Coromandel Peninsula

On Monday 9th December I caught the Intercity bus to Coromandel then hitched to Te Rerenga. I  stayed at the Waikawau Bay Motor Camp again. Next morning I was up early and away at 6.30am. The first 2km was along SH25 then 5km along a forestry road. Glenn from Earnslaw One had previously given me permission to walk on their road and given very explicit instructions about where to turn off the road onto an old track. At the turn off point I found a log with my name and an arrow painted on it, showing me the way.

The first half a km of the track was through gorse and I nearly gave up. However persistence paid off and eventually I was able to follow the overgrown track reasonably well. It took me 2 hours to walk the 4km. Eventually the track came out onto the Kennnedy Bay Rd. I only saw 3 vehicles going my way in the next 3 hours. Thinking I was 7kms from my destination I hitched a ride with the 3rd vehicle only to find I was just 2km from the camp. After setting up my tent I got a ride back with the same people and walked the final 2km. Total for the day was 29km.

For the next 3 nights I stayed in my tent at DOC camps. The first night was at Waikawau Bay where the staff were very helpful. They arranged for Tim the local Rural Delivery mailman to take my pack on to Sandy Bay the next day. I was walking at 6.30am again and arrived, 18km later, at Sandy Bay at 9.50am. On the way I passed through Port Charles. Tim arrived at 12.20pm with my pack and I walked the final 7km to Stony Bay.

Thursday was a perfect days walking. The first 9 km was along the Coromandel Walkway, mostly through bush, with the last 2 km across farmland. There were great views across to Great Barrier Island. I was away at 6.15am and saw nobody until I arrived at the DOC camp at Fletcher Bay.

Looking down on DOC camp at Fletcher Bay

Two German tourists agreed to take my pack 6 km onto the next camp at Port Jackson. I walked up the road for 3km and then turned off onto the Muriwai Walk. This is a grass track with a drop to the sea on one side and farmland on the other. It reminded me of coastal walks in the UK. That was until I came to a view of Port Jackson and its long sandy beach, then I knew I wasn't in the UK!

Port Jackson from Muriwai Walk

Friday 13th was a long day, in the heat, all on roads. The first 3km was uphill then most of the next 28km alongside the coast. Tama stopped to offer me a ride about half way. He agreed to drop my pack at the Colville Store. I stayed that night in a backpackers 2km south of Colville where the only other guests were a French couple. Their English not much better than my French but they went into my blog on their tablet and used software to translate it into French.

On Saturday I walked the 2km back to Colville then took a back road, a track and then the main road to Coromandel. About 9km from Coromandel I met a German guy walking and heading for where I had stayed the night before. It is unusual for me to meet other walkers and even more so to find someone doing the same walk as me in reverse! I stayed in another backpackers that night after a 27km day. A long  hot day with my big pack.  I met some people from Hamilton who agreed to take my pack to Tapu the next day.

I slept in on Sunday morning and didn't get up until 5.20am but was still away at 6.15am. Shortly after leaving Coromandel I came across the survivors of an all night party, sitting drinking around the remains of a fire. There was rubbish strewn all over the place including the side of the road. As I was walking on the main road I was wearing a Hi Vis vest. The party goers must have thought I was someone in authority come to chastise them. When I called out a greeting they told me "don't worry about the rubbish bro, we'll clean it up"!

Later I walked through Manaia, I wondered if the inhabitants were referred to as Manaiacs?
I asked for a backpackers room at the Tapu Motor Camp and was given a cabin with a double bed for $15. I've paid more for a tent site in other places. As there was a pub over the road I shouted myself a pub meal that night as I'd walked 35km that day. The camp manager agreed to take my pack into Thames the next day.

The final 23km to Thames was once again mostly on the road, fairly narrow in places  and I had to have my wits about me. Once at Thames I followed the stop-banks for 1km and then the Coastal Walkway for 2km. After collecting my pack I hitch hiked to Hamilton. My 4th and final ride for the day turned out to be someone I'd worked with and Mike took me right to my door.

I will resume walking in the New Year from Thames towards Auckland. I wish everyone a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. See you all here in January.

Total kms walked to date = 1627 North Island and 3380 in total.