Coromandel Peninsula

From The Complete Driver's Atlas of New Zealand

Located just over one and a half hours’ drive from Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula offers a great diversity of scenery and activities.

Beneath its rugged mountain ranges, tracts of native bush descend to fine bays and beaches, where locals and visitors enjoy game-fishing, swimming with dolphins, kayaking, hunting and paragliding.

From the old goldmining town of Thames, SH 25 winds for 54 km up the peninsula’s west coast — where every sandy bay seems to have its own small settlement — to the charming town of Coromandel, with its fine colonial and Victorian buildings. This area is noted for its arts and crafts. Other attractions include the Driving Creek Railway and Potteries, where visitors can take a narrow-gauge railway ride through native bush and visit a pottery complex.

The road to Cape Colville runs past the oyster farms of Long Bay, and a succession of tree-lined bays facing islands. The town of Colville has the last store on the road north.

On the eastern side of the peninsula, SH 25 leads to Whitianga, home of the tiny Mercury Bay Boating Club, which triumphed in the America’s Cup in 1995.

There is also a more direct route to Whitianga from just south of Coromandel, via the 309 Road. It passes Waiau Falls and, 1 km further on, an impressive stand of kauri trees and 526-m-high Castle Rock, whose summit offers an expansive panorama.

Whitianga is a major source of scallops and crayfish. The fishing is excellent here and the local seafood of a very high quality. From the town, a passenger ferry crosses the Narrows to Ferry Landing. From there, one can travel by taxi or on foot to Cooks Beach and Hahei, renowned for its diving, pink sand and stunning Cathedral Cove. To reach the same spot by road from Whitianga involves a drive of 36 km. Further south is Hot Water Beach, where hot springs seep through the sand. Beware of a dangerous undertow (or rip) here.

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