On Sunday 20th April we set off from Taurunga to go onto the Coromandel Peninsula but first we stopped off at Waihi, a gold mining town with an open cast mine still in operation. We walked round what looked to be the crater of a volcano some 250mtrs deep.W
e could see the equipment used far below but did not realise how big they were until we came upon one of the giant dumpers. It weighed 85tonnes & was about 5mtrs high. We went into the info centre & were told that from every tonne of ore excavated 3 grammes of gold were found. They still mine a million NZ dollars worth per week though.
We continued on up the east side of the Coromandel, an area of great natural beauty, with areas of rolling downs & farmland mixed in with forested mountains. We stayed at Coromandel Town which, again, was a gold mining community in past days & whilst there went on the only narrow gauge railway in NZ up to the wonderfully named Eyefull Tower viewing point. We also went to the Waiau Waterworks which is an out & out fun place for everyone with strange contraptions all worked by water. It also has a playground with flying foxes, water cannons, flying bikes etc. I had
a go on the Flying Fox & promptly fell off. Pat has the pictures but they will not be published here. Before we went to Waiau we spent a rather wet morning touring round the peninsula to the north of Coromandel where the roads get narrower & narrower, the terrain is more rugged & then the tarmac surface gives way to unmade gravel. Going north to Colville was OK but the return via Kennedy Bay was up into the clouds on unmade roads with plenty of mud. The van looked a mess but still in one piece.
Afterwards we started off down the west coast
road towards Thames & then on to Auckland on the Pacific Coast Highway with the rain falling heavily at times. We hit Auckland at the start of the rush hour. Great! There is only one road connecting the country above Auckland with that below it and we were on it not knowing where we were going. The jams were nearly M25 level. One good thing - the rain cleaned the van.
Thankfully we made it to Tekapuna Beach where we booked a couple of nights at a site next to the sea. From here we could either get into the City directly by bus via the Harbour Bridge or get a bus to Devonport & then get a ferry across the harbour. With a day pass we found we could go in one way & come back the other. We did our normal circular bus tour of the city to get our bearings. There is an Antarctic Experience which shows the experiences of the first explorers (Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen etc.) which was very good.
There are also colonies of different types of penguins, kept in sub-zero temperatures as near to Antarctic conditions as possible, which can be seen from a ‘snow-cat‘.
The following day we visited the Auckland Museum in which a whole floor is devoted to the NZ military & the wars in which they have been involved. Very moving. Even more so as Friday is Anzac Day.
Another section features volcanoes & the fact that Auckland is surrounded by them. It is not a question of if but when one or more blows. Probably not in a lifetime or two but they are being monitored very closely anyway.
We also went up on Mt.Eden, one of the volcanoes which surround Auckland, from which we had a good view over the city including Eden Park, home of the All Blacks. We missed going to Sky Tower, the highest building in Auckland at 1000ft. from which it is possible to do the highest Bungy Jump in NZ or alternatively do the Sky Walk, a walk on a circular platform round the outside of the tower with only a safety harness for support. We can do those on our return.
Thursday night was crazy. Bars that were previously closing down at 9pm suddenly had queues to get in at 11.30. It was like MK on a Saturday night. It was, of course, the start of holiday week-end.
Friday 25th was Anzac day & thinking there would be little or no traffic we left Auckland to travel up the west coast. Fools that we are. It was like a bank holiday at home on the roads. Anyway we wanted to get as far as Matakohe where there is a museum dedicated to a species of tree, the Kauri, which until recently has been disappearing from the wild through burning or lumbering. They are now protected. Kauri timber recovered from dead trees that have been lying in swamps for up to 40 thousand years is still being used for making furniture the wood is that hard. The oldest living tree in NZ is believed to be around 2000 years.
Saturday we set off further up the west coast highway to see the Kauri trees in the Waipoura Forest. We saw the first & second largest trees in NZ & although we too
k pictures they do not do justice to them. They are awesome, to use a common Kiwi expression.
