Secret Places on the Coromandel or Bay Plenty
 

Looking for a cosy small place along the coromandel and BOP to sepnd a few days...beach,pub,cabin etc

Any ideas?

Is the mount to big and glitzy?

One interesting off-the-beaten-path place is Honey Cottage, a farmhouse converted into a wonderful, if somewhat rustic, guest house. The cottage is located on a working farm run by a wonderfully idiosyncratic couple, George and Diana (forgot their last name!). Its in the foothills a few miles inland from Whitianga.

Hi John

The Mount is a big area and growing rapidly but hardly glitzy. Hahei is a gorgeous little spot with a beautiful beach and some nice B & B's or farm stays, have a look at www.hahei.co.nz
From there you can trip to other closeby beaches and villages.

Thanks Alf and Kathy,

Hahei looks just fantastic...
Got a good tip for it on the LP site as well.
Ironic that we were recently at Cook's monument on the Big Island in Hawaii and there is similar here.Both beautiful spots.

Ok now for BOP...is there similar down there? From where on BOP can you do the day trip to White Island?

I think I already answered this somewhere else, from Whakatane. That's if they are going, it's an active volcano and can be dangerous.

To get to Whakaari (White Island), you need to take a helicopter or boat from Whakatane. We went with Vulcan Helicopters (http://www.vulcanheli.co.nz/whiteisland.html), who were very professional and safety conscious.

You can also go by boat (http://www.whiteisland.co.nz/), which is cheaper, but the seas can be quite rough, and landing on the island can be difficult. The view from the helo made that trip worthwhile for me. I can send you some great photos if you like.

An interesting and cozy little B & B is located inland from Ohiwa Harbor - Wainui Lodge, hosted by Wendy Lynch and Mike Cotton. They run a small farm and are both quite active in local politics and environmental issues.

Thanks again...

Was thinking of ohope area on BOP.

Its sounds as though the boat to White can be hairy.Does it run everyday regardless of tides and seas?

How do you prononce hahei and ohope?

Ohope = Oh-hope-ay
Hahei = Ha-hay

The boat runs whenever it can. They offer refunds to passengers if the boat is unable to land on the island.