Coromandel Region – World Travel

Whitianga Coromandel Region New Zealand

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:21:35 +0000

If you come to Whitianga you’d better want to get wet. The big attractions are the sandy beaches of Mercury Bay and the diving, boating and kayaking opportunities afforded by the craggy limestone coast and nearby Te Whanganui A Hei Marine Reserve. If you’ve a lust for the luxe, a number of upmarket eateries and accommodation options have sprung up, catering to the boatie set who constantly breeze into the pretty harbour. Most of the restaurants are overpriced and not particularly interesting.

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A genuine nautical hero, the legendary Polynesian explorer and seafarer Kupe, is said to have landed near here. The name Whitianga is a contraction of Te Whitianga a Kupe (the Crossing Place of Kupe). Nearby are two famous and fantastic natural attractions, Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach.

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Whangamata Coromandel Region New Zealand

WorldTravelDB.com — Sat, 02 May 2009 06:21:35 +0000

While Auckland’s socially ambitious flock to Pauanui, the city’s young and horny head to Whangamata to surf, get stoned and hook up. It can be a raucous spot over New Year, when the population swells to over 40, 000. A true summer holiday town, in the off-season there may as well be tumbleweeds rolling down the main street.

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Waihi Coromandel Region New Zealand

WorldTravelDB.com — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:21:35 +0000

Waihi isn’t a complete hole, but it’s in danger of becoming one. This isn’t meant in the derogatory sense. Where most towns have hole-in-the-wall ATMs for people to access their riches, Waihi’s main street has a giant open-cast gold mine. They’ve been dragging gold and silver out of Martha Mine, NZ’s richest, since 1878. The town formed quickly and blinged itself up with grand buildings and a show-offy avenue of phoenix palms, now magnificently mature.

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After closing down in 1952, open-cast mining restarted in 1988. The mine is still productive, but only just – it takes a tonne of rock to yield 3g to 6g of gold. It’s expected to run out soon, and when it does, plans are afoot to convert the town’s gaping wound into a major tourist attraction.

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Thames Coromandel Region New Zealand

WorldTravelDB.com — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:21:35 +0000

Thames dates from a time when gold-digging had a much different connotation to what it does today. Dinky 19th-century wooden buildings still dominate the town centre, but grizzly prospectors have been replaced by alternative lifestylers. If you’re a vegetarian eco-warrior you’ll feel right at home. It’s a good base for tramping or canyoning in the nearby Kauaeranga Valley.

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Captain Cook arrived here in 1769, naming the Waihou River ‘Thames’ ‘on account of its bearing some resemblance to that river in England’. This area belonged to the Ngati Maru, a tribe of Tainui descent. Their spectacular meeting house, Hotunui (1878), holds pride of place in the Auckland Museum.

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Tairua Coromandel Region New Zealand

WorldTravelDB.com — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:21:35 +0000

Tairua and its twin town Pauanui sit either side of a river estuary that’s perfect for windsurfing or for little kids to splash about in. Both have decent surf beaches (Pauanui’s is probably a shade better), but that’s where the similarity stops. Where Tairua is a functioning residential town (with shops, ATMs and a choice of eateries), Pauanui is an upmarket refugee camp for over-wealthy Aucklanders – the kind who jet in and park their private planes by their grandiose beach houses before knocking out a round of golf. Friendly Tairua knows how to keep it real. Both are ridiculously popular in the summertime.

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Hahei Coromandel Region New Zealand

WorldTravelDB.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:21:35 +0000

A legendary Kiwi beach town, little Hahei balloons to bursting in summer but is nearly abandoned otherwise – apart from the busloads of tourists doing the obligatory stop-off at Cathedral Cove. It’s a charming spot, and a great place to unwind for a few days, especially in the quieter months. It takes its name from Hei, the eponymous ancestor of the Ngati Hei people, who arrived in the 14th century on the Te Arawa canoe.

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Coromandel Town Coromandel Region New Zealand

WorldTravelDB.com — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:21:35 +0000

Even more crammed with heritage buildings than Thames, Coromandel Town is a thoroughly quaint little place. Its natty cafés, excellent sleeping options and delicious smoked mussels could keep you here longer than you expected.

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Gold was discovered at Driving Creek in 1852. Initially the local Patukirikiri iwi kept control of the land and received money from digging licences. After initial financial success the same fate befell them as the Ngati Maru in Thames. By 1871, debt had forced them to sell all but 778 mountainous acres of their land. Today fewer than 100 people remain who identify as part of this iwi.

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Coromandel Region New Zealand

WorldTravelDB.com — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:21:35 +0000

Looking a bit like the side view of a hand with its middle finger raised (perhaps aimed at the nearby metropolis), the Coromandel Peninsula juts defiantly into the Pacific east of Auckland and forms the eastern edge of the Hauraki Gulf. Its dramatic, mountainous spine bisects it into two very distinct parts.

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The eastern edge has some of the North Island’s best white-sand beaches. Marinas and cafés cater to the chattering set in the wealthier enclaves, while sandy toes and board shorts are the norm elsewhere. The cutesy historic gold-mining towns on the west side escape the worst of the influx, their muddy wetlands and stony bays holding less appeal for the masses. This coast has long been a refuge for alternative lifestylers – although the hippy communes have gradually given way to organic farms and Buddhist retreats.

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