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The Coromandel Peninsula is famous for its dramatic scenery and unrivalled beaches. The beautiful landscape and unspoiled beaches attract many visitors. The mountain backbone of the peninsula is made up of rugged volcanic peaks and steep gorges shrouded in forest.
Captain James Cook named Mercury Bay in 1769 when he entered the bay to observe the transit of the planet Mercury. The area was known as Te Whitianga a Kupe (the crossing point of Kupe) to the Maori population referring to its significance as the landing place of the great Polynesian explorer Kupe who reached New Zealand over 1000 years ago. Evidence from archaeological sites indicates that moa, large and now extinct flightless birds, were once abundant on the peninsula and were hunted by the early Polynesian voyagers after they arrived here. Surrounded by hills which combined with the absence of a sand bar made Mercury Bay a both sheltered and accessible anchorage, led to the development of Whitianga as a thriving timber port. Further inland, steep volcanic mountain ranges make up the backbone of this long peninsula stretching north towards Great Barrier Island, looking out across rugged forest-clad gorges towards a string of beautiful beaches along the eastern coastline. Deep in the hills there are still pockets of ancient kauri that escaped logging in the early nineteenth century and the forests have also returned to cloak the goldfields where thousands of miners once swarmed in search of elusive gold bearing ores and quartz veins. Today the conservation minded residents of the Coromandel Peninsula are fiercely protective of both the natural environment and the historic relics that remain as reminders of the pioneering settlers that colonized this beautiful scenic wilderness. Now it is throngs of holiday makers who invade the Coromandel each summer, but as a rule, the further north you go, the more the crowds dwindle and it doesn’t take long to reach some remote places along the coast where you can relax and enjoy the tranquility of an unspoiled beach.
The Thames School of Mines
1Thames
The trip starts on Queen Street in Thames on SH25.
Gold was discovered in the area around Thames in 1867 and within the next few years additional fields had also been discovered at Coromandel, Kuaotunu and Karangahake. This peaceful town was soon resounding to the thunder of 693 stamper batteries pounding quartz rock as part the gold extraction process and by the 1880s, logging had also been established in the nearby Kauaeranga Valley as well as northeast at Coroglen and Tairua. Thames was originally established as two separate settlements, Shortland, a small port on the Waihou River, and Grahamstown further north. The towns eventually grew together and in 1873 they were amalgamated, taking the name given to the area by Captain Cook when he visited in 1769, comparing the Waihou to London's famous river. Thames briefly became one of the largest towns in New Zealand thanks to the gold rush and the kauri timber trade. Today among the survivors of the town's original 80 hotels, are the imposing Brian Boru and the elaborately verandahed Lady Bowen, which was fabricated on Auckland's North Shore in 1868 and then shipped to Thames. The Hauraki Prospectors' Association operates a restored stamper battery on the Golden Crown mine site. You can take a guided tour into an old mine tunnel and see the huge steam-operated pump that was built to remove water from the Queen of Beauty goldmine. On the corner of Brown and Cochran Streets, The Thames School of Mines and Mineralogical Museum, features a stamper battery, laboratory, furnace, assay room, lecture rooms and a mineral collection. You can also see New Zealand’s first jailhouse at the museum.
The streets of Thames are lined with character-filled buildings like the Brian Boru Hotel.
2coromandel
Drive north on the Thames Coast Road and SH25 53.4 km and continue on Kapanga Road 1 km into Thames.
Named after the HMS Coromandel which visited the harbour in 1820 to pick up a load of kauri spars, the town was a focal point for the timber trade by the 1830s. The gold rush in the 1850s brought the dramatic changes to the town. The first gold strike was made by Charles Ring in 1852, but it was soon discovered that the gold was going to have to be dug out of solid rock with picks and shovels. The first strike was short-lived but the town boomed when a large strike of easier-won alluvial gold was made 17 years later was made on Tokatea Hill. Today Coromandel is a tranquil, little seaside town with a number of charming historic buildings that serve as a reminder of its prosperity during the gold mining days. You can visit the Coromandel Mining and Historic Museum as well as the Coromandel Stamper Battery which once crushed the gold-bearing ore.
3driving creek railway
Continue northeast 1.9 km on Rings Road, turn right onto Driving Creek Road and continue 0.4 km to the Driving Creek Railway on the right.
