Road trip to Coromandel
Updated: Feb 17, 2023
Two friends, Sophia and Sevcan, and I decided to go on a road trip to Coromandel. We rented a car in advance, which we also planned to sleep in. On Saturday morning we went and picked the car up. We were quite surprised by how nice it was. It was a Kia Sportage, a very new and modern SUV. After only driving cheap backpacker cars this was a welcomed change.
Our first stop were the Owharoa Falls. It was quite beautiful, situated in the middle of the forest. The forests here look like the jungle with all the palm trees and foreign plants I had never seen before coming here.
Next, we went to Whangamata. When we arrived in the city we saw a little fair that we went to and checked out. It gave us circus, hippie, and pirate vibes. Afterward, we went to the beach, which was so beautiful! We had cliffs on the right, islands on the left, and the blue ocean all around. We went for a swim and just relaxed in the sun. We had booked a guided kayak tour to Donut Island, which is one of the islands we saw from the beach. This was my first time kayaking in the ocean. It was very fun. Donut Island was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. About halfway around the island was a cave entrance, which we had to kayak through. The waves were quite rough and you had to be careful not to crash against rocks. After a few meters, it opened up. It was like a lake within the island, with a little beach on one side, the entrance on the other, and cliffs all around on top of which grew some trees. It was like something from a movie. We went back out and headed to another island. Here we went to a beach and had a little swim. The water was crystal clear, so we were even able to see some little fish. We had tea at the beach and made our way back. That whole tour took about 2.5 hours. We grabbed some burgers for dinner in that town. and continued our way.
The plan was to sleep in the car, but you cannot just sleep in a random parking lot, so we booked a spot on a campground up in Coromandel city. That was two hours away. We drove along the west coast. That road was very hard to drive, but the view was amazing. It was just by the coast. Around that time the sun went down, so we got to see the sunset over the ocean behind the mountains on the other coastline. It looked like Mordor from Lord of the Rings.
The roads were very interesting. They were very narrow and windy. At almost every curve was a sign with the curve radius. Because of that, our average speed was just 40-50km/h most of the time, even though we were on the highway.
Eventually, we arrived at the campground where we spent the night. We talked all evening. It was Sevcan's birthday the next day, so we waited till midnight. Previously, we had bought some cake and we surprised her with candles. At like 2 we headed to bed. Bed, in this case, was our car. It was very cozy with three people sleeping in the back, but we managed.
At 9 we woke up and had to get going. Along the roadside we saw a table right next to the beach, so we decided to have breakfast there. I had baked a German loaf of bread in advance, and we had some spreads and dips. It was so beautiful to have a picnic right by the beach.
We continued to Cathedral Cove. There's no parking lot right by the entrance, so we had to park farther away and take the shuttle to the entrance. You arrive higher up a mountain with an amazing view of the ocean, the nearby islands, and the cove itself. It was a 45min walk from up there to Cathedral Cove. The path itself was already beautiful. It feels like you're in a jungle with all the different kinds of trees. Eventually, we arrived at the cove. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. The cove is a bit secluded in between cliffs, with a cave on one side. We spent all afternoon there, swimming and relaxing by the beach. Lots of people were there, but it didn't feel like it. It wasn't noisy and you were able to be by yourself. So, yes, it is very touristy, but it is so worth it!
We wanted to be back in Tauranga before nightfall, so we decided to get going and grab some dinner on our way back. We stopped for pizza and were back at the hostel by 8 pm.
After 450km and 8h on the road, we were back. We had a great time together, got to discover this special place on earth, and enjoyed the beauty of New Zealand.
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