Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sleeping & Eating
Forest Lodge
LODGE $
( 07-895 4854;
www.owhangohotel.co.nz/forest-lodge
; 12 Omaki Rd; dm/d $25/60, motel d $80;
)
A snug backpackers with comfortable, clean rooms and good communal spaces.
For privacy junkies there's a separate self-contained motel next door. Mountain-bike
rental and bike-shuttle services for the 42 Traverse are also available.
Blue Duck Station
LODGE, HOSTEL $$$
( 07-895 6276;
www.blueduckstation.co.nz
; RD2, Whakahoro; dm/d $45/195)
Overlooking
the Retaruke River 36km southwest of Owhango (take the Kaitieke turn-off 1km south of
town), this eco-savvy place is actually various lodges, offering accommodation from
dorms in an old shearers' quarters to a self-contained family cottage sleeping eight. The
owners are mad-keen conservationists, restoring native-bird habitats and historic build-
ings.
Cafe 39 South
CAFE $
( 07-895 4800;
www.facebook.com/cafe39south
; SH4; meals $9-20; 8am-3pm Mon-Thu, to
4pm Sat & Sun)
The food is delicious - try the sweetcorn fritters - the coffee is excellent,
and the electric fire and daily soup specials will make you want to linger on cold days.
The 39° South latitude marker is just across the road.
Getting There & Away
Owhango is 14km south of Taumarunui on SH4. All the
InterCity
(
0508 353 947;
www.intercity.co.nz
)
buses that stop in Taumarunui also stop here.
COROMANDEL
History
This whole area, including the peninsula, the islands and both sides of the gulf, was
known to the Maori as Hauraki. Various
iwi
(tribes) held claim to pockets of it, including
the Pare Hauraki branch of the Tainui tribes and others descended from Te Arawa and
earlier migrations. Polynesian artefacts and evidence of moa hunting have been found,
pointing to around 1000 years of continuous occupation.
