About one and a half hours away from Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula was my first stip on my road trip. The peninsula is in the north east corner of New Zealand. Just like much of the land on the North Island, the peninsula was created through volcanic activity. Consequently, the terrain is very mountainous and filled with forests and winding roads. I was heading to a small beach town on the east coast known as Whitianga. It is about a two hour, fifteen minute drive away from Auckland. It’s a nice little town. When I got there I stumbled across this boutique called “The Cave.” It was filled with so many oddities and cool trinkets and I could have easily spent $200 there. They had handmade letter journals, day of the day skeletons, the journal that I originally wrote this travel essay in, and plenty of Maori crafts. There was even a cool book that I would have bought if it wasn’t $50. I restrained myself and bought only $75 worth of things. I then grabbed a quick lunch and ate it in a park overlooking the wharf.
After lunch I made my way to the hostel: On the Beach Backpackers. The title is a little deceiving because it is actually across the road from the beach and not on it. Should’ve asked for a refund… In all seriousness though, it was probably the best hostel I have ever stayed at. It was a series of buildings but each building was set up like an apartment with bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. My room had a double bed in it and since I was the only one there I had the room to myself- a hostel rarity. Out of the entire apartment-like complex, there were only two other people staying there, both of whom were really cool. One was a dutch girl tomboy, and the other was a New Zealander named Michael. He just started working on a boat in town and before that he was working at Hobbiton. the hostel also offered free kayak rentals. I had to drag it onto the beach myself, but for two hours I was able to kayak on the bay, It was really pleasant. It was grey out, which contributed to the primordial atmosphere and the weather was really calm. Even despite the fairly cold water, it was an extremely pleasant experience.
Once my arms got tired, I paddled back to the beach. I returned my kayak and made my way to Cathedral Cove. However, the GPS the Wicked Campers Company gave me sucked and took me to the middle of nowhere and I was surrounded by farms. I eventually was able to find my way through and arrived about an hour before sunset. To get to the cove (which was used as a backdrop in the Chronicles of Narnia) required a half hour hike with many trails leading to different bays along the way. When you finally get to the cove, all you have to do is take a left and BAM! You go under an arch and right in front of you is a magnificent boulder right off of the shore, standing magnificently at 30 meters high.
Hi, its me. 
The pioneers used to ride the babies for miles! 
Me, but artsy 
Me, but silly
It sure was a scenic shot. Once I got my fill of this magnificent location, I made my way to the parking lot and realized that it was getting dark fast. There was a second where I wanted to take a shortcut through a grove of Gondwanaland trees, but I remembered that I had no flashlight and my phone was almost dead. That is how people get lost and die. I stuck to the road instead and made it back safely in the darkness. In the nearby town of Hihae, I went to dinner at a brewhouse before going back to the hostel to hang with Michael and the dutch girl for the night. The drive back from Cathedral Cove to Whitianga was not bad now that I knew the way- only 30 minutes. The next day though, as I was leaving the peninsula, I got stuck between two massive logging trucks for an hour on the windy mountain roads. For my impatient ass, it was hell.
Overall, the Coromandel Peninsula was really enjoyable and I would very much like to visit there again sometime. There’s this place called Hot Water Beach that I’d like to visit. You take a shovel at low tide and dig a hole in the beach and it is like a natural warm bath. I would’ve gone while I was here but the tides were at inconvenient times and it was BYOS (Bring Your Own Shovel). I’d also like to go hiking in the state forest, There is an overnight hike where you hike up to rock formations known as the Pinnacles, where one can find spectacular views and a place to sleep. There is definitely still much more to see on this peninsula.