Things to do in Coromandel Region
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Driving Creek Cafe
A large selection of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, organic and fair-trade delights awaits at this funky mud-brick cafe. The food is wonderful – beautifully presented, fresh and healthy. Once sated, the kids can play in the sandpit while the adults check their email.
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Goldmine Experience
The Goldmine Experience allows you to walk through a gold-mine tunnel, watch a stamper battery crush rock, learn about the history of the Cornish miners and try your hand at panning for gold ($2 extra).
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Butterfly & Orchid Garden
Kids (little or large) with a fairy complex will adore the Butterfly & Orchid Garden, north of town within the Dickson Holiday Park. It’s an enclosed jungle full of hundreds of exotic flappers.
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Grahamstown Market
On Saturday mornings the Grahamstown Market fills the street with organic produce and handicrafts.
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Purangi Estate
On the way to Hahei, Purangi Estate has a cafe and free tastings of fruit wines and liqueurs.
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Nakontong Thai Restaurant
Although the bright lighting may not induce romance, the tangy Thai dishes should provide a warm glow.
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Driving Creek Railway & Potteries
The amazing Driving Creek Railway & Potteries is 3km north of Coromandel Town. The unique train runs up steep grades, across four trestle bridges, along two spirals and a double switchback, and through two tunnels, finishing at the ‘Eye-full Tower’. The hour-long trip passes artworks and regenerating native forest – more than 17,000 natives have been planted, including 9000 kauri. It’s worth lingering for the video about the extraordinary guy behind it all, well-known potter Barry Brickell.
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Lost Spring
The Lost Spring is an intriguing Disney-meets-Rotorua thermal complex, involving a series of hot pools in a lush junglelike setting, complete with an erupting volcano. Yet this is an adult’s indulgence (children under 14 not permitted), leaving the grown-ups to marinate themselves in tranquillity, cocktail in hand. There’s also a day spa and an excellent restaurant.
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Passenger Ferry Ride
A five-minute passenger ferry ride will take you across the harbour to Whitianga Rock Scenic & Historical Reserve, Flaxmill Bay, Shakespeare's Lookout, Captain Cook's Memorial, Lonely Bay and Cooks Bay.
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Rocco
Housed in one of Thames’ gorgeous kauri villas, Rocco serves a lively tapas selection and more substantial mains, making good use of local ingredients (mussels, fish) and high-quality Spanish imports (chorizo, cheese, olives). Inclement weather, take a seat among the crushed-shell and swirling brick paths outside.
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Tairua Dive & Fishinn
Tairua Dive & Fishinn hires out kayaks (some with glass bottoms), plus scuba, snorkel and fishing gear. The company also runs fishing charters, dive trips out to the Alderman Islands (dive and full gear $220, trip only $130, snorkelling $95) and PADI courses ($595).
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Old Mill Cafe
There’s nothing run-of-the-mill about this old dear. Zooshed up with bright pink feature walls and elegant veranda furniture, it serves delights such as buttermilk-and-blueberry pancakes, croque monsieurs, New England chowder and perfectly gooey chocolate tarts.
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Fire Place
Living up to its name, the modern interiors wrap around big stone chimneys and open fires. The excellent wood-fired pizzas ($20) are big enough for two, saving room for the phenomenal desserts. In the off-season look out for cracking specials like the $15 Sunday roast.
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Coromandel Goldfield Centre & Stamper Battery
The Coromandel Goldfield Centre & Stamper Battery is an 1899 rock-crushing plant with informative one-hour tours. You can also try panning for gold ($5). Outside of the tours it’s worth stopping for a gander at NZ’s largest working water wheel.
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Cathedral Cove Sea Kayaking
Cathedral Cove Sea Kayaking runs guided kayaking trips around the rock arches, caves and islands in the Cathedral Cove area. The Remote Coast Tour heads the other way when conditions permit, visiting caves, blowholes and a long tunnel.
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Cathedral Cove Dive & Snorkel
Cathedral Cove Dive & Snorkel takes daily dive trips and rents out scuba gear ($60), snorkelling gear ($20), bikes ($20) and boogie boards ($20). A Discover Scuba half-day beginners’ course costs $160 including all the gear.
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Rapaura Water Gardens
At Tapu it’s worth turning inland for a mainly sealed 6km drive to the Rapaura Water Gardens, a marriage of water, greenery, sculpture and platitudes. There’s also accommodation (cottage/lodge $165/275) and a decent cafe.
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Pepper Tree Restaurant & Bar
C-Town’s most upmarket option, Pepper Tree dishes up generously proportioned French-style cooking with a particular emphasis on local seafood. On a summer’s evening, the courtyard tables under the shady tree are the place to be.
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Waihi Arts Centre & Museum
The Waihi Arts Centre & Museum features displays and models of the region’s gold-mining history and a gallery. Prepare to squirm before the collection of miners’ chopped-off thumbs preserved in glass jars.
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Star & Garter Hotel
Making the most of the simple kauri interior of an 1873 building, this smart pub has pool tables, decent sounds and a roster of live music and DJs on the weekends. The beer garden is awesome, smartly styled in corrugated iron.
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Over The Top Adventures
Take an on-/off-road dirt bike tour with Over The Top Adventures. It also rents mountain bikes (per day $35 to $45), which will be especially handy when the Hauraki Rail Trail is completed.
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School of Mines & Mineral Museum
The i-SITE stocks free Historic Places Trust self-tour pamphlets of Thames’ significant buildings. The Trust also runs tours of the interesting School of Mines & Mineral Museum, which has an extensive collection of NZ rocks, minerals and fossils. The oldest section (1868) was part of a Methodist Sunday school, situated on a Maori burial ground.
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Manaia Cafe & Bar
With courtyard seating for lazy summer brunches and a burnished copper bar to prop up later in the night, Manaia is a slick addition to the Tairua strip. The dinner menu features bistro faves with some artful twists.
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Goldfields Railway
Goldfields Railway runs vintage trains to Waikino, leaving Waihi station daily at 10am, 11.45am and 1.45pm; from Waikino it’s 11am, 1pm and 2.30pm. The 7km-long scenic journey takes 25 minutes.
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Coromandel Smoking Co
For a delicious snack or cooking supplies, Coromandel Smoking Co has a wonderful range of smoked fish and seafood. You can’t leave town without trying the extremely addictive smoked mussels.
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