Our car was fully loaded with seven people, as joining the four of us on the trip were Sanmei (Mama's cousin), her hubby and two-year-old son. (Sanmei and family were here in New Zealand for a quick nine-day holiday.)
Day 1:
We left home on the morning of Friday the 12th of January, heading south. Exiting the motorway at Takanini, we followed the coast road around the Firth of Thames, before stopping for lunch at Thames.
While at Thames, we had a quick look at the Thames School of Mines and Mineralogical Museum, though we didn't pay for the tour. The gift shop had an interesting collection of rocks and fossils, which Mulan, Miya and I wandered through.
The coastal road from Thames to Coromandel town had been battered by the recent storm, and parts had either been washed away or covered with debris, meaning a slower than usual journey. But at least the road was open by the time we went through, even if we did have to occasionally do stop-start convoys on single-lane stretches of road. And while we didn't see any dead fish, some areas we passed through were strongly fishy smelly.
Our accommodation for the night was cabins at Oamaru Bay Tourist Park, and we arrived there just in time to check in and dump our bags before heading out again.
We were in a rush as we had booked tickets on the Driving Creek Railway, riding up the hill to the "Eyefull Tower" lookout for dinner. The train journey and the sunset dinner were totally amazing, and very much worth it.
On the train ride down we even saw a few glowworms, though unfortunately just as we were travelling through the glowworm section Mulan discovered a giant stick insect in her hair and I was gently finding it in the dark without squashing it.
(There must be lots of big stick insects in the area as Mama also got one in her hair at the Tower, which we successfully repatriated to a nearby tree.)
We arrived back at our cabin to discover it like a furnace inside -- not pleasant to try to sleep in, and no fans supplied to cool things down. But other than that the cabin was good.
Day 2:
Next morning after breakfast, Mulan, Miya and I walked several metres from our cabin to the beach for a quick swim before departing.
Our destination for the day was Whitianga, and we took the scenic (unsealed) 309 Road through the forest. We had a couple of planned stops along the way, first at the Waiau Falls and then at the Waiau Kauri Grove, where we had lunch. Both places were pleasant short walks. We also had an unplanned stop at a wild pig herd, which the local farmers apparently feed.
Our accommodation for the night was On the Beach Backpackers Lodge, and it was probably the least good place we stayed at. Sanmei's family stayed in a private room, but our family stayed in a four-bed dorm room, which, while livable, was uncomfortably small.
That afternoon we had our second swim of the day, at the beach across the road from the Lodge.
Day 3:
This was the busiest day for our family.
We (us four) had booked a dawn guided kayak tour to Cathedral Cove, but unfortunately they phoned us the day before to say it was cancelled due to strong winds. Instead, they suggested a later time and alternate course closer into the bay, where it would be more sheltered. Same price, and not nearly as scenic, nonetheless, with mixed feelings, we agreed to it.
At 8:30 am, we met our guide at the far end of Cooks Beach, where, after some initial instruction we were soon away into the water. We had two double sea kayaks (plus our guide in a single kayak) -- Miya was with me and Mulan was with Mama.
From Cooks Beach we paddled towards Lonely Bay. It started to rain a little as we got to the other end of Cooks Beach, but not too much and it soon cleared up again. Just before Lonely Bay, we took a small detour into a blowhole in the cliffs.
Stopping at Lonely Bay for about 30 min, our guide prepared us hot drinks while the girls had a swim in the sea. Then it was back in the kayaks for the final leg of our paddle, around the cliffs and into Flaxmill Cove. From there, we jumped into the waiting ute where they drove us back to our car at Cooks Beach, arriving just before midday. All in all a pleasant little paddle, and a nice intro to sea kayaking for the girls, but quite overpriced for what it was in the end.
Once back at our car, we immediately drove to the Ferry Landing, where we picked up Sanmei and family, who had caught the ferry across from Whitianga. And then it was quickly on to Hot Water Beach to catch the hot water before the tide came in.
Sanmei and family decided that the Hot Water Beach was too hot (sunny), staying instead in the car while us four ate lunch at the beach and had a swim.
At 2:30 pm we had to move on, as Sanmei's family had booked a boat tour to Cathedral Cove, which departed from Cooks Beach.
Then, while Sanmei's family were boating to Cathedral Cove, we drove to Hahei Village where we picked up a shuttle bus to the start of the Cathedral Cove walk. While it was a pleasant walk, we (and especially Mulan) were beginning to feel it was all a bit rushed. We also felt that the track and beach were too crowded, making it overall, on balance, not quite as good as many other, less popular, bush/beach walks in New Zealand.
Then it was back to Cooks Beach to pick up Sanmei's family, before finally driving to our accommodation at Waihi, which we got to about 8 pm. (Our accommodation for the night was an Airbnb four-bedroom house.)
Day 4:
From Waihi we drove via Tauranga to Mount Maunganui, where we had lunch in Mount Drury Reserve. The kids had a pleasant play at the excellent playground, before having a quick look at the beach.
Driving via Papamoa, we headed towards Rotorua, for the final part of our holiday.
Our accommodation for the final two nights was at Jack and Di's Lodge, right on Lake Rotorua in Ngongotaha. (This place was very close to where we stayed during our campervan trip during the winter of 2015.) The owners of the Lodge were very friendly, and their little boy quickly made friends with Mulan and Miya.
That evening, Sanmei's family did the Maori Experience and dinner.
Day 5:
First up, in the morning we visited Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Mama had visited this in 2004, when she first holidayed in New Zealand. But I had never been there (usually we go to Whakarewarewa).
At Wai-O-Tapu, they induce the Lady Knox geyser to erupt every morning at 10:15 am, by dropping some chemicals down the hole. And while it was good to see, somehow it loses something by not being quite so "natural".
After the geyser show we walked around the geothermal park, doing the "red" and "orange" walks, but not the "yellow" one as we had to leave at 12:30 pm. The weather wasn't great during the walk, with it drizzly-raining most of the time.
I still feel that I prefer Whakarewarewa over Wai-O-Tapu, though Mama disagrees with me. I think the difference is that Mama likes the wider, flat, open geothermal areas with the different colours, whereas I liked that Whakarewarewa is also a living village.
After Wai-O-Tapu, us four has the afternoon to rest around the Lodge, while Sanmei's family went to a Farm Show. They were also going to go up the Rotorua Skyline and have dinner at the top, though changed their minds when Sanmei's jandals were rejected by the strict dress code at the restaurant.
Day 6:
Leaving Rotorua just before 9 am, we arrived in Matamata in time for the 10 am Hobbiton tour, which Sanmei's family had booked.
Upon arrival, we discovered that Miya would be free and Mulan would be $39.50, so the girls went on the tour as well. And that meant that Mama and I got a few hours of couple-time together, walking in a park and up the main street, before they arrived back from Hobbiton.
Our final stop before Auckland and home was a property inspection at our Huntly investment property (which was all good).
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In all, the costs for the seven of us were:
Accommodation:
Coromandel: $310
Whitianga: $300
Waihi: $237.90
Rotorua (2 nights): $623.30
Driving Creek Rail: $213
Kayak (4 people): $340
Boat Trip (3 people): $190
Cathedral Cove bus (4 people): $10
Maori Experience (3 people): $234
Wai-O-Tapu: $150
Farm Show (3 people): $57.60
Hobbiton (5 people): $197.50
Petrol: $150 (approx)
TOTAL: $3013.30
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