Coromandel, Whitianga and Hahei – Feb. 7, 2007

Still raining, we started our day off in Coromandel with a trip on the Driving Creek Railway up the side of a mountain to an awesome view. The guy who built it, Barry Brickell, has entrusted the land to NZ citizens after his death, and spent much of his life building the tiny railroad and making the place a conservation area (he is also an artist and potter). It was an absolutely gorgeous view, albeit on a cloudy day. There was also a pottery studio at the bottom where we got on the train. It was pretty amazing what he has done–he will leave a real legacy when he goes.

Lunch in Coromandel included local mussel chowder–excellent. From there we headed to Whitianga and spent a little time walking the beach and going through the shops in town. We had a great dinner at a place called TuaTua, where Jess had mussel fritters and Jonathan had grilled lamb. Both were delicious–not getting sick of lamb or seafood yet–not when it’s this fresh. It will be hard to eat when we come back.

A short drive to Hahei Holiday Park brought us to our evening’s destination, where we had a great sunset stroll on the beautiful white sandy beach.

Sleep came easily.

~ by jboehman on February 7, 2007.