Coromandel

I moved to the Coromandel Peninsula yesterday after I checked out of the Auckland hostel. The drive from the city took about 4 hrs driving at a fairly leisurly pace. It's nice to be back in the countryside again and reminds me of what i loved about NZ so much. It's amazing how quickly the roads become very rural out of Auckland.

As you have probably guessed I have a car now. I managed to blag a free taxi ride from the city to the airport where the rental company was based. I also got a free upgrade to a lower milage car – which was nice! Its a white Nissan Sunny automatic with a/c, leccy windows/mirrors etc. Not bad for such a cheap rate! They even threw in 14 days free lift pass for Coronet Peak nr Queenstown/Wanaka and a free ride on the Cook Straight ferry!

Im staying in a small backpackers called The Lions Den based in Coromandel Town. Its a nice little town with a few cafes and essential stores and a great chippy (tried and tested). I arrived about 2pm yesterday after a breathtaking drive along State Highway 25 (more like an Alpine pass than a highway!) It did take a bit longer than I had anticipated due to stopping every 5 mins to take photos! The sun was out in force which made a change from the rain I had come accustomed to in Auckland. Im sharing the hostel with a German couple – Ruth and Stephan, an Irish guy, Patrick who works in Auckland for Hewlett Packard and Doug, a carpenter from Vancouver. In the evening we all huddeled around the log burner as the temperature dropped.

I got up early this morning to get on the 10.15am train on the Driving Creek Railway. A supurb feat of personal engineering and passion. A potter, Brian Brickell, had created a home-made railway system that made its way impossiably up the steep hillside to an amazing look-out point – the Eye-Full Tower (get it?!?). It was also a mission in conservation as he took out all the non-native trees and re-planted the area with 19,000 native varieties. Currently he is trying to re-introduce the Kiwi bird in to the area by setting up a breeding programme.

I have just returned from a little drive further up the coast to Colville – a tiny settelment home to a buddhist monastry, a quaint general stores and a cafe where I ate an awesome BLT sandwich for lunch. I would have gone further north but the road turned to gravel and my hire agreement forbode me to contine. I think i shall stay here for a few more nights. The weather is set to improve and there are a few more things i should like to see in the area. Hopefully this cold spell shall pass as it is fairly chilly for north North Island!