ROUGHING IT ON THE COROMANDEL PENINSULA – 1991

Our next adventure starts on a long weekend near the time of Easter 1991. Deysi had decided that we would tour the Coromandel Peninsula and see all the sights we had heard so much about. This peninsula is on the east side of the North Island and starts along the top of the Bay of Plenty, north onto a finger of land, around the tip and then back down the side of the Firth of Thames across the bay from Aukland. Apparently it was a destination for hiker’s, beach lovers, adventurers, outdoors people and local history buffs. That sure sounds like us alright.

At the time we were there, it had only one or two hotels or motels on the peninsula, but it had a number of camping areas and camping parks as well as a new concept in travel, that being the bed and breakfasts. These were unknown to us but were rapidly becoming a trend worldwide. I could think of nothing I would less rather do, than to sleep and eat in a house of total strangers (no matter how nice they advertised that they were).

Deysi’s vision for us was to head north from Rotorua , hugging the coastline as much as possible and catch the road that went around the Coromandel Peninsula, north of Tauranga and then travel along the east side of the peninsula seeing the sights until we got tired or until we found an interesting place to stop. At that point we would just check in to a local hotel. We would take two days exploring the Coromandels and the third day return home.

Armed with our trusty tourist map, we loaded kids and food and departed into the unknown. Although the total distance wasn’t much, once we entered into the Coromandel Peninsula, the two lane highway resembled a snake’s back. Back and forth, around and round, up and over was the pattern for each and every kilometre of roadway we covered. Progress was slow, however the day was gorgeous and as usual Deysi had packed us lots of goodies. The girls were lively and anticipating some good fun on a good beach, just as they had been promised.

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The scenery was beautiful, we drove along the coast, in some places high up above the water and in others right down along the beach. Our first stop was at a hot water beach that had thermal springs flowing into the ocean. It was the favorite of the girls. White sand, hot and we spent a couple of hours playing there before we could get the girls back into the car. Along the coast we encountered the seaside village of Cook’s Beach which was full of tourist type shops, just waiting for some of the girls’ “travel” money. Loaded with trinkets we headed out. There were quite a few places too camp, and we did find two or three lodges/hotels. It was too early to stop. Oh well we had lots of time and were not worried.

Sometime around early afternoon we had reached the norther tip of the peninsula and decided we needed to start looking for accommodations. Well then we discovered our problem. The one or two places we found were small and full. Undaunted we pushed on. We were now on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula and across the Firth of Thames in the far distance we could see Auckland. It seemed like a long ways away. Still we were confident of finding someplace to stay. However, its now mid afternoon and the one place we were counting on was completely full and we found out that to stay there you needed to book months in advance. We were starting to panic, however with my calm persona I managed to keep the mood light and stress free. The girls may have had a different take on that.

As time passed we were now focused more on a place to stay, than on the sights. We kept onwards along the side of the Bay of Plenty until eventually we were spit out at the end of the peninsula. What to do now? Always being practical, Deysi now assumed command and came up with the idea of “maybe we can find a vacancy in Aukland”. We looked at each other, out came her map and we took off in search of a new place to camp. The girls were game, as long as our campsite had a pool.

Two hours later we were camped in the Sheraton, in downtown Aukland, and sitting in the rooftop pool. Ron and Ange figured that they had just arrived in heaven. My god, my vision of a 3 day trip around the Coromandel was only a dream now. We were now in the environment that Ron and Ange thrived in. Room service, tv and a pool, pretty much defined them. I didn’t see ol’ Deysi too upset, although she tried to show a little sadness, at having to forgo two more days in a car with me droning on about the sights and history of the Coromandel Peninsula.

We toured Auckland and on the second day visited a theme park or mini Disneyland. The girls loved it and were now truly excited about their sightseeing experience. We spent some time in a dormant volcano just outside of Aukland. It wasn’t the Coromandel but half of the team was happy in any event. Third day, home after about a 3-4 hour drive. We arrived late in the afternoon and were greeted by our neighbour (a policeman in Rotorua). He wanted to enquire about our long weekend.

After I explained to him where we had been and the distances covered, he went a little silent and then said. “I have been working all my life towards my dream of one day making a trip to the Coromandel Peninsula and Auckland as a retirement reward. You have now done it in one weekend”! He thought we were truly “mad”. I think it demonstrates the principal of “living in your fishbowl”. For him, New Zealand was his whole world and some of the places, that for us were accessible, were for him, “a thing of dreams to do one day” when time and money were available. In his mind the distances for him were as great as a trip across Canada for us.