Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The
Coromandel Coastal Walkway
is a scenic, 3½-hour one-way hike between Fletcher Bay
and
Stony Bay
. It's a relatively easy walk with great coastal views and an ambling section
across farmland. If you're not keen on walking all the way back,
Coromandel Discovery
(
07-866 8175;
www.coromandeldiscovery.co.nz
;
adult/child $125/70)
will drive you from Coromandel
Town up to Fletcher Bay and pick you up from Stony Bay four hours later.
At Stony Bay, where the east-coast road terminates, there's another
DOC campsite
(adult/
child $10/5)
and a small DOC-run bach (holiday home) that sleeps five ($77). Heading south
there are a couple of nice beaches peppered with baches on the way to the slightly larger
settlement of
Port Charles
.
Tangiaro Kiwi Retreat
( 07-866 6614;
www.kiwiretreat.co.nz
;
1299 Port Charles Rd; units $220-350; )
of-
fers eight very comfortable one- or two-bedroom self-contained wooden cottages. There's
a bush-fringed spa, an in-house masseuse ($70 per hour) and, in summer, a cafe and li-
censed restaurant.
Another 8km brings you to the turn-off leading back to Colville, or you can continue
south to
Waikawau Bay
, where there's a large
DOC campsite
( 07-866 1106; adult/child $10/5)
which
has a summer-only store. The road then winds its way south past
Kennedy Bay
before cut-
ting back to come out near the Driving Creek Railway.
Book DOC campsites at
www.doc.govt.nz
.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Coromandel Town to Whitianga
There are two routes from Coromandel Town southeast to Whitianga. The main road is
the slightly longer but quicker SH25, which enjoys sea views and has short detours to
pristine sandy beaches. The other is the less-travelled but legendary 309 Rd, an unsealed,
untamed route through deep bush.
State Highway 25
SH25 starts by climbing sharply to an incredible lookout before heading steeply down.
The turn-off at Te Rerenga follows the harbour to
Whangapoua
. There's not much at this
beach except for holiday homes, but you can walk along the rocky foreshore to the re-
mote, beautiful and often-deserted and undeveloped
New Chum's Beach
(30 minutes), re-
garded as one of the most beautiful in the country. Back in Te Rerenga on SH25, the
Castle
