North of Hahei and Cathedral Cove is Mercury Bay, which encapsulates the extensive area from Cooks Beach to Whitianga Harbour. There are several great beaches and cool short walks in Mercury Bay – Cooks Beach, a pretty Coromandel east coast beach and holiday town, and Ferry Landing, where you can get a ferry across the inner harbour to Whitianga.
Mercury Bay and Cooks Beach were named to commemorate the 1769 voyage of Captain Cook, who used the transit of Mercury across the sun to measure the distance between the earth and the sun. Captain Cook also extensively mapped the New Zealand coastline on this voyage, proving it was an island and not a “lost continent”.
Shakespeare Cliff
As you pass Cooks Beach and approach Ferry Landing, you’ll see a sign to Shakespeare Cliff. Drive up the metal road and park at the top. It’s then a short walk to a viewing platform with 270-degree views over Mercury Bay. Looking south, you can see Cooks Beach and the very pretty Lonely Bay. To the southeast is the Pacific Ocean, and to the northeast is the continuation of the peninsula.
Lonely Bay
You can walk from the Shakespeare Cliff car park down to Lonely Bay, or park a bit closer by taking a side road. It’s a small, stunning east coast beach with colourful sand, rich in dissolving sea shells, and surrounded by white cliffs. There are some cool formations at the northern end with large pohutukawa trees. It’s also a safe place to swim and barely known relative to popular Mercury Bay beaches like Cathedral Cove.
The name Lonely Bay came from the beach being relatively isolated in Cook’s time. It’s also where the crew spent significant time undertaking repairs to their ship, the Endeavour.
Maramaratotara Bay
Continue down the road to Ferry Landing and you’ll see Maramaratotara Bay. You can access it at the southeast end and walk the length of the beach below the cliff as the tide goes out. You can also stop at several viewpoints along the road that overlooks the cliff.
Be careful – we were aggressively bombed by seagulls at the southern end of Maramaratotara Bay; they obviously didn’t appreciate the encroachment on their breeding territory.
Ferry Landing
Ferry Landing is a historic location and gives access to the pedestrian ferry service to Whitianga. The old stone section of the wharf was the first stone wharf built anywhere in Australasia, constructed back in 1837 to support the timber trade. It even predates the founding of colonial New Zealand with the Treaty of Waitangi.
Whitianga Rock
If you walk to the south of the Ferry Landing wharf, you’ll find an interesting track that leads up Whitianga Rock. This was a Māori pā site and there are reasonably obvious remnants, including a big defensive ditch near the base of the hill.
The track goes steeply up onto the top of a rock promontory, with sheer drops on both sides – not recommended when wet. But the ancient pohutukawa trees are stunning, and there are views of Whitianga and holes drilled in the rock, which used to help hold down pa buildings.
Whitianga Rock to Purangi Road
The track up Whitianga Rock forks through the old defensive ditch, taking you to the next small bay and then back over a high point to the main road above Ferry Landing. This walk is certainly worth an hour of your time.
Whitianga
The town of Whitianga is the gateway to the region north of Mercury Bay. Whitianga is substantial, with major services, retailers and plenty of accommodation options, but there’s still a relaxed beachy feel.
As you travel north you’ll find a couple of sizeable beaches – Buffalo Beach, Ohuka Beach, then Wharekaho Beach before the road heads inland and links up with the coast again at Kuaotunu Beach.
Want more Coromandel trip ideas?
Check out our recent posts about Hot Water Beach, Hahei and Cathedral Cove, Pauanui and Tairua, Whangamata, Onemana and Opoutere and Opito Bay, Otama Beach, Whangapoua and New Chums.