Coromandel
For breathtaking scenery, the oasis on New Zealand’s North Island - two hours east of Auckland - will appeal to those who enjoy the water and outdoor activity
The Coromandel Peninsula on New Zealand’s North Island is like an island itself: everything seems different and selfcontained. Just two hours drive east from Auckland Airport, the region is filled with history, outdoor adventures and stunning drives. It has its own microclimate with lots of sunshine and the even the colour of the sea is like nothing you have seen. It’s the sort of place you’ll fall in love with and want to move to.
Coast around
Wherever you are in the Coromandel, you are never far from the water. Arrive by road via a stunningly beautiful coastal drive along Highway 25 from Thames to Coromandel town.
The route winds past pretty, deserted beaches and through fishing villages alongside the milky turquoise waters of the Hauraki Gulf.
This is one of the most beautiful drives you will ever take but although it’s named a highway and is sealed, it’s more quaint than quick. The road is narrow and in some places drivers need to stop for one-way bridges and oncoming traffic on tight corners.
On the eastern side of the peninsula are many more beaches including Hahei where you can do a guided walk along the volcanic coast to Cathedral Cove and blowhole and Hot Water Beach where you can sit on the beach in a pool warmed by mineral springs.
haheiexplorer.co.nz
Wild west
Coromandel town looks like the set of a western but it’s authentic. After the discovery of gold nearby in 1852, the builders who followed the miners were Americans who constructed in the style they knew best. Most of the wooden buildings are well preserved.
The hard rock miners have long left and today, the town’s biggest industry is mussel farming. This business is worth more than $40 million a year and there are plenty of mussels on the menu.
There is a mussel festival in February each year but you can try mussels any time. On a Saturday morning in the main street we find Lions fundraisers frying tasty mussel fritters and you can get the shellfish in many flavours and forms from the Coromandel Smoking Company on Tiki Rd. Or try a bowl of steamed mussels at Peppertree Restaurant and Bar just around the corner on Kapanga Rd. This region is also known for its oysters and flounder.
coromandeltown.co.nz
Recycled railway
Whether for its engineering ingenuity, sculpture garden, a chance to buy handmade pottery or to walk tracks through the native forest, everyone will enjoy Driving Creek Railway. Just outside of Coromandel town, the 15-inch-gauge railway, set in 24ha of forest, is the steepest track in New Zealand.
Its conceiver and builder was potter Barry Brickhall who died last year. He started the line in 1973 measuring everything using only his hands and feet, and designed and built the carriages on-site in sheds next to his firing kilns.
Everything was recycled from objects Brickhall found or sourced from defunct mines. He made the bricks and decorated the sides of the tracks with ceramic sculptures and tiles.
At first his inspiration was to access clay from the hills, but when people asked him for a ride on his special train he realised a secondary business and a way to preserve the surrounding forest in perpetuity. With several switchbacks, tunnels and a gradient of at times 1:15, it’s an exciting 6km to the Eyefull Tower and back. Driving Creek Railway runs every day except Christmas Day.
drivingcreekrailway.co.nz
Coastal walk
The Coromandel Coastal Walkway follows a bridal path used for centuries by local Maori. It runs 12km from Stony Bay along the east coast of the peninsula, around the northern tip to the beach at Fletcher Bay. There’s a 3km extension if you have the energy to stroll a bit further around the coast.
The walkway can be done in either direction, but by starting at Stony Bay the initial upward stroll through shady forest is cooler as well as being a good way to build anticipation of the gobsmacking (your breath will already be taken) views when the track opens out on the clifftops above
Coromandel Adventures can take you to the start of the walk and pick you up at the other end. The track is accessible for most people with an average fitness level.
It’s remote out there, so grab a sandwich and plenty to drink at Umu Cafe in Wharf Rd, Coromandel town before you leave.
The drive to Stony Bay from Coromandel is almost 50km along interesting roads and more than 60km back from Fletcher Bay via kiwi reserves and forests of giant kauri and 1000-year-old pohutukawas, so it’s a packed day out.
coromandeladventures.co.nz
Rail trail
In the south of Coromandel Peninsula, the Hauraki Rail Trail starts in Waihi and runs to Thames with a branch line to the hot springs town of Te Aroha. The former train route will be 129km long when an extension from Kopu near Thames to Kaiaua is opened in April this year.
Waihi is goldmining town and at the top of the main street is the huge hole left by the open-cut Martha Mine. Since 1882, Martha has been one of the most productive gold and silver mines in the world and still operates today. Learn more at the Waihi Gold Discovery Centre and Goldmine Tours.
We ride the rail trail from Waikino to Paeroa, 28km there and back. This section takes us past the old gold-mining infrastructure including processing plants, kilns and a museum, through a kilometrelong tunnel, alongside the pretty Ohinemuri River and the winery of the same name.
Paeroa is filled with antique and bric-abrac shops to forage in and or grab a coffee and lunch at The Refinery or the Courtyard Cafe and Deli. Nearby is Bullswool Farm Park. Walkers can use the trail too. For bike hire including e-bikes, see haurakirailtrail.co.nz/cycle-hire