Coromandel
Trip Start
Apr 02, 2008
1
71
91
Trip End
Ongoing
Coromandel,
North Island,
New Zealand
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Skipped the North tip of the North Island and went instead to the Coromandel Penninsula, where we met up with Diane and Dan Strong. It was great to catch up with both of them.Enroute we visited a beach called Cathedral Cove. Amaaaaazing! Heading North from there we hit a coastal town called Whitianga. It just five o clock and we discovered we'd a flat, so we pulled into a tyre repair centre where three guys were having a few 'post work' beers. After much coaxing, one of the lads put his beer down and checked the tyre. It turned out to be ok. He wouldn't take money so we gave him a bottle of red instead. He seemed happy enough with that. Got to Coromandel town which is a cute little place. We hooked up with the Strongs who were having an evening beer at the Coromandel Hotel. We went for a bite to eat in a restaurant called UMO, where we ended up having breakfast the next day
boys and their toys
. We nearly did lunch in the same place..but Dan said 'Christ, we can't eat there again, that's way too Irish'. So a sandwich down the road had to suffice. The Cormondel Hotel was a bit of a dive but did the job. From there, we toured the peninsula. The Kauri tree is famous in New Zealand. Famous for being massive! They were cut down in the past but now they are protected now. Michael was so adament to find 'the square kauri' located between Greymouth and Coromandel town that we ended up off the main road on a dirt road. In the end we had to ditch our little rental car and hop in Di and Dan's UTE. We eventually found it and it was..MASSIVE!We stayed put in the UTE and toured the top of the peninsula - you can only access it in a 4x4. Spectacular views up there. Dan popped into a farm in the middle of nowhere (at the very tip of the peninsula) as he knew the guy who owned it, but he and his wife weren't home.Continued to Greymouth that evening. The YHA refused our YHA cards and were fairly rude so we tracked down Dan and Di who found a great little guest house up the back of the town. There was a room available there, so we dropped our bags. Went for dinner, Ailbhe had oysters for the first time believe it or not! Back to a little patio area outside Dan and Di's bedroom, had a wine and went to bed. We said our goodbyes the following morning and headed to Aulkland. 
