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Day five was the quieter half of the trip — a long scenic drive up to the Coromandel Peninsula, a base in Whitianga, and an evening that didn’t go quite as planned. Which turned out to be fine.
Morning: Leaving Tauranga
Tauranga on a clear morning is a good place to be leaving from — the sea was calm and the light was flat and bright. Bags in the car, heading north toward the Coromandel Peninsula.
The drive is one of those routes where the scenery changes often enough to hold your attention the whole way. Coast, then farmland, then hills, then coast again. One practical note: some sections of the mountain road have a 100km/h speed limit despite the bends, and slower driving will attract pressure from vehicles behind. Worth knowing before you encounter it.
Arriving in Whitianga: Ocean’s Resort
The accommodation for the night was Ocean’s Resort in Whitianga — a spacious property close to the water, with a full kitchen and clean, comfortable rooms. After several nights of hotels, having a kitchen felt like a useful change. We dropped the bags, took a short walk around the town, and headed out toward Coromandel.
Coromandel: The View That Keeps Stopping You
The Coromandel Peninsula is one of the most visually varied parts of the North Island. The road follows coastline and climbs into hills, and the views shift constantly — inlets appearing around corners, forested ridgelines dropping to blue water, small settlements tucked into coves that look as though they’ve been there for a long time and prefer it that way.
The drive became a series of stops: pull over, get out, look at the view, take a photograph, get back in. Repeated until Whitianga. There was no particular reason to rush, and we didn’t.
Evening: The Hot Spring Plan That Didn’t Happen
The plan for the evening was Hot Water Beach — a stretch of coastline near Whitianga where geothermal activity heats the sand, allowing visitors to dig their own pools at low tide. We were on our way back when the weather changed: a sharp gust, then rain, then a sky that made the whole idea seem impractical. The timing was close. A different day would have worked.
This is one of those things that happens on trips that involve weather. The beach will be there next time. Whitianga is worth returning to for that reason alone.
Night: Staying In
Given the schedule so far — geothermal parks, a gondola, a lion cub, two coastal hikes, and several hundred kilometers of driving — an evening in was welcome. We cooked dinner in the apartment kitchen, sorted through the week’s photographs, and talked through the next two days at a pace that wasn’t possible when there were things to do.
Trips need nights like this. The balance was right. Next post: Waiheke Island, wine, and a ferry across the harbor.
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