3/3: The North Island's Idyllic Coromandel Peninsula!

Thanks to a great suggestion from Steven's and my good friends in Denver, Tom and Nancyanna, Diane and I decided to take a circuitous route from Auckland up and around the North Island's Coromandel Peninsula and then back inland to Rotorua, our destination for the next two nights. 

Diane had never driven on the 'wrong' or left side of the road but she did a great job getting a hang of it and only needed the occasional reminder from her 'backseat driver' when she would naturally think of turning into the right lane! I think it helped we didn't rent a car until after we were leaving Auckland so we only had minimal driving to contend with in the city. About 75 miles southeast of Auckland is the peninsula's oldest town, Thames, which evolved from a gold-mining center in the late 1800s to the agricultural hub it is today. Diane needed her morning caffeine fix so the local bakery cum cafe in Thames was the perfect spot for a break. We didn't realize it then but all the small towns in New Zealand have had a large and thriving bakery so stopping for a morning cup of joe for her and a sweet for us to share was ideal!

The main street was once lined with 100 hotels aka drinking establishments as gold mining was thirsty work!

The Coromandel was looted for its valuable resources when it was 'discovered' by the Europeans, but in the 1960s and 1970s dairy farms and orchards sprang up along with communes, spiritual retreats and artists' communities. I read the region is now a mix of artists, people who appreciate the country lifestyle with its easy access to organic food and Aucklanders seeking a weekend or retirement home. 

We followed the Pacific Coast Highway as it hugged the shoreline north along the finger-shaped peninsula. I had the catbird's seat with fantastic views of the Firth of Thames and kept rolling down my window to take photos as we drove.

Luckily Diane didn't mind stopping so I could walk back and take a photo of this driftwood Christmas tree that was created by a man living across the street. I could see he was touched when he noticed our admiring it and taking photos.

It would have been a lovely spot to walk along the beach, look at or even collect some interesting pieces of driftwood, or simply stretch our legs more but, alas, we still had a long way to go so could only watch in envy these people taking their time.

Auckland may be known as the City of Sails for its huge number of residents having boats of one sort or another but the communities along the peninsula would seem to give their big city kin a run for their money as we saw so many harbors filled with watercraft.

These feathery grasses were blowing in the gentle breezes alongside the narrow roads.

Rolling hills like these abounded along the journey and were lovely to look at more closely from one of the many 'slow vehicle bays' or turnouts for the many tourists like us!

From the same spot and stop but looking toward the sea:

Back home in Colorado, millions of pine trees have been killed by the infestation of pine beetles. We saw a sign here pleading for people to save New Zealand's kauri forests which were similarly dying at an alarming rate from kauri dieback disease. More on the trees in the next post.

One of the challenges we, or should I say Diane, soon had to grapple with when driving in the Coromandel was all the one-lane bridges or roads. The signs before them showed two parallel arrows: one big one that was either white or black and one small red one. The signs indicated the upcoming really narrow section of road or bridge could only allow room for cars traveling in one direction at a time. Both of us had a tough time figuring out when we had the right of way for a good while but finally mastered the art of looking for the size of the smaller arrow and not its color or location on the sign as that seemed to change for no reason we could ascertain!

The town of Coromandel on the west coast of the peninsula was where the drive began heading inland to cross over a range of mountain peaks toward the east coast. The town was the location of New Zealand's first gold strike in 1852 when some gold-bearing quartz was found just north of town. 

The 1873 Coromandel Service Center was akin to what North Americans would call a town hall. It housed the district's government offices, courthouse, post and telegraph office, and later the town's police station until 1982. The memorials out front, made with granite from Coromandel as were the Parliament Buildings in Wellington, the country's capital, honored local servicemen who lost their lives in the two world wars and the South African War.

One of the things we've realized already that is so great traveling around New Zealand is the availability of first rate and very artistic public bathrooms! Wow - do they make it much more pleasant when having to use 'the facilities' when they are as gaily decorated as this one was with murals from the area school. Cities and towns in the US could learn a lot from these folk 'down under'  when it comes to providing free, clean and very attractive public restrooms.

Somehow I forgot to or wasn't able to take photos of the inland mountains but made up for it when we stopped at a lookout of the gorgeous turquoise-colored waters near the community of Whitianga once we reached the east side of the peninsula. If we had a few extra days to spend in New Zealand, I think we'd have spent one or two of them in Whitianga or other communities on the Coromandel as so many of them appeared so inviting with great beaches, fun shops, restaurants and galleries luring travelers to stop awhile.

The town's Buffalo Beach was named for the British ship that was used to transport convicts from the United Kingdom to Australia. It ran ashore and sank in 1840 and still lies buried in the sandy bottom of the bay.

Janina: When I saw this sign, I had Diane stop and then turn around so I could take this shot. We didn't see any penguins but at least you have the photo to know I was thinking of you.

I'm not a big one for flip flops but I couldn't resist smiling at this big flip flop sign in Tairua where we stopped for an ice cream cone and to pick up a few groceries. I'd planned to buy some grapes but winced at the $9 a kilo price tag as even in NZD that price was too rich for my blood. The cutely named Smitten variety of red apples sufficed instead.

I bet you never knew there were over 100 varieties of ferns in New Zealand, did you? That also came to a complete surprise to Diane and me. As you'll see in the ensuing posts, we've seen a lot of ferns but couldn't begin to identify the differences but have admired them nonetheless.

Nancyanna: After you and Tom visited the Coromandel, did you take the time to stop at Katikati, the small town that was built on land confiscated from local Maori or indigenous people after the 1863 land wars? As you may recall, it was given to Irish Protestant settlers by the central government and was the only planned Irish settlement anywhere in the country. The town's name means "to nibble" in Maori because they had long recognized the area as being prime for fruit growing.

What grabbed our attention were the more than fifty murals around town that depicted its history. The Overload depicted an era when roads were so atrocious before the railway arrived in Katikati in 1928. Service cars were the only form of overland transport and drivers often had to cram people in to help them reach their destination. In the mural, the driver managed to cram a record load of 28 people in a 8-seater car!

The theme certainly was apt for the town's ostrich feed store!

Even the local branch of the national grocery store chain displayed a large mural.

There were of course far more murals than these we managed to find in a few minutes of walking along the main street but we were unfortunately too pressed for time to discover the others. I would love to have had another hour or so in Katikati as I'd never seen anything like these murals.

We'd also hoped to walk along the town's Haiku Pathway, a walking trail marked with haiku-etched boulders that led down to the river. Again, because of time, we were teased by the sight of just two boulders before having to turn back and had to imagine what the others said.

I wonder how many takers there were for the person selling lemons in Katikati at this price and this was a town that grew fresh fruit!

After regretfully leaving the peninsula and the Bay of Plenty at Tauranga, one of New Zealand's fastest-growing cities and sunniest spots, we headed inland to Rotorua, the cultural capital of the country.

Next post: Learning about the Maori people and the country's geothermal features.

Posted on March 8th, 2019, from Twizel on New Zealand's South Island.