Coromandel Overview

Beautiful beaches and splendid scenery make the Coromandel Peninsula one of New Zealand’s most frequented holiday destinations. Swimming, surfing, diving, boating, kayaking and fishing are popular aquatic activities. For a change of scenery, you can take one of the many walks in the area or do some serious overnight tramping. For the less energetic, there are plenty of craft shops and places of historical interest to visit. Rugged, forested hills forming the backbone of the peninsula, and an indented coastline mean winding roads. On the east coast, where the scenery is more spectacular, the road is often hilly and used by logging trucks. Allow plenty of time if you’re driving.

Seas and forests provided abundant food for Maori who have lived on this peninsula for centuries. Archaeologists have found evidence of early moa hunters, and several pa sites are identified for visitors. Captain James Cook Mercury Bay and Cooks Beach were named when Cook anchored in the bay in 1769 to observe the transit of the planet Mercury. Cook’s discoveries brought other Europeans to New Zealand. In 1820, a visit by HMS Coromandel to collect kauri timber, gave the town and the area its name.

Timber and Gold The timber industry played an important part in early European history. Logging of the great kauri forests, mainly for ship building, lasted almost a century. Forestry is still an important industry, but the trees are exotics; native forests are protected in reserves. In 1852 the discovery of gold at Coromandel brought diggers to the area. The Thames rush began in 1867 and later finds were made elsewhere on the peninsula, notably at Waihi where there is a mine working today. You can take tours of the Waihi Mine, learn about mining history at the Thames School of Mines Museum and Coromandel School of Mines Museum, and follow old goldmine trails.

Beaches and coastline are the great attraction of Coromandel Peninsula. The East Coast has the best beaches with lovely white sand and sheltered bays. Our favourite is Hahei Beach in Mercury Bay. It’s very popular and has lots of visitors in summer. The beaches north of Coromandel are less frequented because access to them is generally on winding gravel roads.

COROMANDEL FERRY TICKET FROM AUCKLAND

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**Rings Beach, Coromandel Photographed at Dawn by Richard Hume