Coromandel Town to Auckland Ferry

This finally concludes my posts about this first trip I took when I first came to Auckland. FINALLY. I took this trip in the tail end of January and I'm only finishing it now. Phew.

Instead of taking a bus back to Auckland, I decided to take a ferry which would be faster and afford me different views. We sailed through the Hauraki Gulf, which is pretty sheltered and so had a smooth journey. The photos say it all:

One of my favourite photos from this trip

Beverages for your refreshment

Ample space to move and stretch

The engine is so loud, you wouldn't hear it playing anyway

Bikes travel free

Outgoing cruise ship, with the Auckland Harbour Bridge in the background

City skyline

Hmm how much do these apartments cost?

Thanks to PC and his flatmate who picked me up from the wharf and saved me another bus trip back.

Review: Squids Bar and Restaurant

On the penultimate day of my travel I decided to treat myself to a proper good meal. For 6 days I've existed on Subway sandwiches and hastily cooked pasta meals in hostel kitchens, so enough is enough!

My phone's Ovi Maps GPS application has a Trip Advisor utility that combines tourism reviews with the address, so it can suggest and show me nearby places. Under restaurants it recommended Salt as the #1 place to eat, based on user ratings. So I eagerly made my way there:

I stood near the entrance and inspected the menu posted. No one came to ask me if I wanted a table, so I just walked in and plopped down at a table in the al fresco area overseeing the marina. It could have been a pretty peaceful sight if not for the 5 or 6 kids playing roughly while their parents socialize, uninterrupted by the ruckus.

But the thing that broke the camel's back was being ignored. Passing waiters did not bother to hand me a menu or serve. After 5 minutes I got up and just walked out. I instead dined at the eatery across Salt - Squids Bar and Restaurant. What a great choice!

Continue reading my review of Squids after the jump.

Review: Cat's Pyjamas, Whitianga

This hostel was one of the better ones I stayed at in this trip. Though quite crowded we're sufficiently spread out, with plenty of common areas to relax. It's a short 5-10 minute walk to the marina and beach, so a strategic location.

The manager is very friendly, though the resident cat may not always be! Tairua Bus Company (Nakedbus) transports can stop and pick up from this hostel - just let the driver/hostel manager know in advance.

Cat's Pyjamas reception

Well equipped kitchen with working stuff!

Dining area inside

Lots of places to chill outside

Catch some sun or sea breeze here

Living room with books and DVDs

Common bathroom

Cathedral Cove @ Hahei, Coromandel

Nearby Whitianga is the town of Hahei, which has 2 main attractions - Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach. Due to my trip planning I did not manage to visit Hot Water Beach. I later found out that summer isn't a good time to be digging your own thermal pool in the sand anyway. Now would be different though!

Cathedral Cove was featured in the second Narnia film - Prince Caspian. In case you don't remember (it was such a forgettable movie after all), watch the trailer and see where they are at 0:45:


It seems only in Narnia can kids run through the cove as in reality the place is cordoned off and declared unstable.

My experience continues after the jump.

Whitianga, Coromandel

Whitianga was my next stop after sleepy Thames, and it was the most enjoyable leg of that trip. Fronted by the beautiful Mercury Bay, Whitianga and its neighbour Hahei is a popular base to explore the highlights of the Coromandel - Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach.

Whitianga itself has plenty of holiday homes ('bachs' in Kiwi slang - short for bachelor home) and a marina for boaties to park their sails:

It doesn't have much in the way of natural attractions besides Mercury Bay itself. However, all it takes is a 5 minute ferry ride across the mouth of the harbour to get easy walking access to some stunning scenery of the region.

Map of area across Whitianga

Ferry services: $2 adult each way

Photos of the ferry and some of the places mentioned in the map is after the jump.

Review: Gateway Backpackers, Thames

I stayed 2 nights at Gateway Backpackers when I was in Thames, and I found this to be a cozy homely place with one pitfall.

Pros:

• Situated right next to the Information Centre and the bus stop for InterCity and NakedBus coaches.
• Free use of washing machine
• Nice sun deck for those lazy summer days
• Very reasonable rates

Cons:

• No locks on dorm rooms. As the reception is located in a separate building, thieves could easily slip in unnoticed, not that you'd expect many offenders in a place like Thames. Still.

More photos after the break:

Random: Self-cleaning toilets

These toilets are pretty cool. When unoccupied, it can clean itself. To get the toilet seat you have to press a button. A hatch opens up and the toilet seat is placed for you, all clean and disinfected.

There's also a time lime to using the toilet. When your 10 minutes is up, the door opens automatically...

Thames, Coromandel

After spending 2 nights at Hamilton, I continued my journey via a 2 hour van ride (Tairua Bus Company, purchased via NakedBus) to Thames, the gateway to the Coromandel Peninsula. Most people pass through Thames without much thought, but I spent a couple of nights here due to the arrangement of my bus tickets.

