Exploring Coromandel Peninsula: An Unforgettable Road Trip Experience

After our stay in Whatipu Beach, we began to head southeast out of the Auckland Region and into the Waikato Region, specifically towards the Coromandel Peninsula.

Our campsite for the night was at the northernmost point of the peninsula, a little campsite called Fletcher Bay. We made the mistake of taking a little too long sightseeing on our way, and ended up driving the majority of the winding dirt road in the dark. Even though I think we both would have preferred to do those 20 grueling miles in the daylight, we got to see lots of Australian Possums on our drive.

The Australian Possum, or the common brushtail possum was first brought to New Zealand in 1837 by some European settlers. They were hoping to establish a fur industry. The first attempt to introduce these possums was unsuccessful, but they continued to try and introduce them. By 1921, the brushtail possum was thriving in the country, and the government made it illegal to bring any more possums into New Zealand.

We woke up the next morning to the sound of waves. Our campsite was located on a nice little rocky beach. We took our morning coffee out onto the rocks, and enjoyed the morning. The tide was (rather quickly) coming in, so after our coffee we headed back to the van (Cliffjord) to make some breakfast.

The ride down the gravel road was much more fun in the daylight, and there were breathtaking views of the ocean as well as rolling hills all along the drive. We stopped at most of the pull offs along the way to enjoy the scenery.

One of the pull offs we stopped at allowed us to actually drive right up onto the beach! This would have been perfect…if the van was 4WD. As it turns out, Cliffjord does not do great off road, and we almost immediately got stuck in the beach. After multiple attempts (over an hour) of us trying to get the van out, we flagged down a traveler to ask for assistance. This individual was very kind, and as it turns out, he had gotten stuck at this very same beach 4 years prior!

After trying a couple of different things to get us out (none of which worked very well…) he finally drove his RV onto the beach, hooked up a tow strap to the back of the van, and pulled us right out!