Honestly, Port Jackson isn’t my favorite place…but strangely, the drive up there is one of my faves. The 30km of unsealed coastal road is brilliant—views and coves and Pohutukawas and solitude. Alas though, arriving at Port Jackson—after ascending the final harrowing grade—you find a nice beach backed by a huge DOC campground…but there just isn’t much to explore here, nor is the beach as white as touted. People do seem to enjoy it because it’s often calm, shallow and sandy…families can let their kids run and play and swim without worry since there’s no place to run off to. Fishermen launch straight off the beach. My favorite aspect of this beach is the presence of sand dollars—lots of them! Not many NZ beaches have whole sand dollars on them, but here you can find heaps. If you wiggle your feet in the shallows you can find live ones —put two on the sand and watch them race! If you want a beach to simply relax (and not run about like a Frenzied guidebook author), this may be your place.
Fletcher Bay, the next cove over, is a bit more interesting and intimate. The Coromandel Walkway begins/ends at Fletcher. Lots of people like this track, but rain kept me off it, so I can’t say.
Fantail Bay, 6km south of Port Jackson on the coastal road, is the smallest camping bay around and it may have the most for adventurers. Head up the stream and look for a waterfall, check out the tide pools, climb a Pohutukawa, watch a sunset over Auckland.
