Aotearoa Lodge Whitianga Coromandel

This was the first stop on our grand North Island trip after finals. I'm going to post it in little bits and pieces so they appear on the map! My lovely travel companions, Ben, Kelly, Robert and Audrey, and I decided no trip to NZ would be complete without a visit to the Coromandel Peninsula! So in our tiny rental car with too much weight that squeaked and made awful noises over speed bumps we started off toward the Coromadel. During our beautiful ...

... dried up sea urchins, paua shells with dazzling colors, and thick clumps of kelp. I combed the beach collecting remnants of sea life and climbed a hillside to get a view of the offshore islands from above.

I spent a couple of hours there, exploring and collecting, as well as finishing The Life of Pi, which I found to be an extraordinary book. I love secondhand book swaps.

As the sun dropped in the sky, I decided to head back. On the way ...

... two weeks. My latest thought would be to cut out the Australian month and head straight to Thailand for 1.5 months in mid-February. I have been to Australia already and do not feel a huge need to go back, but it would be nice, I am sure. If you care to give me your opinion, feel free to comment on here, or email me at thomco02@luther.edu. I did look into wwoof farms in Thailand, and some are involved in teaching Thai massage...;)

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Now I am in the wagon, after getting out of wet clothes, waiting for dinnertime. We are having pizze baked in Steph's clay earth oven. I am looking forward to that. These have been a couple of good days. Tomorrow is our last day here and then i have to decide where is next. I might swing by Whitianga and Hot Water Beach and either cross the peninsula back to Coromandel Town or continue south to Taihape. I'll solve that riddle later.

... the isolation. Whitianga was another 40mins further up the coast. Nate had organised a taxi to take us to the Hot Water Beach at low tide so had and hour and half to settle into the Cat's Pyjama's hostel. A very homely place that was on the edge of town. Most of the bus stayed at the YHA further on which has some lovely views but a long walk back to town. Got organised, had a bite to, walked through town and made it to the ferry by 6pm. We all crossed the water and met the taxi on the ...

... springs were taken by the Germans who just laid there watching us dig! With the sun now high in the sky, it was time to don the helmets of horror ($50 fine if not worn) and begin the 18km hill ride back on a saddle that was sharper then an axe blade! On the way to Mercury Bay we did stop off at Cathedral Cove. A small beach with huge riptides has made a natural cove in the rock and looking through is a stack which ...

... BBQ. It was really good as we got steak, sausage and hash browns. The right touch. And for dessert we all had home-made apple crumble with custard and ice cream! Lorna thought she was in heaven. After dinner, we all sat round having a beer and a chat. Also in the dorms were a couple more English, a couple of Scottish girls, a few Germans and a couple from Finland. Very international. Oh and by the way, that was my first beer in ELEVEN DAYS!!! Lovely jubberly.

We took the weekend off after our 2 week break, and then the weekend after that was Neville's last weekend in NZ, so we had to go somewhere. We had heard of this 'Home Grown Festival' that was going to be in Coromandel, so we had plans of going up to the festival on saturday morning and then on sunday, driving down to Taupo and then back to Hamilton on Monday morning. Neville and I drove up to Coromandel with Rachel, Megan (same girls from the trip to ...

... first for me... took some convincing to try, but they were actually quite tasty... and I read that they are an aphrodisiac.. did you know that? :) We also had salad, corn, etc... all in all it was a VERY good meal, and nice to have something cooked for us! After the tramp, the soak and traveling I was one exhausted girl and went to bed by about 10:30. I slept like a baby and got up in the morning and was off to the next stop on my journey...

... erratic path.The piece de resistance has to be the Driving Creek Railway, a 25 year labour of love by a potter named Barry Brickell. The railway was originally built to bring clay down from the hill, but now runs 3km to the top and the newly opened Eyefull Tower, which gives an awesome view of the Hauraki Gulf over to the fleshpots of Auckland.(The tower is being fitted out and will soon be available for weddings, parties and barmitzvahs) The train is seen off with a whistle ...