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Gibbons Track. Photo by Greg Brave.

The beach is great and demands a swim, but Whatipu has no surf patrol, and as with all the beaches west of Auckland, swimming is not safe due to rips. But walking along them is highly recommended – one of the famous features of the area is the volcanic black sand

Walking Tracks at Whatipu

There are also some walking tracks in the area. For example Whatipu-Gibbons track. It begins at the car park at Whatipu and leads up the hill to the right of the parking. The track follows the top of the cliffs to the Pararaha Valley where it descends to the beach at Pararaha point. It then follows the beach back to Whatipu. There is a swamp near the beach, but don’t try to take shortcuts through it!
I tried but eventually got stuck and had to return to the beach and continue along the coastline.

Flower at Gibbons track. Photo by Greg Brave. Click on the photo for larger preview

Place to stay

If you want to spend the night at Whatipu you can stay at Whatipu Lodge, which is nested against the steep hills at the back of the beach flats. This “lodge” is really a collection of old buildings, the oldest being the Gibbons homestead, built in 1867 by mill manager Nicholas Gibbons, with its characteristic steep-pitched roof. There is also a camping ground available at Whatipu Lodge.

Getting there
Take the North-Western Motorway to the Great North Rd Exit. Follow Great North Rd onto Ash St which leads onto Rata St. Take Titirangi Rd right through Titirangi Village to the roundabout, take Huia Rd through to Huia. Continue on to Whatipu Rd for access to Whatipu at end of Whatipu Rd. From Auckland it is a 40 minutes drive.

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Photo by Daniel Kelpe

The Coromandel Town itself is a small and clean town. It is located on the Coromandel Peninsula about three hours drive from Auckland, Hamilton or Tauranga. If you don’t like driving you can catch a ferry from Auckland via Waiheke Island to the town. Though Coromandel Town is a small place there are many things to do there – golf, gardens, museum, train, boating. You can even get a bus tour… though I am not really sure that it is essential for such a small town. Of course there are also shops cafes, bars, and restaurants which can suite any taste, the local specialty being freshly caught seafood.

The original “olde worlde” colonial buildings create a special local character of the town. The Driving Creek Railway runs (daily) a narrow gauge passenger train which winds up the hillside through tunnels and over bridges to the “Eyefull Tower” for great views of the area.

Photo by PhillipC

Originally Driving Creek was a potter’s community and the train was used to bring in raw materials. Nowadays the railway station complex is still a working pottery with glass blowing and an art shop – aimed for the tourists of course.

Coromandel town also hosts several annual festivals, which include the Coro Do, late in October with art and entertainments. Another festival is Keltic Fair, a large one day event with over 300 stalls, food, music and all day entertainment.

Photo by Robertpaulyoung

All in all this is a nice small town, which in my opinion is worth stopping by if you are visiting the Coromandel Peninsula, and don’t forget to visit the Waiau Waterworks, which is located nearby on the 309 road. About the Waiau Waterworks I’ll write in another article, and for now – Have A Nice Day!

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1. AJ Hackett Bungy (http://www.bungy.co.nz)

With AJ Hackett Bungy you can choose from several bungy locations:

The Nevis Bungy

You jump from height of 134 meters above the Nevis river. In order to get there, operator gets you on 4×4 wheel drive for about 35 minutes, then you get on a shuttle which crosses the Nevis river   canyon to the bungy pod.

Kawarau Bridge Bungy

Here you jump from the bridge located 43 meters above the Kawarau river. You can choose to bob above the water, touch it, or be fully immersed. You can also choose how to jump topple over backwards, forwards, with another person, spin or somersault.

The Ledge Bungy

As they say, the only “urban bungy” in Queenstown. You jump from 400 meters above Queenstown. You can also do it at night and enjoy the night view of Queenstown lights. You reach the bungy platform via the Skyline Gondola.

2. Auckland Harbor Bridge Bungy Jump

This is a 40 meter Bungy Jump from the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

3. Taupo Bungy (http://www.taupobungy.co.nz/)

47 meters high jump above the Waikato river. You can jump solo or in tandem, and you can also choose whether to touch the water or not.

4. Skyjump (http://www.skyjump.co.nz/)

The highest jump in New Zealand. You jump from the Auckland’s SkyTower from height of 192 meters. But this is not the REAL bungy ! You jump facing down attached to a wire. The descent takes about 12 seconds falling at around 85 kilometers per hour.

