of it's owner: a 3km long narrow-gauge railway, a pottery studio (with resident and visiting artists) and bush regeneration. If only I was a better potter, I would have applied to stay! The land is rich with terracotta clay and many of the potters dig their own, plus they have a variety of kilns - from standard electric ones to handbuilt brick kilns that are wood-fired... They had lots of great ceramic pieces decorating the place and plenty of tempting items for sale, but I resisted buying anything. We caught the next train-ride which was great fun. Over the past 20-30 years they have built 3km of track that zigzags up the mountain to a lookout tower at the top called the "Eyefull Tower". The train literally zig-zags up the mountain since it's so steep - there is an engine at both ends and the driver periodically stops, gets out, switches the track, and gets in at the other end. Plus several bridges and tunnels - lots of fun! The train goes through regenerating native NZ forest (bush) full of tree ferns and baby kauri and rimu. The ride takes about an hour and we really enjoyed it.

After that we headed out of town on the scenic 309 road that cuts through inland forests and has several points of interest including a waterfall and a few remaining old growth Kauri trees. The descent on the other side was scary though as the road was horribly muddy, narrow, and very curvy. We made it down though...

We spent the night at a holiday park south of Whitianga with a parrot collection – more on that later :)

26May

Whitianga to Thames:

Woke up at the holiday park and toured the Bird Park next door. A great collection of parrots plus many fancy game birds. I could have spent hours here talking to the birds :)

Then we drove through Whitianga to run some errands (groceries) – a very touristy town with a lot of new housing developments... we were unimpressed, and then off around the coast to explore some beaches. First stop the “Ferry Landing” - directly across the harbour from Whitanga with some great views and the ruins of a Maori Pa site – the site of a strategic fort that once guarded the harbour. Next stop the very beautiful walk to Cathedral Cove, with stops along the way at a couple other coves. Cathedral Cove is the highlight though, because at low tide you walk through an archway to get to the beach (see the pics). And the views are magnificent. Oh and this was where we encountered our first tour-bus load of twenty-something tourists. It was like a college-dorm reality show, with girls in heels hiking to the beach and hipster boys ogling them. We are SO GLAD we did not try to get around NZ on a tour bus...

And lastly we went to Hot Water Beach, which wasn't very hot! This is a beach with a hot thermal spring bubbling up in the sand and at low tide you can usually dig a hole in the sand and have your own hot tub. But today the low tide was not very low, and the ocean was rough due to a storm so to feel the hot spring you had to stand nearly waist deep in the COLD ocean, and only your toes would be warm. If you let your toes sink into the sand they would actually burn – so I'm sure it would have been nice and warm if the conditions had been better. Oh well :)

After that we drove back across the penninsula to spend the night at a holiday park in Thames.