On Coromandel Peninsula you can find a bit of every thing: rocky beaches on the east, sand beaches on the west and in between the typical cattle fields interrupted by rain forest!
Before the arrival of the Europeans most of the area of New Zealand islands was covered by forest. The new settlers gradually took trees down for different resources and as the land grew improper for agriculture as an effect of heavy deforestation, the settlers turned to cattle farming. The country's sheep farming is an important industry and as they say, there are more sheep in New Zealand than people (although the rate has fallen to "just" about 10 sheep per inhabitant).
After our escape to Paihia, we headed back to Auckland to pick our ride: an old tiny but perfect camper van.
This car would be our home for the next two weeks in our road through New Zealand's northern island. Our first destination: the Coromandel Peninsula.
This car would be our home for the next two weeks in our road through New Zealand's northern island. Our first destination: the Coromandel Peninsula.
Driving on the left wasn't a big deal. Always keeping in mind the position of your car and driving slowly at least the first kilometers do the trick and a after a few hours we found ourselves sitting inside our new home heading towards the Coromandel Peninsula on the islands' west coast. Recommended by some fellow travelers we rented our economic camper van from Rental Car Village. The car had some kilometers and it sure wasn't new but we found it safe. As it is quite small, comfort isn't its best asset, we've always had to rearrange the inside of the car in order to make space for the bed.
It was a bit like camping, except instead sleeping inside a tent we slept inside the car!
It was a bit like camping, except instead sleeping inside a tent we slept inside the car!
On our bush walks on the Coromandel Peninsula besides a nice waterfall, we met for the first time the mighty kauri trees!
The kauris are one of the largest trees in volume making them an impressive sight. Standing next to one makes you feel small and makes you think about how nature's role is something much bigger and complex than all our human problems. Its size creates a special habitat for other plant and animals species. These trees usually grow slowly on steep slopes where faster growing plants can't survive. They can live up to 4000 years!
The oldest in the Waiau Kauri Grove in Coromandel Peninsula is 600 years old and it is more than 20 meters high and its trunk has a perimeter of 6 meters!
Upon the sight of a kauri you just want to hug this huge giant!
The kauris are one of the largest trees in volume making them an impressive sight. Standing next to one makes you feel small and makes you think about how nature's role is something much bigger and complex than all our human problems. Its size creates a special habitat for other plant and animals species. These trees usually grow slowly on steep slopes where faster growing plants can't survive. They can live up to 4000 years!
The oldest in the Waiau Kauri Grove in Coromandel Peninsula is 600 years old and it is more than 20 meters high and its trunk has a perimeter of 6 meters!
Upon the sight of a kauri you just want to hug this huge giant!
Contrasting with the rocky beaches of the west coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, on the east we've found amazing long a huge white sand beaches. Places like Opito beach and Otama beach, where we eventually stayed overnight, were paradises on Earth almost empty of people!
On a late afternoon on the Otama beach to see the sunset, as the ocean and sky got darker we've spotted something small swimming on sea. Due to the scarce light we were not even sure if it was really an animal or just a piece of garbage that tricked us. Eventually we realized it was an animal, it looked like a bird. But flying birds don't look like that and there was only one kind of bird that swims like that... the penguin!
Something on his behavior looked awfully wrong. It was clearly swimming right where the waves break, struggling and being beaten up by the waves. Eventually it got closer and we decided to help him, but right when I was putting my hands on it, it bite me with its beak and it slipped right from my fingers. It swam a bit further again away from our reach. As it got darker we began to accept that we couldn't help the little fellow. Even if we could reach it, we were not sure what to do with it or where to take him.
We left the penguin alone, feeling worried and frustrated but confident that mother nature would help him.
We decided to check the beach the next morning before leaving. Sadly we found it lying facedown against the sand some meters away from the sea...
Don't how long did it survived before the waves and tides won and left it ashore...
We found out it was a blue penguin, a very small species of penguins which we guess got lost and swam too far onto warm waters. Perhaps too warm for him as we don't think there are usually penguins on these parts of the island, at least during Summer.
Something on his behavior looked awfully wrong. It was clearly swimming right where the waves break, struggling and being beaten up by the waves. Eventually it got closer and we decided to help him, but right when I was putting my hands on it, it bite me with its beak and it slipped right from my fingers. It swam a bit further again away from our reach. As it got darker we began to accept that we couldn't help the little fellow. Even if we could reach it, we were not sure what to do with it or where to take him.
We left the penguin alone, feeling worried and frustrated but confident that mother nature would help him.
We decided to check the beach the next morning before leaving. Sadly we found it lying facedown against the sand some meters away from the sea...
Don't how long did it survived before the waves and tides won and left it ashore...
We found out it was a blue penguin, a very small species of penguins which we guess got lost and swam too far onto warm waters. Perhaps too warm for him as we don't think there are usually penguins on these parts of the island, at least during Summer.