February 26, 2026
Today was devoted to exploring some areas of Coromandel that we had not seen on past trips. Many of the spots were beaches. Unfortunately it was not looking good to be a beach day: the weather forecast was for mostly cloudy with light periods of rain.
Just for fun we stopped to see the Hot Water Beach. This is a big tourist bucket list item. It involves going to the beach within 2 hours of low tide, and then finding a spot near the edge of the water to dig a hole in the sand deep enough to reach hot water below, and finally sitting your butt down into the hot water for a nice geothermal soak. Shovels could be conveniently rented at a shop nearby. Neither of us had any desire to actually participate in this, but it was entertaining to watch the others search for a hot water spot. Since we were there over an hour past the low tide time, many people were not digging down deep enough at the higher ground level. I found lots of cool water holes that had been abandoned.
Parking nearest to the main attraction was not free, but about two tenths of a mile down the beach there was free parking at the Domain Road Carpark. We parked there and just walked to where all of the people were congregating.
You can read more about Heinrich's experience here.
We drove north to the town of Whitianga where we stopped at the New World supermarket for some groceries for the next few days and then topped off the car with gas. Then we drove further north to a roadside stop on Black Jack Hill, where there was a lookout with views of the Pacific Ocean and some of the beaches below. Unfortunately with the total cloud cover that refused to dissipate, the views were less than stellar.
We drove back down the hill and visited a couple of beaches: Kuaotunu Beach and Matarangi Beach. At the west end of Kuaotunu Beach was a nice small sea arch.
We drove to the boat dock at the southern end of the little peninsula that fronted Matarangi Beach. We had some nice views of the Whangapoua Harbour.
Next we drove west to the town of Coromandel and took a short hike on the Kauri Block Track. The walk passed a young grove of kauri trees that were planted in 2014 and dedicated to the people of Christchurch following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. It climbed to a nice panoramic view of the Coromandel Peninsula.
Next we drove north and stopped at the Driving Creek Railway to look around. This is New Zealand's only narrow-gauge mountain railway. People can book a 1 hour 15 mnute tour that climbs through a regenerating native forest. We did not have enough time to take the tour but might consider it on a future trip. We did go on some of the free activities that included some short trails that stopped at a mine entrance and a predator-proof wildlife sanctuary. We walked through the sanctuary but did not see any interesting birds.
Next we drove further north to our accommodation for the next two nights at the Colville Bay Motel. We had a one bedroom unit with a kitchenette. It was the farthest north accommodation I was able to find on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula. I found it several months earlier using a Google Maps search and booked directly with the owner. It was a nice place at a very reasonable price. I would stay there again.
We used the outdoor grill for our dinner.
