Coromandel the Best of Both Scene and Serene

The Coromandel Peninsula “is crawling with sandy hot spots, but there are plenty of calm alternatives, too,” according to the New York magazine which recommends both “scenes” and “serenes”.

“Reachable only after driving on a gravel road, [Opito Bay] is an isolated beach with great fishing off the rocks at both ends of the two-mile bay, plus snorkelling, diving, and views galore of stingrays, dolphins, and even the occasional orca.”

For the best beach and sunbathing, it is recommended to take a “40-minute trek tends to put tourists off” but at New Chums Beach “the intrepid will be rewarded with a mile-long stretch of golden sand where you can lie out undisturbed.”

The best surfing is at Whangamata beach town, a very popular “scene” in the middle of summer, “considered the best in the Southern Hemisphere” and home to Ella Williams, the current junior world champion.

The magazine suggests walking on the unspoiled, white-sand at Opoutere, protected by a forested reserve, where you can “explore the bird life and scope out cockles, pipis, and tuatara at the northern end of the beach.”

Original article by Alexa Tsoulis-Reay, New York magazine, October 17, 2014.

Photo by Berthold Steinhilber/Laif/Redux.