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One of things our honourable MP loves to do in his rare bits of spare time is to explore the hidden
treasures of the Coromandel. Those little secret bays, streams, waterfalls and vista points that
reveal the deep authentic mystery and romance of the Coromandel.
As a 4th generation ‘Coromandelite’, Scott has agreed to take our readers on journeys to explore
and experience locations that they may have either forgotten, aren’t aware of, or simply haven’t had
the time to enjoy.
This issue he leads us on a short and not-so-secret jaunt to Whitianga Rock, sometimes overlooked
because of its proximity to the 'rush to catch the ferry' landing, across the harbour from Whitianga.
The trail, boldly signed as shown, begins at the Ferry Landing carpark and leads up to a very
compact, thumb-shaped rock peninsula – once the location of a well-fortified Maori pa.
The Trail Head ...sign visible from the Ferry Landing carpark.
View toward Back Bay.
Scott reflects on what Captain James Cook
might have been thinking as he gazed upon
Mercury Bay almost 250 years ago.
WITH SCOTT SIMPSON
WHITIANGA ROCK
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COROMANDEL LIFE 2017 LATE AUTUMN / WINTER