On to the Coromandel Peninsula

Well, after a week of exploring the lovely Bay of Lakes area, we are heading back down to Auckland and up to Thames on the Coromandel Peninsula. The driving will take about 4 hours + with it being a Friday and having to drive through Auckland, so we are just making it a driving day.

We did stop a few times though. Once at the Brynderwyns Scenic Lookout where the hills are covered with old sheep trails and we could see for miles. A man was filming using a drone and because Kiwis love their coffee, there was conveniently a coffee truck at the base of the trail!

Just north of Auckland, there is a town called Warkworth, just like the town in Ontario. I had read that there was a lovely trail and a museum full of interesting information about the town, just off the highway. And what I read was right on!

The Warkworth and District Museum is located in the beautiful Parry Kauri Park. The walk was not long, about 1/2 hour, but it was on boardwalks and wound its way through the native bush to a lookout and a kauri tree grove. A good break from our drive.

We could have spent hours in the pioneer museum, but we rushed through it in half an hour. Whoever put the displays (clocks, clothes, china, lamps, buttons, cameras) together, obviously did it with love. As the brochure says, “Displaying the past for the present. Preserving the past for the future.”

Auckland was only a 45 minute drive ahead and then on to Thames, another 1 1/2 hours.

We are looking forward to our stay on the Coromandel Peninsula. It is an area that juts into the Pacific , east of Auckland and its mountain our spine divides it into two distinct areas. The west coast where Thames is located, is full of wetlands and stony bays. Several historic gold mining towns are found on this side. The east side has beautiful white sand beaches and this is where Aucklanders go for holidays.

We plan to use Thames as a home base for 5 nights and drive around the Peninsula to see the different areas.Read more