It was difficult to leave Hobbiton and knew it would be difficult to match the sights that we had just experienced. The Coromandel Peninsula combines beautiful beaches and stunning coastlines with lush forests and a dramatic mountain range.
Thames (pronounced Tims) is a small coastal town, gateway to the Coromandel (one of NZ’s best-loved holiday destinations) and three hours northeast of Hobbiton. Thames was our home base as we toured the Coromandel.

A truly unique Kiwi experience is Hot Water Beach! An underground river of hot water flows from the interior of the earth to surface in the Pacific Ocean at Hot Water Beach. The stunning beach overlooks the Pacific Ocean and offshore Castle Rock, with cliffs at either end of the beach. Two hours either side of low tide, visitors flock to the usually deserted Hot Water Beach to find hot water bubbling through the sand. Families, kids and couples dig their own spa pool in the sand to lie back in and relax while the steam from their hot pool envelops them. With the ebb and flow of the tide each individually created hot pool is washed away clearing the way for the next influx of visitors.

Another highlight was the four-hour kayak tour of Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve and Cathedral Cove recreation reserve. They are a sea kayaking paradise full of beaches, islands and rock gardens that are just waiting to be explored. We paddled through sea caves, checked out local marine life and discovered the thrill of kayaking with the wind on our back and sometimes on our face. To top it off we landed at Cathedral Cove where we were treated to flat whites (expresso) on the beach!

In Whitianga, the far northeastern part of the peninsula, we found an airshow. Stay tuned for this post.