7/1-7/3 All around Coromandel Peninsula
- After a couple of early wine tasting around Matakana, we headed back south through Auckland and arrived Thames, the gateway to Coromandel Peninsula. We tried Sola coffee, supposedly the best coffee in town. Gold Mine was closed in the winter season.
- Skirting the Firth of Thames, we continued north toward Coromandel Town. The road follows the dramatic and winding coast, some narrow sections definitely took breath away. After numerous photo stops, we finally ended up in Coromandel Town.
- Goldfields Centre and Stamper Battery - 100 years old, ran by a very talkative geologist.
- Driving Creek Railway - a unique ride on a narrow gauge train up a ziggy zaggy track that was first built to bring firewood and clay down for the potteries below. We stopped at the "Eye Full Tower" at the top for 20 minutes. The view over Coromandel was magnificent.
- Checked in motel and boys immediately released some extra energy on the onsite children's playground.
- 2nd day while LG was playing 9-hole golf, boys and I roamed the town a little and spent sometimes reading in the local small library. Afterwards we went to Water Works where boys had tons of excitement. We then had an easy bush walk to see some kauris in the area. Dinner at the famous Pepper Tree.
- Back on 309 Road heading to Whitianga on the 3rd day. The road was unpaved, hilly, winding, and narrow, the most demanding driving we have encountered in NZ so far. Luckily there weren't many cars on an early Sat morning.
- Whitianga Sea Cave Adventure - took a high speed pontoon ride to see the fantastic coastline & volcanic scenery in the area. Explored some caves, volcanic rock formations, golden beaches, blow holes, and marine life reserves
- Hot Water Beach - We didn't go prepared and plus schedule was off by 2 hours, so we just took a stroll on the beach.
East side of Coromandal wasn't as interesting nor scenic as the west side. We didn't make any more photo stops and headed straight to Rotorua. It was a HUGE relief when the road started to straighten up as we drive toward inland.