Coromandel

21st September 2008
Yeah! Another day trip to Auckland and surrounds. We decided to head to Coromandel. http://www.thecoromandel.com/ We have heard alot of good things about this peninsula, lush forest treks, white sandy beaches and of course, thermal/volcanic activity too. To get the most out of the day, we set off early, by 6 we were alredy prearing to leave house. We wanted to take the coastal route towards the town of Thames to watch sunrise as we travel. However, it was not meant to be. There was a landslide along the coast and we had to make a U-Turn back onto the motorway. What luck.

We reach Thames at 9am and as we had to rush to Coromandel Town to catch a train ride at 1015, we had no time to stop. We had actually intended to visit the Thames beach and mussel barges whilst having breakfast. Anyway, we set off for Coromandel. The estimated driving time is 1 hour, though the distance looks dreadfully near, the roads are extremely windy, sometimes single lane. Even the Great Ocean Road had 2 lanes at least. Anyway, I simply love driving on mountain passes. Its exciting. lol.

We arrived at Coromandel right on time, and headed straight for the Driving Creek Railway (a.k.a DCR) http://www.drivingcreekrailway.co.nz/ Introduction.cfm Basically, a guy spend a fortune buying a 22 hectare of land and set up a pottery there. He spent 27 years to build a railway to the top of the mountain to gather his clay. After he retired, he thought it might make a good tourist spot, so he charge us $20 and take us to the top of the mountain for a nice view of the mountain ranges. The ride was not too bad, we zigzagged up the slopes to a beautiful watchtower. They even hold weddings and functions there.

Next up was the New Chums Beach. They mentioned that it was ironically named as one of the world's finest beachs. What the hell.. http://www.thecoromandel.com/newchums Anyway, it's in a small quiet town, with a row of nice beach houses whose doors open right onto the beach, literally. Well, the beach is pretty white, water pretty clear, but one of the world's finest? I hardly think so. Well, it is beautiful, but I think Malaysia may have nicer ones. We walked the quiet beach, took some photos, did some jumping and hopping and off we went to the highlight of Coromandel, the Cathedral Cove which was used in the movie - The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian at 0.40 in the embedded video below.


What the hell man, 2 hours return walk from the carpark. damn bloody far. But when you arrive there, you will be greatly rewarded. To be able to stand under the massive arch is amazing. In maybe a few decades, the arch will collapse and it will be gone. We spend alot of time there taking photos, chasing seagulls... lol. It was fun, except for the freezing weather. Final event of the day! The Hot Water Beach! An underground river of hot water runs under the beach and it's really hot. Freezing cold winds and hot sand - its a great combination. We dig a hole on the beach and the water that fills the hole is hot, and I mean very hot. It burns. Lying in the natural hot spa, looking a the sky, with the sound of waves splashing and icy winds blowing on your face; it's an unforgettable experience. I don't think you can find that anywhere else in the world. http://www.thecoromandel.com/hotwaterbeach

A great experience indeed, I caught a cold and fell sick the following day. What the hell man.