Coromandel Explorer
Highlights
Coromandel Coastline
Thames
Butterfly and Orchid Garden
Rapaura Watergardens
Coromandel Gold Stamper Battery
Driving Creek Railway
Matarangi
Whitianga
Hot Water Beach
Pauanui
Owharoa Falls
We have packed quite a lot into this 3 day tour to the Coromandel which is renowned for its stunning coastline and beaches as well as its long history with Gold Mining.
We go on the Driving Creek Railway, walk on Hot Water Beach, see Owharoa Falls and take in the fabulous scenery as we travel around the peninsula.
Our tour also includes visits to the Butterfly and Orchid Garden with their display of over 400 species from all over the world and Rapaura Watergardens with its waterfalls and abundance of native bush, ferns, flowers and birds. This is a wonderful short tour with plenty of magnificent views of the Coromandel Coastline.
Itinerary
Day 1
Driving up through Thames, we make a stop at the Butterfly and Orchid Garden for our morning tea stop and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere. There are many flowers on display and the walk in the garden is magical with birds and butterflies joining us as we stroll. Lunch is at the Koru Restaurant at the stunning Rapaura Watergardens with its beautiful Garden Art. We continue our drive north along the West Coast to Coromandel Town where we have time to look around this historic town before settling in for our overnight stay.
Day 2
Today, we head across to the Coromandel Gold Stamper Battery for a tour detailing Coromandel's history and gold mining past. It is a fully functioning museum, exhibiting the process from crushing the rock ore to the final product - gold. There are also many relics from the past on display. We continue to the Driving Creek Railway for a ride on this unique train built by the wonderful Barry Brickell. Next, we go over to the East Coast and stop for lunch in Matarangi then have time for a stroll on Matarangi Beach. We drive to Whitianga where we stay overnight.
Day 3
We start our day by taking the ferry across the inlet then continuing our drive down the East Coast. We go to Cooks Beach where Captain Cook made anchor and is still one of the Coromandel's best beaches. We stop for morning tea at the famous Hot Water Beach but our water will come from our urn so we will not ask you to dig into the sand with your spades! A quick stop in Tairua to pick up some lunch and we stop to eat it at the beach in Pauanui. We continue down the East Coast then go inland passing through Waihi into Karangahake Gorge where we stop and take the short walk to see Owharoa Falls. We then make our way back to Auckland.