Which was just as well as the rain that hounded Hamilton followed me here, so I had a terrible time moving about. That is still saying much, as Thames is a really small town with 2 parallel main streets. Where it really shines is the number of heritage buildings - I felt transported back to the gold rush days when I walk amongst the old buildings. Check them out!

More photos after the jump.

Review: YWCA Hamilton

I spent 2 nights at the Hamilton YWCA hostel. You do not need to be young nor female to stay here, and they are the most value-for-money hostel near to the city.

From the main road

Activities hall/office

Flat units

For $30 a night you get a small, but private, single room like the one below:

A single room

It even comes with a towel, a rarity for hostels. They are also open for long term stays, and I've seen a few residents who look like they've been there for quite a while. If I remember correctly, the weekly rent is $140 for a single.

The main disadvantages:

• Still relatively far from the city centre, compared to other hostels. It's not within the free city circuit bus network, so you need to walk slightly more than 1km to Victoria St.
• Common kitchen has limited utensils. Each resident is given a sauce pan (small pot), a bowl, a small plate, a large plate, a small cup, and a pair of fork and spoon. They have some knives and chopping board in the kitchen, but there are no other pots and pans. I had to get really creative with cooking my meals.

Random Hamilton

It was a rainy time in Hamilton and so I didn't take many photos, especially the main Victoria St. These will have to do:

ArtsPost - old post office converted into commercial art gallery

Waikato Museum - permanent exhibits are free and highly recommended

Falun Dafa movement at the farmer's market

Weekend farmer's market

Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton

Hamilton Gardens was the highlight of my visit to Hamilton City. Located a few kilometers away from the city centre, there are public buses (about 5 a day) but a car is definitely more convenient.

Basically a large botanical garden, the thing that sets it apart is the focus on gardens as a historical/cultural concept rather than particular flora. Yes, there are the usual "here's 15 different types of roses for you to mull over" areas within its huge 50 hectares, but the part that I liked the most is the Paradise Garden Collection, which features themed gardens from the Italian Renaissance, Chinese, Japanese, English, American Modernist, and Indian era. Separated by high hedges, taking just a few steps transported me from a pagoda to a tea house to a mini Taj Mahal!

More pics under the fold...

Raglan, Waikato

This post contains text excerpts from Lonely Planet New Zealand, which helped me plan my holidays here. It's not the definite resource but it's a good base to start from.

I started an 8 day holiday around some parts of North Island on the 20th of this month, and I'll spend the next few weeks posting photos and experiences from my laidback trip. I hadn't realized it when I planned this trip, but I actually went from coast to coast, from the Tasman Sea on the west up to the South Pacific Ocean on the east, with a little jaunt through the Hauraki Gulf in the middle. Get ready to feast your eyes on lots of sea and beautiful beaches!

My first stop was Raglan, a famous surfing town not unlike Piha Beach but with more surfing spots. Bruce Brown's classic 1964 wave-chasing film The Endless Summer features Manu Bay (Lonely Planet, 2010) which was where I stayed during my short jaunt into Raglan.

I woke up that morning at about 5.30am so I could catch an early bus into the city. Reaching my final stop at 7.15am, I walked up to the SkyCity complex which was where InterCity buses depart. I hopped on the 8am bus to Hamilton and arrived at the Hamilton Transport Centre ahead of schedule, about 2 hours later.

All my bags are packed, ready to go...

InterCity coach terminal, SkyCity Auckland

I explored Hamilton a little bit on foot before my mid-afternoon bus to Raglan. It costs $7.50 one way (adult) on the Raglan 23 bus. It takes about 45 minutes to reach Raglan and you'll pass by plenty of rolling hills and at one point, a windfarm. It's amazing to see the really huge windmills and to see them perched on top of green hills, their blades rotating and generating clean energy. The bus passed it pretty quickly so I didn't manage to snap a photo.

Along SH23

More rolling hills for your viewing pleasure

Due to job interview commitments back in Hamilton, I had less than 24 hours in Raglan. A free shuttle drove me to my hostel and I immediately dropped my bags and went out for a short tramp (New Zealanders call hiking 'tramping') down to Ngarunui Beach. The track is well-maintained and sign-posted by the DOC (Department of Conservation).

Sign post before the track

Going down the hill to Ngarunui Beach

A short 20 minute walk down the hill leads you onto the beach itself. It's too bad that I visited during low tide because there were barely any surfers in sight. But in return I had a mostly-deserted beach to myself and I walked along it for an hour, just soaking in the sound of the ocean waves and getting a nice tan.

Ngarunui Beach from the lookout point

On Ngarunui Beach

On Ngarunui Beach

The next morning I went to the lookout point again to see how it looked like with a rising sun before I checked out and caught the 10am bus back to Hamilton.

Ngarunui Beach with the rising sun

Wouldn't you want to just sit on this bench and let time float by?

The famed Manu Bay from afar

Manu Bay close up