Auckland Feb 12

The Coromandel peninsula has over 400K of coastline, beautiful beaches & rugged volcanic hills cloaked in native rainforest. The temptation to see more than just Whangamata when we were only 2 hrs drive from Auckland was uncontrollable! On route to hwy 25A to cross the peninsula; there was a road to a lookout over Whangamata beach & Onemana. Onemana is a natural amphitheatre bounded on 3 sides by Norfolk & white pine forest and Pacific Ocean. The pictures of both places gave us reason to check it out & we had the time! Well we drove 4K on the peninsula road before turning around; it was like a scene from a deliverance movie! Onemana was peaceful with an unspoiled beach; signs posted of the undertow dangers & only swim with lifeguard supervision. Easter was the next scheduled duty!
The drive along hwy 25A was mostly through reforestation initiatives; hills ranged from raggedy bare, yearlings to full grown trees. You know “you often have to tear down to go forward”! The roads were better than driving up the coastal road and by 11 am we were within 90K of Auckland so we took the scenic Seabird Coast versus the direct route. The Seabird Coast - classed as a bird watchers dream, was our last chance to drive along the ocean; we took the bait! We saw dozens of Black Swans with bright red beaks, sea gulls and boring lowlands. This is one section of NZ you can take a pass on or perhaps we are just spoiled! We stopped for lunch at the end of the drive at a roadside Chinese Veggie stand, later to discover we were only a KM away from all kinds of cafes & bistros! Go Figure!!
We drove through Auckland, called the City of Sails. Why? Auckland is a city of marinas and high buildings! However we weren’t in the mood to tackle another city; all we wanted was the Jet Park airport hotel & its pool. We ate dinner at their award winning restaurant, not a disappointment nor was the local wine! Then early to bed for our 6 am rise and flight to Australia! New Zealand was everything and more than we had hoped! Would we come again? Who knows but if you’ve never been – well this is nature’s paradise!