Day #3 - New Zealand Travel Adventure (Drive to Coromandel Peninsula (Sunday, Oct. 18, 2015))

We drove from south Auckland to Coromandel and it takes about 4 hours to do this. It is not because the distance is so far but because the road is coastal and is quite winding with many sharp turns. Couple this with driving on the left side of the road and not being able to easily judge where your tires are in relation to the precipitous drop to the sea, and it just takes longer…believe me. :)

We stopped for lunch at the Coromandel Mussel Kitchen because Earline had on her bucket list, to try the special green lipped mussels that are raised in this particular area. They delivered a pot of 16 very large, steamed green lipped mussels in a tomato basil sauce with chili flavor. She was in heaven.

Green Lipped Mussels

 We then proceeded onward to the town of Coromandel where our lodging for the evening was located. We chose to stay two days at the Indigo Bush Studios. This consists of two studio apartments tastefully furnished and decorated by a local artist. It is a little more pricey ($195 NZD / night) than other lodgings in the area but the privacy and uniqueness were worth the difference. 

Indigo Bush Studios

My only issue is I could not for the life of me get the fire in the fireplace to start. I am not certain what type of wood is provided but I just could not get the logs to catch. No big thing as we were quite tired from the drive over from Auckland, but puzzling nonetheless. Also, the picture shows a romantic tub outside that you can use for a romantic interlude. Don't believe the picture! The tub is small and will accommodate only one person at a time. Fortunately this place is isolated in the bush because the windows have no curtains in case you are a bit shy.

In proximity to this place of lodging is an interesting tourist attraction called the Driving Creek Railroad. It is a narrow gage railway that was built by Barry Brickell, an artist and potter who initially built a section of the railroad to transport clay from the mountain to his pottery studio at the base of the hillside. He continued to extend the railroad for 15 years and laid all the track himself.

Building the Driving Creek Railroad

Barry is still alive at age 79 and it was his mission in life to reforest the Coromandel area with Kauri trees that were nearly made extinct by poor logging practices. In fact the way they logged was to cut the trees high on the hillside and then to build a "driving dam" also called a "splash dam" that would store water and then be suddenly released to wash the logs down the hillside in a flash flood. This flash flooding laid waste to a large portion of the hillside. Because Barry is a conservationist, he wanted to restore the hillside to its native state. He purchased about 60 acres and over the years has made amazing strides. The railroad takes its name from the driving dam that was used in this area. Recently, this railroad that was never built as a tourist attraction, carried its millionth passenger to the top recently.

This is a unique project built almost entirely by an obsessed individual and I would highly recommend it. It is worth the price of $30 NZD to see his dedication and ingenuity.

One of the several tunnels build on the Driving Creek Railroad

A view from the top of the railroad.