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Waihi
The 300km journey from Rotorua to Kuaotunu was scenic but not particularly noteworthy along the busy SH2 through Tauranga. Upon reaching the gold town of Waihi, we stopped off to view the enormous deep crater left by years of mining. Nearby to the mine was a museum detailing some of the areas mining history, which dated back to late 19th century.
From Waihi, SH25 forms part of the very windy Pacific Coast highway route through the Coromandel Forest Park. Just south of Whitiangi we turned off the main route to view Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove. Unfortunately, with daylight diminishing and a high tide, we were unable to access the former, where digging a hole in the sands enabled you enjoy your own hot spring pool. However, we did get to see the area bathed in glorious deep red sunset.
Coromandel
 The road from Kuaotunu to Coromandel Town was full of bends as it ascended the Coromandel Range. On reaching the peak, what would have been good views of the coastline were obscured by dense mist. The one hour trip on the Driving Creek Narrow Gauge Railway outside Coromandel Town takes you through a mini rain forest and would have been more interesting on a sunny day. The building at the foot of the steep sided railway had a real air of antiquity due to the restricted funding and reliance of volunteer support.
The town of Coromandel was surprisingly small for the number of holiday and permanent homes in the area. Lunch at one of the cafés was an an experience not to repeat as we chose potato wedges laced in a crisp cheesy coating with sour cream and a blood sauce. The whole dish was uninspiring and rapidly became congealed as it cooled off! The journey south along the pacific coast highway towards Thames was interesting with some good views of the Firth of Thames to be had at a number of viewpoints. However, the road was somewhat busy and narrowed in a number of places making it difficult to take in the scenery and watch where you were driving!
Exploring the coastline around Kuaotunu along Old Blackjack Road was well worth a visit. Otama Beach is a wonderfully quiet stretch of wide golden sands in a sweeping bay with rocks at one end. Apart from a few families and fishermen, it was so restful as we walked along the wet sand with small breakers interrupting the otherwise tranquil setting. Along the way we saw a number of small 'swordfish like' blue skinned fish that had been washed up with the tide, oyster catchers, gulls and some other species, all caught on camera. Just further along the road eastwards was Opito Beach, not so interesting as Otama as there had been a large growth in holiday homes, suggesting a less tranquil setting in the summer months.
The road west of Kuaotunu Bay was like many of its ilk, gravel and narrow, but took us past Rings Beach, another fine sandy and very quiet beach.
Negotiating the windy route had it's potential to come to grief as there was nothing to stop you going over the now high cliff edges as we moved to Whangapoa. The beach was wide and quiet, but we wondered how long this would exist as we later discovered that the area was being rapidly developed with hundreds of new holiday homes scheduled to be built by 2010!
For us, the beaches around the Coromandel were some of the best we had seen in NZ. Although the scenery was less dramatic and imposing compared to parts of the South Island, it was well worth visiting.
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