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This was our last leg of the Coromandel! We continued to travel down the east coast from Tairua to Waihi, just before cyclone Gabrielle sets it!
We began in Tairua which is a lovely picturesque holiday town. We found a brilliant freedom camping spot right next to the water. We found the camp named ‘Paku Drive Carpark’ the NZMCA app.
In the morning we walked from the camp to the start of the Mount Paku Summit walk! There were lots of steps but as it only takes about 30 mins return its not that painful! The view from the top is spectacular and definitely worth the sweat!
Mt Paku in Tairua is a volcanic peak rising up between the southern end of Tairua Beach and the Tairua harbour mouth. Its got a unique look about it and people actually live on it.
Later that day, we headed to the scenic Opoutere Beach. There isn’t much here apart from a few houses and campground. At the southern end of Opoutere Beach lies the winding entrance to the Wharekawa Harbour which is protected by a spectacular sandspit. Here lies the Wharekawa Wildlife Refuge The spit is a breeding ground for several endangered species of native sea birds including the New Zealand Dotterel. There is such a cool short walk here through a forest to a roaring ocean, and around the spit!
Our next stop was Onemana Beach, the secluded seaside settlement. It has a beautiful golden sand beach, and rocky inlets framed by pohutukawa trees. Its a lovely place, but we didn’t stay for long as we wanted to head further inland to avoid the worst of cyclone Gabrielle.
Following the coast down we next visited Whangamatā. Set against a backdrop of native forest park, the welcoming surf town of Whangamatā is a place to catch a wave, a fish or enjoy a delicious cafe meal.
We took a stroll through the town and then parked up for the night at one of the several freedom camping spots around town; Beach Road Reserve Freedom Camp. It was a lovely spot with awesome views out onto the harbour.
In the morning we had to move our van out of the reserve though as we were lucky enough to be there when the ‘Brits on the Beach’ event was on. They had a classic car show in the reserve with lots of cool old cars to look around. By this time the weather was changing so we took some short beach walks along Whangamatā Beach and Waihi Beach before heading inland towards Hamilton Kirikiriroa to ride out the storm!