Further along the road we came to the beginning of 90 mile beach, actually only 52miles, which runs to the northern most point in NZ. Although the road runs the length of the peninsula the way to do it is to drive along the beach. However, we had been told when we first picked up the van that this was a no-no. The only way to do it is with a tour. The weather was closing in so we decided to give it a miss. It’s only a beach. Just as well as the heavens opened & it tipped down for most of the night.
e could see the equipment used far below but did not realise how big they were until we came upon one of the giant dumpers. It weighed 85tonnes & was about 5mtrs high. We went into the info centre & were told that from every tonne of ore excavated 3 grammes of gold were found. They still mine a million NZ dollars worth per week though.We continued on up the east side of the Coromandel, an area of great natural beauty, with areas of rolling downs & farmland mixed in with forested mountains. We stayed at Coromandel Town which, again, was a gold mining community in past days & whilst there went on the only narrow gauge railway in NZ up to the wonderfully named Eyefull Tower viewing point. We also went to the Waiau Waterworks which is an out & out fun place for everyone with strange contraptions all worked by water. It also has a playground with flying foxes, water cannons, flying bikes etc. I had
a go on the Flying Fox & promptly fell off. Pat has the pictures but they will not be published here. Before we went to Waiau we spent a rather wet morning touring round the peninsula to the north of Coromandel where the roads get narrower & narrower, the terrain is more rugged & then the tarmac surface gives way to unmade gravel. Going north to Colville was OK but the return via Kennedy Bay was up into the clouds on unmade roads with plenty of mud. The van looked a mess but still in one piece.Afterwards we started off down the west coast
road towards Thames & then on to Auckland on the Pacific Coast Highway with the rain falling heavily at times. We hit Auckland at the start of the rush hour. Great! There is only one road connecting the country above Auckland with that below it and we were on it not knowing where we were going. The jams were nearly M25 level. One good thing - the rain cleaned the van.Thankfully we made it to Tekapuna Beach where we booked a couple of nights at a site next to the sea. From here we could either get into the City directly by bus via the Harbour Bridge or get a bus to Devonport & then get a ferry across the harbour. With a day pass we found we could go in one way & come back the other. We did our normal circular bus tour of the city to get our bearings. There is an Antarctic Experience which shows the experiences of the first explorers (Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen etc.) which was very good.
There are also colonies of different types of penguins, kept in sub-zero temperatures as near to Antarctic conditions as possible, which can be seen from a ‘snow-cat‘.
The following day we visited the Auckland Museum in which a whole floor is devoted to the NZ military & the wars in which they have been involved. Very moving. Even more so as Friday is Anzac Day.
Another section features volcanoes & the fact that Auckland is surrounded by them. It is not a question of if but when one or more blows. Probably not in a lifetime or two but they are being monitored very closely anyway.
We also went up on Mt.Eden, one of the volcanoes which surround Auckland, from which we had a good view over the city including Eden Park, home of the All Blacks. We missed going to Sky Tower, the highest building in Auckland at 1000ft. from which it is possible to do the highest Bungy Jump in NZ or alternatively do the Sky Walk, a walk on a circular platform round the outside of the tower with only a safety harness for support. We can do those on our return.
Thursday night was crazy. Bars that were previously closing down at 9pm suddenly had queues to get in at 11.30. It was like MK on a Saturday night. It was, of course, the start of holiday week-end.
Friday 25th was Anzac day & thinking there would be little or no traffic we left Auckland to travel up the west coast. Fools that we are. It was like a bank holiday at home on the roads. Anyway we wanted to get as far as Matakohe where there is a museum dedicated to a species of tree, the Kauri, which until recently has been disappearing from the wild through burning or lumbering. They are now protected. Kauri timber recovered from dead trees that have been lying in swamps for up to 40 thousand years is still being used for making furniture the wood is that hard. The oldest living tree in NZ is believed to be around 2000 years.
Saturday we set off further up the west coast highway to see the Kauri trees in the Waipoura Forest. We saw the first & second largest trees in NZ & although we too
k pictures they do not do justice to them. They are awesome, to use a common Kiwi expression.Further along the road we came to the beginning of 90 mile beach, actually only 52miles, which runs to the northern most point in NZ. Although the road runs the length of the peninsula the way to do it is to drive along the beach. However, we had been told when we first picked up the van that this was a no-no. The only way to do it is with a tour. The weather was closing in so we decided to give it a miss. It’s only a beach. Just as well as the heavens opened & it tipped down for most of the night.
Pics are Pat & toy dumper, 2 of Coromandel & Us in Kauri Forest
1 comment:
So wheres a picture of the Winnibago you are travelling around in ???
Pete I bet you would like to get in the driving seat of that dumper truck eh. Beautiful country then there in NZ. Have you hit the rain y season or something. Just about keeping up with you on map, let us know some forward travel plans ??
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