Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand
"Where life doesn't travel at 1000km an hour. . . "
If you've a hankering to escape to a place where life doesn't travel at 1000km/hr, allocate a day or two to the Coromandel Peninsula.
But don't expect swept up, touristy facilties. This is very much a place where Kiwis themselves go for their own summer holidays and everything therefore is uncomplicated and down-to-earth. If your taste runs to never leaving the air conditioned comfort of the local Hilton/Hyatt/Regent or whatever, best give rough-and-ready Coromandel a miss. Unless, maybe, you opt for plushy Puka Park Lodge.
Now, for those of you I haven't frightened off, let me let you into a real secret. the Coromandel Peninsula is a visitor's dream if you like just fossicking around without too much attention to clocks or calendars.
There are bays and beaches here where one wants for no more than the opportunity to sit and stare. "What world is this is full of care, we have no time to stop and stare . . . ". Wordsworth could have been talking about any one of dozens of bays along this coast.
Apart from just blobbing out, Coromandel is also good for two things in particular - gems and crafts.
Thames
Thames was stricken with gold fever in 1867. Word spread worldwide and in no time fortune seekers from Australia and the US poured in to make it the third biggest town in the country.
At the height of the gold boom in the town, when millions of dollars worth of the yellow metal was won, the rhythmic thumping of 693 stamper batteries crushing the gold-bearing quartz was a constant counterpoint to life. Visitors couldn't sleep for the noise of them, locals couldn't sleep without it.
The peninsular has the widest variety of gems in the country - and all squeezed into a relatively small space. Not only is it fun to fossick, but the surroundings are so beautiful as well.
Many of the beaches will turn up finds of jasper, agate, carnelian, petrified wood and chalcedony. In the rivers and streams you'll find jasper and agate. On the top of Tokotea Hill, the area is honeycombed with old mine shafts that easily give finds of rock amethyst and quartz crystals. But do be careful inside the mines. There are deep, hidden vertical shafts that are quite lethal.
Black Jack Hill over at Kuaotunu has clear quartz, chert, psuedomorphs and sinter. The riverbed at Hikuai will produce banded chert, onyx and plasma while opal has been found in small quantities near Tairua.
If the thought of fossicking for your own gemstones appeals, start with a visit to the Thames Information Centre in Queen St. They can give you details on where to hunt for the various types of minerals.
Take a look at the Thames Historical Museum. Apart from their display of minerals, both local and worldwide, there's a working model of a gold stamper battery. To see the real stamper in action, go to the northern end of the town for the Goldmine Experience where you'll be taken into the 100 year old Golden Crown Mine and you can see one of the original stamper battteries in good working condition. You can also try your hand at panning for gold (and having done it you'll decide for yourself that they are welcome to it as a career option).
The other must-see if you are into gold and valuable gems (who isn't??) is the Thames School of Mines. Opened in 1886 it provided practical instruction to miners working the quartz fields. It closed in 1954, but the museum that remained, built around the many exhibits from the school, is regarded as one of the most significant in Australasia.
Before you get to the Coromandel you might like to divert off to Ngatea to visit Wilderness Gems, 10 River Road. All the treasure the peninsular has to offer, polished, mounted and looking just great. If you are going direct from Auckland to Tauranga, you'll pass through Ngatea.
The Kaueranga Valley, south of Thames is home to the Coromandel Forest Park. Lots of little roadside picnic spots and forest walks. Get more information from the Forest Headquarters alongside the river.
On the Way There
On your road from Auckland to Thames (or v.v.) you could take the slower option around the Kaiaua-Miranda coastline. Biggest attraction (other than a swim in the hot pools at Miranda) is the Seabird Coast, home to thousands of seabirds. The shallow tidal waters are a favourite habitat of over 60 species of bird. In March, especially, migrant species mob up into the huge flocks that will make the long slog to the northern summer. If you thought it was a drag flying here on a scheduled airline, how would you like to make the journey by flapping your arms all the way?? Millions of these little guys do it as a return trip each year.
Start at the Miranda Shorebird Centre. To get a close-up of the birds, take up a possie (position) in a mai-mai (observation point) out on the fore-dune. The centre will tell you how and where. take your camera for some stunning shots.
Crafts
For some reason - probably the unspoiled remoteness - a
lot of craftspeople have settled on the peninsula. Thus
it is a great shopping area for high quality crafts at
direct-from-the-maker prices. Prices that will beat the
daylights out of the galleries and studios in the main
centres.
At Coromandel township in particular there is a strong local community of crafts workers where you can visit the work rooms and studios. Coromandel township is like a little bit of Victoriana frozen in time.
Driving Creek Railway and Potteries is 3km north of Coromandel township is not only a pottery and craft shop but, as the name suggests, your can ride a 1-hour trip on the country's only narow-guage mountain railway through Kauri forest. Runs daily at 10am and 2pm.
At Tapu, Ferry Landing, and Colville too, there are potters, weavers, jewellers and so on. Easiest way is to keep an eye out for signs.
