Coromandel Trip

We left Gibson Place, shopped, dumped and headed thru Tauranga north and out to the coast to Omokoroa Beach.

We parked in the domain and had lunch in hot sunshine. This beach is in the Tauranga harbour and there are many boats moored and the ferry to Matakana Island leaves from here. We were joined by a couple of “bush shitters” (Noel’s name for non self-contained vans) for a peaceful night.

North thru Katikati to Waihi where we parked by the old railway station and started the bike trail to Paeroa via the Karangahake Gorge. We had spied this cycleway when we came down from Auckland for Glen and Tania’s wedding. The first part was thru farm land and then we joined the old railway line for the ride thru the gorge. 2/3rds of the way to Paeroa the trail goes thru a 1 Km tunnel which has lighting. We cycled thru the tunnel and back again as we will do the rest from the Paeroa end in a couple of days. We walked 2km on a side trail following the banks of the Ohinemuri River with its thundering rapids. After lunch we retraced our route back to Joy stopping at Victoria Battery one of the many signs of this area’s gold mining past.

  It was uphill all the way and a slight head wind. Total distance biked was 32kms. We visited the huge open cast gold mine before leaving Waihi and heading to the coast.

 We passed thru Waihi Beach and stopped for the night at Bowentown overlooking the end of the Tauranga Harbour.

It rained in the night and a cold wind in the morning but sunny. The forecast is not great so we went for a walk up onto the headland with spectacular views of the Tauranga Harbour and Waihi Beach. The harbour is huge and formed by the long narrow Matakana Island on the ocean side. In the afternoon I gave Val a haircut. This area will soon fill up as it is Queen’s Birthday weekend.

We dumped and then drove thru the gorge to Paeroa where we rode the bike trail in the other direction to the tunnel and return (16kms) thus completing the part we did not do two days ago. Val found a laundry in the town so we had lunch while the washing happened. We shopped before driving to the Paeroa Maritime Museum where we caught up with Lynne and Gary and camped in the lovely grounds with very hospitable hosts. Lynne had cooked dinner for us in their Quarter Acre Pot, delicious! We provided dessert from Mr Countdown.

A sunny morning, so walked around the grounds with the outside exhibits. This was a working port around the early 1900s and Captain Cook explored the area being the furthest inland he went in NZ. A short 20km drive to Thames where we parked in an area close to the town. We walked the town before lunch outside in the sun. We walked the other way to the harbour and the many pleasure boats.

Rain was forecast as we drove north along the Firth of Thames stopping at several nice free areas until settling on a spot at Tapu overlooking the water. We sat outside and Gary put a line out before the rain arrived and we were inside for lunch. We can see Waiheke Island and Rangitoto to the north. It rained off and on all afternoon. Very stormy skies.

It was a lovely sunny morning as we drove thru to Coromandel stopping at a few beaches and the view at the top of the hill. After walking around the town, we booked a ride on the 15” gauge bush railway at Driving Creek. There are 3kms of track winding up the hill to the “Eyefull” Tower. The whole railway was built by an eccentric potter to get his clay down the hill. The train had several small carriages and was powered by hydraulic motors on every wheel to provide enough traction for the step ascent.

 We parked in a free area in the town and had pizzas at the Star and Garter to celebrate Lynne and Gary’s wedding anniversary and my birthday.

We dumped, and drove thru Colville and onto the 26kms of narrow winding road to Port Jackson.

We camped in the DOC camp facing out onto the wonderful beach with Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands in the background. Sunny and dead calm. Gary tried surfcasting but the beach was very shallow. Late in the afternoon we had a brief shower of rain.

Another perfect day. Gary took the kayak off the roof and fished.

We walked the length of the beach and had drinks outside watching the sunset.

The weather was a repeat of yesterday. Gary fished off the kayak again and Val and I walked a track up onto the headlands and cliffs overlooking some great rugged bays and across to Great Barrier Island. Gary’s luck changed and he caught 2 beautiful snapper which we ate for a late lunch. Another perfect sunset.

Cooler and windy as we drove back along the winding road to Colville. This road must be a trick in the summer as long stretches are one way. At Colville we had coffee and a look at the only shop before checking into a small camping ground for power, dumping and laundry. We walked to the bay before returning in threatening skies to rescue the washing.

We headed north and then over the hill to the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula and further north thru Port Charles with golden sands. The rough road became even rougher for our last part of the trip to Stony Bay looking over the other side of the Colville Channel and Great Barrier Island. At one point the road had washed away leaving a large dip. Downhill on the way in but it could be a problem tomorrow coming out!! Stony Bay was beautiful with a DOC reserve, and we sat in the sun admiring the views. Gary fished off the rocks but only got snags and one tiny snapper.

Up out of the bay and passed the washout with no problems.

Instead of going back over the hill to Colville we followed the coast to a huge DOC camp at Waikawau Beach. We walked the length of the long beach and then around the camp. This spot is very popular in the summer as the swimming and fishing are great.

It rained in the night and we listened to Team NZ winning the Louis Vuitton Cup in the morning. Back over the hill to Colville and back on sealed roads for our trip thru to Coromandel. This town is the hub of this area. We shopped and said goodbye to Lynne and Gary who are heading home. We will stop off there at the weekend. We drove over the peninsula to Matarangi where we parked in a reserve overlooking the harbour. The rain set in and is forecasted for the next few days.