Secret beaches of New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula
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When I read Robinson Crusoe as an Australian child, I had no idea that New Zealand was a place harbouring secret beaches where real life castaways could hide from civilization beneath the shade of cool ferns and caves, on beaches overlooking mysterious islands out at sea. The main difference between Coromandel Peninsula’s New Chums beach and the shipwrecked settings depicted in Defoe’s novel is that the only things running riot here are the crimson blossoms of the native Pohutukawa trees. Instead of toothless mutineers, there are placid dotterel birds nesting beneath the sand.
Part of Wainuiototo Bay, New Chums is accessible by clambering over the wet rocks (remember your balance from gym class?), north-west of Whangapoua Beach. You ascend a dirt track through rainforest to a pale bandage of sand that I thought was reserved for epic novels, or at least South America.
[photos above by Josh Burns]
3 comments
francis Wednesday 4 February 2009
mmmm, coromandel, one of my favourite places on earth…
Piotr Monday 2 November 2009
Hey, it would be really nice if you could attribute the top picture correctly.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/piotrzurek/1340184862/
David Monday 2 November 2009
The beach land has been sold and is due to be developed. Very sad and makes me feel sick that it will be ruined for the sake of a few stupid houses. If you want to enjoy it in it’s untouched state you’d better hurry.