Barry Brickell began construction work on a narrow gauge railway line to carry clay down from the hills along with wood to fuel his kilns when he set up his pottery at Driving Creek in 1974. Today this exciting 5 km scenic line carries tourists up through the regenerating forest across four high trestle bridges, around four spirals and through two tunnels on an hour long trip to a scenic lookout with views across the Coromandel Harbour and beyond. The Driving Creek Railway operates daily at 10.15 am and 2 pm with additional trips in summer.
New Chums Beach
4whangapoua
Return to SH25 and turn left onto Whangapoua Road and SH25. Drive east 12.4 km, turn left off SH25 and continue north on Whangapoua Road 4.9 km, turn right onto Tangiora Ave, drive 1.1 km onto Mangakahia Drive and continue 0.6 km to the carpark at the start of the track to New Chums Beach.
A sweeping sandy surf beach fronting the expansive Whangapoua Harbour, becomes a summer playground each year for hundreds of holidaymakers. The harbour once served as a timber port but today it mainly serves boaties heading out to fish or go waterskiing. The estuary is shallow and safe for swimming and there is a walking track around the point at the northern end of the beach through a beautiful grove of nikau palms to New Chums Beach (Wainuiototo Bay) with its jointed columns of lava rock, set against crystal white sands and luxuriant coastal forest. You can climb out onto Opera Point, which still features some terraces and ditch defenses from its days as a fortified pa, for views along what is undeniably one of the finest, yet least known beaches in the country.
5kauotunu
Return to SH25, turn left and continue 15 km to Kuaotunu.
This historic beach settlement looking out towards the Mercury Islands, is steeped in goldmining history, although little visible evidence now remains. There is a huge network of mine tunnels in the hills that were par of an industry that once supported two hotels. The hotels are gone but you can still get a classic NZ hokey-pokey icecream at the Kauotunu store. The long sweeping beach provides everything from surfing the famous Blackjack reef at the eastern end, to sailing, waterskiing, fishing and snorkeling. Located on Bluff Road, you will find Rings Beach, which has a small freshwater lagoon that is ideal for kids to swim in. Dolphins often frequent the bay and there are many craftspeople engaged in carving, pottery, glassware, leatherwork and painting in the area.
Historic Whitianga in Mercury Bay offers plenty of fascinating sightseeing.
6whitianga
Continue 11.6 km on SH25 south to Whitianga continue 3.9 km on Buffalo Beach Road to the Esplanade.
Tourism and fishing are the main attractions in Whitianga which is a big-game fishing base for marlin as well as mako and thresher sharks. You can see the jaws of an enormous 1350 kg white pointer shark caught in 1959, hanging in the Mercury Museum, along with exhibits from the kauri and gum industries as well as records of the early settlers and a comprehensive photographic collection. Housed in an old dairy factory on the Esplanade, the museum also features a reconstructed blacksmiths smithy, genuine tools from the 1900s, household items from the 1800s and a number of pieces of early dairy and agricultural equipment. The natural history section features an interactive display on the marine environment at Cathedral Cove and a life-size reconstruction of a giant moa complete with feathers. When Captain James Cook anchored the Endeavour in Mercury Bay in 1769, he claimed possession of New Zealand in the name of King George 111.
cooks beach
A cairn on Shakespeare Cliff commemorates his visit, the purpose of which was to observe the transit of the planet Mercury across the sun. The absence of a sand-bar, made Mercury Bay one of the most accessible anchorages on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, and by the 1830s Whitianga was a centre for a thriving timber trade. Numerous ships sailed in and out of Mercury Bay every year to collect their cargos of kauri spars, with over 150 million metres of timber being exported from Whitianga over a 60 year period. Today visitors can take a ferry across the harbour to Cooks Beach and the old original stone wharf that was built in 1837. You can also walk up onto the old graveyard on the hill where many of the early settlers are buried.
7hahei
Continue southwest on the Esplanade 0.5 km, turn left onto Victoria Street and drive 0.2 km, turn right onto Campbell Street and continue 0.4 km onto Joan Gaskell Drive. Continue 1.6 km and turn left onto SH25 and the Tairua Whitianga Rd. Drive south 23.4 km and turn left onto Hot Water Beach Road. Continue 5 km, turn left onto Link Road, drive 3.3 km, turn right onto Hahaei Beach Road and drive 2.1 km to Hahei.
