An exciting morning, waking up and knowing we were going to explore the Coromandel Peninsula. It is the one place Pete and I really wanted to see this time in New Zealand. After another wonderful plunge in the hot pool we set off. Our first stop was Thames. Such a quaint little town with a lot of gold rush history. Above is the Anglican church.
One of the many stunning old buildings...
Isn't this a cracker? One of the local second hand shops on the main street...
The drive up along the coast of the peninsula was so pretty , we were always right on the water...called the Firth of Thames.
Still driving up along the coast....
Looking back at Manaia Harbour...the sun shone for quite a few hours today, the water looked so blue. It is still lovely when it is overcast but gosh the sunshine does make a difference.
We are still up high, it is quite a mountainous peninsular....the views were breathtaking.
Our lunch stop was a Coromandel Town and we parked near the water. Pete enjoyed looking at all the old boats tied up amounts the mangroves.
One of the lovely beaches that we had been told about by our fellow walkers last week...it is called Otama Beach....had the whitest sand we had seen so far.
And the next bay, Opito Bay was also pretty and we were very excited to see this bird...a northern NZ dotterel which is slowly disappearing and they are trying a few protection programs to improve their numbers. ( I never thought I would be so interested in birds!)
Our resting place for the night...Hahei...and this is the view from our van.
And this is what the beach looked like at five o'clock this afternoon....photos cannot capture how beautiful this place is. We can't wait until tomorrow...more adventures in this lovely part of the world.