Reaching the top of Coromandel Peninsula has been near the top of my must-do list for a long time. You see, being brought up in the Waikato, our family often camped on the peninsula’s coastline, yet we never ventured beyond Colville. The reason was simple: our family sought serviced campgrounds, but such camps didn’t exist beyond Colville. That digit of land that points further north was always left unexplored… until now. I will finally make a journey to land’s end at Port Jackson to map the new Pahi Coastal Walk for the Great Hikes App.
So on a winter’s day, I reach Colville and park up at ‘Hike and Bike Coromandel’. When the new track opens in a few weeks’ time, visitors will be shuttled 25km to the start of this private walk. I get a lift from Colville to Port Jackson (which is only 65km across the water, but 200km by road, from half the country’s population). Here I meet farm owners Cath and Zander who now add the title ‘Track Manager’ to their resume. They offer a threeday fully catered private walk comprising a half-day trip, followed by a full-day walk, and then a third
