We are in the Coromandel with Mum! She and Doug arrived at the last minute on Thursday and we all decided it would be nice to go away for the weekend so here we are.

The journey here was a little stressful. We left Auckland at 4pm yesterday afternoon. All the tourist info states it takes 2.5 hours by car to get to the Coromandel so I was expecting to be here by dinner-time. The first 2.5 hours passed and we were still stuck in Auckland traffic. I hate Auckland.

By the time we reached the Coromandel it was pitch black. The darkness and poor directions we were given by the owner of the bach we rented meant we then took a wrong turn and ended up driving on a very winding, narrow, gravel road for ages and ages. By the time we reached our destination it was almost 11pm, nearly 7 hours after the journey began.

It is more relaxing today and the local area is very pretty. I’m not sure what all the fuss is about though. There’s a nice beach nearby with white sand but the water is too cold and treacherous for swimming and while it is pretty, it’s not spectacular. Perhaps I have been spoiled by holidays on the Queensland sunshine coast every year of my childhood. I imagine the scenery on the way here would have been lovely had it not been too dark to enjoy. We are going to investigate another beach this afternoon that apparently has status as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. I will keep you posted.