Thames

The peninsula's oldest town, Thames has evolved from a gold-mining hotbed in the 1920s to an agricultural center. Locals have a saying that when the gold ran out, "Thames went to sleep awaiting the kiss of a golden prince—and instead it awoke to the warm breath of a cow." The main street used to be lined with nearly 100 hotels (read: bars); gold mining and logging was thirsty work. Only five of these hotels still operate, but the town and environs still provide glimpses of the mining era. In 1867 two towns, Grahamstown in the north and Shortland in the south, merged to form Thames, and many locals still refer to upper Thames as Grahamstown. Thames today is also the gateway to the Kauaeranga Valley Forest Park, home to waterfalls, ancient kauri groves, and the Pinnacles, the peninsula's highest accessible point.