[Itinerary] 7th Feb: Bay of Islands – Coromandel Peninsula

We will be taking the King's Dolphin Cruise around the bay for the entire day, hopefully to swim with the dolphins... if they're about.

Kings Dolphin Cruises & Eco Tours
PO Box 269
Maritime Building
Marsden Road
Paihia 0247
Bay of Islands
New Zealand
ph: +64 9 402 8288
fax: +64 9 402 7915

Today please make your way south to Pauanui, on the Coromandel Peninsula (approx. 399kms / 239.4ms). This is quite a long driVing day, you may like to start early to leave plenty of time for photo opportunities!

Separated from Auckland by the broad Firth of Thames, Coromandel is a worthwhile detour off the Pacific Coast Highway. Fringing both shores of the sparsely inhabited peninsula are endless pohutakawa trees whose rich red blooms are a stunning feature of the landscape between October and December. The area is steeped in gold-mining history, vividly brought to life in the Thames Gold Mine and Stamper Battery. The sleepy town of Coromandel, also a former gold mining centre, offers a scenic narrow-gauge rail trip up into the hills and is the jumping off point for one of New Zealand's renowned coastal paths, the 57km Coromandel Walkway. Over on the eastern side, beautiful Mercury Bay and the town of Whitianga are a great base to explore the region and offer diverse experiences such as bone carving, snorkelling in Cathedral Cove and a natural 'sauna' on Hot Water Beach, where hot springs emerge below the sand.

Overnight: Grand Mercure Puka Park Resort
(http://www.pukapark.co.nz/)

Puka Park Resort
Mount Avenue
Pauanui Beach
Coromandel Peninsula
Phone: 0064 (0) 7 864 8088
Fax: 0064 (0) 7 864 8112