If you come to Whitianga you’d better want to get wet. The big attractions are the sandy beaches of Mercury Bay and the diving, boating and kayaking opportunities afforded by the craggy limestone coast and nearby Te Whanganui A Hei Marine Reserve. If you’ve a lust for the luxe, a number of upmarket eateries and [...]
While Auckland’s socially ambitious flock to Pauanui, the city’s young and horny head to Whangamata to surf, get stoned and hook up. It can be a raucous spot over New Year, when the population swells to over 40, 000. A true summer holiday town, in the off-season there may as well be tumbleweeds rolling down [...]
Waihi isn’t a complete hole, but it’s in danger of becoming one. This isn’t meant in the derogatory sense. Where most towns have hole-in-the-wall ATMs for people to access their riches, Waihi’s main street has a giant open-cast gold mine. They’ve been dragging gold and silver out of Martha Mine, NZ’s richest, since 1878. The [...]
Thames dates from a time when gold-digging had a much different connotation to what it does today. Dinky 19th-century wooden buildings still dominate the town centre, but grizzly prospectors have been replaced by alternative lifestylers. If you’re a vegetarian eco-warrior you’ll feel right at home. It’s a good base for tramping or canyoning in the [...]
Tairua and its twin town Pauanui sit either side of a river estuary that’s perfect for windsurfing or for little kids to splash about in. Both have decent surf beaches (Pauanui’s is probably a shade better), but that’s where the similarity stops. Where Tairua is a functioning residential town (with shops, ATMs and a choice [...]
A legendary Kiwi beach town, little Hahei balloons to bursting in summer but is nearly abandoned otherwise – apart from the busloads of tourists doing the obligatory stop-off at Cathedral Cove. It’s a charming spot, and a great place to unwind for a few days, especially in the quieter months. It takes its name from [...]
Even more crammed with heritage buildings than Thames, Coromandel Town is a thoroughly quaint little place. Its natty cafés, excellent sleeping options and delicious smoked mussels could keep you here longer than you expected.
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Looking a bit like the side view of a hand with its middle finger raised (perhaps aimed at the nearby metropolis), the Coromandel Peninsula juts defiantly into the Pacific east of Auckland and forms the eastern edge of the Hauraki Gulf. Its dramatic, mountainous spine bisects it into two very distinct parts.
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