The Coromandel Peninsula juts into the Pacific, east of Auckland. It takes about two hours to get here from Auckland and is a favourite destination for Aucklanders. The east coast has some of the North Island’s best beaches while the western side has many historic gold-mining towns. We based ourselves at Hot Water Beach near the many attractions on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula.
Justifiably famous Hot Water Beach is quite extraordinary. For two hours either side of low tide, you can dig yourself a hole in the sand, in the middle of the beach, which fills up with hot water from beneath the surface. Bring a spade, dig a hole, and you’ve got yourself a personal spa pool! We spent over an hour sitting in our hot pool – it was super relaxing. Hot Water Beach is a lovely beach but it is dangerous for swimming with many rips. It is one of the most dangerous beaches in New Zealand in terms of drowning numbers, although this is probably skewed by the large number of tourists that visit. Regardless, swimming here is not safe. After our leisurely spa we played a bit of rugby on the beach.
Cathedral Cove is another must see on this part of the peninsula. We walked from the village of Hahei, a rolling walk taking between 30-45 minutes. The cove is beautiful, with its famous gigantic stone arch. We spent about an hour here admiring the scenery and again playing rugby on the beach. Some people had obviously come for the day, bringing a picnic and drinks. This is a beautiful spot, well worth the walk. Another option for getting here would be to take the ten minute Cathedral Cove Water Taxi.
Hahei Beach was another beach we stopped at, a long stretch of beautiful sand, almost deserted in the late afternoon.
We didn’t make it to Witianga but this is another beautiful location on the peninsula. It’s big attractions are the sandy beaches of Mercury Bay and the boating and kayaking opportunities along the craggy coastline.
We loved the Coromandel Peninsula and can see why so many Auckland dwellers flock here in the summer holidays.
WHERE WE STAYED
We based ourselves for two nights at Hot Water Beach Top 10 Holiday Park, just a ten minute walk from the beach. A fantastic location for a campsite.
The boys made friends with a group of students from Auckland whilst we were at Hot Water Beach. They played basketball, football, rugby and various other games. They had such fun.
Tomorrow we drive to Auckland and say goodbye to our camper van, home for the last month. At the start of the month we wondered how we’d get on…but we’ve had a great time in our little home on wheels.