5. Agroventures – Rotorua Bungy (http://www.agroventures.co.nz/)

You jump from 43 meters high purpose built tower. From above you can see the Lake Rotorua, Mokoia Island and far below the Ngongotaha Stream. Single and tandem jumps are available.

6. Thirllseekers Canyon (http://www.thrillseekerscanyon.co.nz/)

Here you jump from Waiau Ferry Bridge overlooking the Waiau Gorge. The height of the jump is 35 meters.

7. Mokai Gravity Canyon (http://www.gravitycanyon.co.nz/)

This canyon is located 20 minutes southeast of Taihape in the Rangitikei region. This jump is 80 meters high.

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2.Canoeing, Kayaking, and Rafting
New Zealand has many beautiful rivers with strong currents perfect for Rafting and similar water activities. There are lots of operators who will gladly take you on adrenaline pumping rafting trip through the world’s most beautiful scenery.

3.Bungy Jumping
The world’s first commercial bungy site was created by two Kiwis, Henry Van Asch and AJ. Hackett in Queenstown, located on the South Island of New Zealand. Half hour’s drive from Queenstown you reach the Kawarau suspension bridge along the SH6 highway, from which you can bunjy-jump a 43 meters drop to the water. Another popular bunjy location is the Skippers Canyon Bridge, standing 71 meters above a narrow gorge of the Shotover River. A much more extreme bunjy jump is the heli-bunjy, in which you reach heights of about 300 meters in a helicopter and jump right out of it!
Of course you can bungy jump in places other than Queenstown. For example there is a Thrillseekers Canyon at Hanmer Springs, or a Taupo Bungy over the Waikato River. You can also bungy jump off the Skytower in Auckland.

4.Caving
There are lots of caving opportunities in New Zealand, which has large areas of karst limestone landscape. Waitomo caves are pretty much the most popular caves in NZ, while Waitomo caving club is the largest in the country. There are also Takaka caving systems in the Nelson area, which are among the deepest and longest in the world. In Waitomo there are many high “Rambo Rating” excursions into the caves involving tight rock squeezes, passageway crawls, difficult cavern traverses, rock chute slides, and waterfall abseils, which will give you the adrenaline rush of your life!

5.Sky Diving/Parachuting
In sky diving you usually free fall for about 45 seconds and reach speed of about 180 kph! How is that for extreme activity? Add to this New Zealand’s scenery and you get a perfect experience. Usually you will get a choice of a solo or tandem skydive from a height of 9000, 12000 or 15000 feet, but for solo you will be required to take a training course. There are many skydiving locations both in the North and South islands, such as Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown, and Christchurch.

6.Cycle Sports
The beautiful New Zealand’s scenery makes for great cycling. You can either cycle solo or you can join a guided group cycling tour. During my New Zealand’s travels I constantly meet many tourists who choose to travel through New Zealand on a road bike. But remember that you have to be in a very good physical condition since New Zealand’s landscape is far from being flat.

7. Horse Trekking/Riding
International League for the Protection of Horses releases a brochure titled “Where to Ride in New Zealand”, which you can find in any i-Site. But in general I can tell you that you can find a horse riding activity almost anywhere in NZ. Horse treks can be any duration – from about an hour to multi-day camping trips.

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View from the Summit Station – Lyttelton Harbour

Nature Walkways at the Christchurch Gondola summit station

Port Hills Walk
A moderate 2.5 hours walk along the Crater Rim Walkway, admiring the great views of the Christchurch city, Lyttelton Harbour and Southern Alps.

Pioneer Women’s Memorial walk
A 50 minutes return walk . The Pioneer Women’s Memorial is built at the intersection of the Summit Road and Bridle Path commemorating the early pioneer families. There are also two memorial plaques. I won’t describe them – come and see for yourself.

Bridle Path
This is a one-hour walk from the Gondola Summit station to the Base Station. It is a steep (but easy) track. It was built back in 1850 in order to assist the early European settlers travelling from Lyttelton to Christchurch.

Cavendish Bluff Lookout
This is a short (30 minutes return) walk from Gondola Summit Station to the lookout. But it is well worth the effort (which is not hard at all). The lookout offers very beautiful view of the Lyttelton Harbor, and it is also a great picnic place.

View from the Summit Station – Christchurch

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