Whitianga is the main bustling city of the Coromandel. Seems like a town that revolves around boats and fishing. As far as scenic beauty and interesting places to explore, Whitianga is in the middle of things, even though there’s really little to see in Whitianga. Seems popular nonetheless for its natural harbor, long bayfront “Buffalo Beach,” restaurants, pubs, and a New World.
For the visitor, the best thing to do in Whitianga is leave it—take the $2 pedestrian ferry a few meters over to the east dock to go explore Cooks Beach, Lonely Bay, and the Shakespeare Cliffs. From the dock it’s a 15-minute walk to the cliffs (the access road leads to a nice viewpoint), and it’s just another 10 minutes to the start of long and lovely Cooks Beach.
A hidden nugget of sweet beach is Lonely Bay. You can descend to it from the Shakespeare viewpoint or at the west end of Cooks cross the stream and find the marked track. Little miss Lonely is nestled quaintly between Shakespeare’s white cliffs…nice swimming, boat-watching, and Pohutukawa lounging. Love this beach!
Want a challenge? If it’s low tide try what I call the Shakespeare Crossing. At low tide only it’s possible to rock hop all the stunning boulders and terraces from Lonely Bay over to Flaxmill Bay. This “crossing” is difficult. If you’re klutzy or fat or lame don’t try it. If you’re an athletic adventurer who loves leaping, climbing, descending, and squeezing…then go for it. 45 minutes will get you around if you’re nimble. The rocks themselves are really unique, a bit like Cathedral Cove’s—all wave-eroded and full of tide pools and such. This is NZ adventure the way I like it!