This pristine, white-sand beach, set in a sheltered bay, is one of the most popular on the Coromandel Peninsula. Mahurangi Island and Motueka Island, close offshore, protect the beach, providing calm water for swimmers. A road climbs from the northern side of this small beach resort onto the headland, where a lookout provides expansive views across Mercury Bay. This is the starting point for the walk to Cathedral Cove while at the southern end of the beach, you will find the Te Pare Point Historic Reserve where two prominent pa sites, once occupied by the Ngati Hei, look out over the bay. Protected by steep cliffs, Hereheretaura Pa is located out on the tip of the headland and features a defensive ditch and bank on its inland side. You can also still see terraces, storage pits, and living platforms on the hillside, while on the ridge above you will find Hahei Pa fringed by steep cliffs dropping down into the bay to the south.
cathedral cove
Return along Hahei Beach Road and turn right onto Grange Road to reach the start of the track to Cathedral Cove.
The walk to Cathedral Cove takes about 45 minutes, passing a side track leading down to Gemstone Bay where you will find a snorkeling path that follows a series of buoys featuring information on the marine environment. The track passes Stingray Bay and continues through coastal pohutukawa forest along the clifftops, before descending to Mare’s Leg Cove and the famous Cathedral Cove, which are connected by natural rock arch that has been carved through the headland by the sea. This beautiful white-sand beach with its fascinating rock formations, is a great place to swim or snorkel. The bay and offshore islands are part of the Te Whanganui-A-Hei marine reserve, covering 9 sq km and featuring intricate caves, underwater arches, volcanic reefs and sandstone bluffs sculptured by the sea. Sheltered from southerly winds, Te Whanganui-A-Hei is the home of a diverse range of marine plants, crustacea, moluscs and fish. The Hahei Explorer takes visitors on an hour long trip in a motorized inflateable boat out to the islands, hidden caves and archways as well as into a cavernous 30 m blowhole. Cathedral Cove Sea Kayaking provides guided trips in kayaks that feature a viewing window in the hull.
At Hot Water Beach you can dig your own thermal pool in the sand.
8hot water beach
Return along Link Road to Hotwater Beach Road, turn left and continue 3.4 km to Hotwater Beach.
Probably the most popular place on any beach in the country, the hot spot below the prominent rock outcrop on Hot Water Beach attracts thousands of tourists and holidaymakers every year. At low tide every day, visitors head to the spot on the beach where steam can be seen rising up out of the sand and dig their own mineral bathing pools. The best time is two hours before and after low tide, but even after the tide covers the spot you can still stand in the surf and dig your toes down through the sand to feel the warmth of the hot water rising from below. There are two volcanic fissures at Hot Water Beach which issue up to 15 litres of hot water every minute from a reservoir of superheated water below the surface. The water is really hot, reaching up to 64ºC and contains mineral salt, calcium, magnesium, potassium, fluorine, bromine and silica.
9tairua
Return to SH25, turn left and continue south 14 km to Tairua, turn left onto Ocean Beach Road and drive 0.7 km to the Ocean Beach carpark on the left. You can also continue along Ocean Beach Road to Mt Paku.
An important centre for the timber trade in the nineteenth century, Tairua is now a popular tourist resort with a sheltered harbour and a dramatic ocean beach, framed by the twin volcanic peaks of Mt Paku. Prehistoric Maori earthworks are still visible on the slopes of the pa site on Mt Paku and can be explored on the walk to the 178 m summit which offers excellent views across the harbour towards Pauanui, a resort and marina development to the south.
10opoutere
Return to SH25 and continue south through Tairua 15 km to the junction with SH25A. Turn left to stay on SH25 and Tairua Road and continue south 10.3 km, turn left onto Opoutere Road and drive east 4.4 km to reach the beach access track.
The walk out to the ocean beach will take you to a long almost deserted stretch of pristine coastline. The nearby Wharekawa Wildlife Refuge, is a breeding ground for the endangered New Zealand dotterel and the variable oystercatcher. Only 1500 dotterels remain in the wild and there are about 19 pairs at Opoutere. These small wading birds scrape out their small nests in the sand, amidst sparse vegetation just above the high water mark. Both the eggs and chicks are vulnerable to predators and can be easily destroyed by storms, or disturbed by people or vehicles so a 200 m section of the beach has been fenced off to protect the birds. This project has been a success and increases the survival rate of the dotterel chicks.
Return to SH25 and continue south 9 km to Whangamata. Turn left onto Harry Watt Drive and continue east 0.9 km onto Hetherington Road and continue 1.1 km to Hunt Road onto Hunt Road and the carpark overlooking the beach.