Other
Attractions
The main attraction of the whole peninsula is its
combination of rugged mountains and rocky, indented
coastline. The fishing is excellent along the whole
length of the coast. Just on Christmas many of the
beaches explode into firey torrents of red-limned coast
as the Maori Christmas tree, the Pohutukawa, comes into
bloom. A photographer's dream.
Coromandel Stamper Battery. Run by Ashley Franklyn a trained geologist. This is not a replica, it's the dinkum thing - a giant machine, driven by the largest water-wheel in the country, that crushes quartz rock into a powder fine enough to have the gold chemically extracted from it. Well worth the visit. He'll also take you on a guided tour of the area's geology.
Waiau Waterworks. On the 309 Road, 4.7k from SH25. Delight in playing with interactive contraptions, mostly made from commonplace bits and pieces but all connected with water in one way or another. Try pumping water by bike power, listen to a water powered music box, or figure out how things like the giant water-powered clock works. Great for kids and adults alike. D 9-5. But from mid-Oct to mid-March they're open till dusk and you can trundle on in and have a barbecue in the grounds.
At Whitianga, in Mercury Bay, deep sea fishing is popular. Mercury Bay itself is an especially lovely place - a match probably for the Bay of Islands . . . one of the locals says they have 3 more islands than the Bay of Islands, but I've not counted 'em. They also say there are 43 beaches with sand in a choice of colours - pink, white, black and yellow.
One of the major attractions in the area is fishing. Every summer our family heads off to Hahei Camp Ground and a big item on the activity list is the "boys" out in the boat, fishing. The hunter-gatherers (we three brothers-in-law married to three sisters) go out to bring in the harvest of the sea. And what a harvest. Crayfish, snapper, scallops, mussels . . . all the makings of great summer meals
If you want to try it for yourself, go out with Waters Edge Charters on their 6.6m alloy catamaran, a purpose built craft for this situation. Maximum 6 people - but here's the real plus: no minimum. based in Whitianga, call the owner/operator Craig Donovan on 07-866-5760. They also do sightseeing tours along the coastline.
A few more water-borne attractions: .
The
Banana Boat.
Giant banana-shaped inflatable boat that skims across the water at up
to 40kph. Sightseeing trips along the coast, fast furious-action
thrill rides.
Cave
Cruzer. Take a cruise along the coast, including
Cathedral Cove. Go snorkeling, swimming, fishing.
Windborne Charters, Leave the Whitianga Wharf daily
in summer. Traditional sailing charters
Something a bit more adrenalin-pumping: Highzone Adventure Ropes Course. on the Whitianga end of the 309 Road High-wire challenge. Ropes strung up to 15m above the ground to test you physically and emotionally. Suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
A 40 minute stroll from Hahei along pink-tinged sand and over the bluff brings you to Cathedral Cave, a huge sea-formed cavern.
A little further along the coast, at Hotwater Beach, you can scoop a pool in the sand and lie back in an instant seaside spa pool. The hot water will just bubble up out of the sand. Best timing is mid-tide - the hot water is so hot you must mix it with seawater to make it batheable. Best if you use a shovel or spade and if you don't happen to carry such implements the local shop will hire them.
A number of the beaches along here have been developed as vacation resorts - Tairua, Pauanui, Onemana and Whangamata. Take any one of them to take time out from Planet Earth and all it's woes.
Get out of the car and get on a horse. There are a number of horse trekking operators along the peninsular which has the perfect geography for horse-back exploring. farm, forest and beach treks at Duck Creek Farm, Pauanui Beach Rd. Ph 07-864-7838. Rangihau Ranch caters not only for young first-time riders but also for those who want an overnight "campfire trek" into the Coromandel Ranges along part of the original packhorse trail to Thames. Rangihau Rd, Coroglen. Ph 07-866-3875.
If you are taking the inland road out of the peninsular - from Thames to Paeroa - then 12km south of Thames on SH 26 at Matatoki, is Matatoki Farm Cheese where you can see traditional cheese making methods for both cow and sheep milk cheeses. It's not far from the turn-off on to the Kopu-Hikuai road so even if you are cutting stright from Thames across to the eastern coast, it's only a quick canter down the road.
* The headline photos:
Cathedral Cove, bushwalking, typical Coromandel beach, Waiau Waterworks,
Driving Creek Railway and Pottery
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All you need to know about a visit to the place where God set the contrast and colour and man hasn'nt fiddled with the dials.
What, hopefully, you'll get out of this mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.
Background bumpf on the country.
Visas, customs, immigration, duty free shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.
Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or by sea.
"nuff said.
What to see, what to do, and why to go there.
Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing,
skiing - and more.
All you need to know about a visit to the place where God set the contrast and colour and man hasn'nt fiddled with the dials.
What, hopefully, you'll get out of this mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.
Background bumpf on the country.
Visas, customs, immigration, duty free shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.
Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or by sea.
"nuff said.
What to see, what to do, and why to go there.
Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing, skiing - and more.