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| Tonyi Tamaki visits the Coromandel Peninsula |
Today, Tonyi Tamaki and her friends have sailed along the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. If some days ago they visited Cathedral Cove, now they have decided to return to this part of the island to visit the coast by boat.
The sights are unforgettable and the zone is beautiful and full of memorable places. Joseph de Ca'th Lon has practised one of his favourite sports, diving, while the rest of the group has admired dolphins acrobatics and whales jumps.
The sights are unforgettable and the zone is beautiful and full of memorable places. Joseph de Ca'th Lon has practised one of his favourite sports, diving, while the rest of the group has admired dolphins acrobatics and whales jumps.
During the travel by boat, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her First Certificate Language Practice manual (Chapter 19).
More information: Functions II
The Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand extends 85 kilometres north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier to protect the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean to the east.
It is 40 kilometres wide at its broadest point. Almost the entire population lies on the narrow coastal strips fronting the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Plenty. In clear weather the peninsula is clearly visible from Auckland, the country's biggest city, which lies on the far shore of the Hauraki Gulf, 55 kilometres to the west. The peninsula is part of the local government areas of Thames-Coromandel District and the Waikato Region.
The Coromandel Peninsula was named for HMS Coromandel, originally named HMS Malabar, a ship of the British Royal Navy, which stopped at Coromandel Harbour in 1820 to purchase kauri spars and was itself named for India's Coromandel Coast, which itself is named the Cholamandalam.
It is 40 kilometres wide at its broadest point. Almost the entire population lies on the narrow coastal strips fronting the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Plenty. In clear weather the peninsula is clearly visible from Auckland, the country's biggest city, which lies on the far shore of the Hauraki Gulf, 55 kilometres to the west. The peninsula is part of the local government areas of Thames-Coromandel District and the Waikato Region.
More information: The Coromandel
The Coromandel Peninsula was named for HMS Coromandel, originally named HMS Malabar, a ship of the British Royal Navy, which stopped at Coromandel Harbour in 1820 to purchase kauri spars and was itself named for India's Coromandel Coast, which itself is named the Cholamandalam.
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| Water activities in the Coromandel Peninsula |
The peninsula is steep and hilly, and is largely covered in temperate rainforest. The Coromandel Range forms a spine for the peninsula, rising to nearly 900 metres, and the large island of Great Barrier, which lies beyond the northern tip, can be thought of as an extension of the range.
Great Barrier is separated from Cape Colville on the peninsula's northern coast by the Colville Channel. Although the peninsula is close to large centres of population such as Auckland to the west and Tauranga to the southeast, its rugged nature means that much of it is relatively isolated, and the interior and northern tip are both largely undeveloped and sparsely inhabited. A forest park covers much of the peninsula's interior.
Numerous small islands and island groups lie offshore, such as the Motukawao Islands to the northwest, the Alderman Islands and Slipper Island to the southeast, and the Mercury Islands to the northeast.
Great Barrier is separated from Cape Colville on the peninsula's northern coast by the Colville Channel. Although the peninsula is close to large centres of population such as Auckland to the west and Tauranga to the southeast, its rugged nature means that much of it is relatively isolated, and the interior and northern tip are both largely undeveloped and sparsely inhabited. A forest park covers much of the peninsula's interior.
Numerous small islands and island groups lie offshore, such as the Motukawao Islands to the northwest, the Alderman Islands and Slipper Island to the southeast, and the Mercury Islands to the northeast.
The peninsula shows considerable signs of past volcanism. It comprises the eroded remnants of the Coromandel Volcanic Zone, which was highly active during the Miocene and Pliocene periods. Volcanic activity has since primarily shifted southeast to the Taupo Volcanic Zone, although Mayor Island was recently active some 25 km to the east. Geothermal activity is still present on the Peninsula, with hot springs in several places, notably at Hot Water Beach, in the central east coast between Whitianga and Tairua.
Owing to the nature of the land, much of the Coromandel's population clusters in a small number of towns and communities along the southeastern and southwestern coasts.
More information: New Zealand
Owing to the nature of the land, much of the Coromandel's population clusters in a small number of towns and communities along the southeastern and southwestern coasts.
Only five towns on the peninsula have populations of over 1000 like Coromandel, Whitianga, Thames, Tairua, and Whangamata,
and of these only Thames has a population of over 5000. Several small
towns dot the coast of the Firth of Thames in the southwest. Other small
towns on the peninsula include Te Puru, Matarangi, Whangapoua, Whiritoa, Hikuai, Port Jackson, Port Charles, Tairua, Pauanui and Colville.
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| The Grandma contemplates dolphins |
The population of several of these centres is highly seasonal, with many Aucklanders having holiday homes in the Coromandel.
During the Christmas and New Year (summer) holiday period, visiting families and travellers from around the North Island significantly increase activity in the area, particularly in Whangamata, Whitianga, Matarangi, Tairua and Pauanui. The peninsula has become a popular place to live for those who have chosen an alternative lifestyle, especially for those who have elected not to live in Auckland.
The 1970s saw thousands of hippies relocate from large cities around New Zealand to the Coromandel in search of an environmentally friendly lifestyle associated with the counterculture back-to-the-land movement. As of 2010, increasing numbers of affluent Aucklanders have started moving to the Coromandel.
During the Christmas and New Year (summer) holiday period, visiting families and travellers from around the North Island significantly increase activity in the area, particularly in Whangamata, Whitianga, Matarangi, Tairua and Pauanui. The peninsula has become a popular place to live for those who have chosen an alternative lifestyle, especially for those who have elected not to live in Auckland.
The 1970s saw thousands of hippies relocate from large cities around New Zealand to the Coromandel in search of an environmentally friendly lifestyle associated with the counterculture back-to-the-land movement. As of 2010, increasing numbers of affluent Aucklanders have started moving to the Coromandel.
The population density decreases with both distance from the coast and distance north. Of the main population centres, only Coromandel, Colville, Matarangi and Whitianga lie in the north of the peninsula, and much of the interior remains virtually uninhabited.
More information: Backpacker Guide
The area was formerly known largely for its hardrock gold mining and kauri industries, but is now a mecca for tourism, especially ecotourism. A forest park occupies much of the centre of the peninsula, and the coasts are dotted with fine beaches and stunning views. The Moehau Ranges even have an imagined monster, the Hairy Moehau.
Evidence of the region's geothermal origins can be found in hot springs, notably at Hot Water Beach on the peninsula's east coast. The town of Whangamata is a popular holiday retreat, and Whitianga on Mercury Bay is renowned for its yachting. The peninsula's waters are also a popular destination for scuba divers. Cathedral Cove, named for its cathedral like arch through the limestone cliff, is a popular destination, only accessible by boat or on foot.
In recent years, dolphins and more coast-loving whales are appearing along the coasts as their numbers began to recover, such as southern right whale, Bryde's whale and humpback whale.
There are many historical mines in the Coromandel area, especially for gold mining. Waihi, in the south of the peninsula, still has an active gold mine, as of the late 2000s, though most other mining in the area ceased about the 1980s.
More information: Lonely Planet
New Zealand was one of the most beautiful countries
to drive through for the scenery and the vast scale of the place.
Louise Nurding
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