Paeroa
Although Positive Paeroa has been motorhome friendly for some time, it is now officially regarded as such, making it an easy stopover for those motor caravanners heading up the Coromandel Peninsula.
With powered sites available right in the centre of town, Paeroa is a great place to stay for a few days – there is much more to do than just fill on up petrol and stock up the supply cupboards!
Those looking for a true rural New Zealand experience should head to Bullswool Farm Park, just outside of Paeroa township. Take a stroll along the walkway around the farm and meet miniature horses, donkeys, deer, kunekune pigs and pygmy goats along the way.
Paeroa Domain is also worth a visit. With huge trees planted over 100 years ago, this beautiful park makes a perfect picnic spot and is close to the CBD. Back in the main town centre, lovers of all things antique, vintage and retro will have a field day in the many secondhand stores scattered throughout. Most are open all weekend for passers by to simply browse and take a trip down memory lane. With a variety of eateries and coffee joints, Paeroa also caters to those wanting to take a well-deserved break on their travels through the North Island.
From Paeroa the gates are open to the Coromandel, whether you are heading up the east coast of the peninsula, or the west. Give the “Little Town in the Middle of Everywhere” a chance, and spend some quality time in Positive Paeroa next time you are passing through.
Things to see and do
Take a cruise down the Ohinemuri and Waihou Rivers on “Tamati”, a lovingly restored Kauri paddleboat originally built in 1902.
Walk, bike or just simply explore the Karangahake Gorge, just 7 minutes from Paeroa. Take in the majestic views from one of many swing bridges and check out the many mining relics in the area.
Keen fishermen will enjoy making Paeroa a base camp for their adventures, with popular trout fishing spots lining the nearby Ohinemuri River.
Hauraki District Council | Ph:
Have time, will hunt for antiques in Paeroa
It's one of those things you keep telling yourself to do- to stop & have a look- but you never quite get around to doing it for a million reasons. But on a trip to a friend's wedding in Tauranga, I suddenly had a million reasons to finally get & do it; the kids were left at home, we were about 3 hours early for what was essentially just a 2-hour drive, we were also hungry & needed to stop so Paeroa was it. My husband Mike dropped me off somewhere on Belmont Rd, the town's main thoroughfare while he went to park the motorhome at the Hauraki Dist. Council carpark. All of Paeroa's antique shops are clustered on Belmont and in the gray gloom of a stormy Friday morning, their dim facades seem more oddly enticing than bright new window shops & well lit cafes. There is something comforting about browsing through old stuff. First of all, the shopkeepers tend to leave you alone & there is no reason to rush, no pressure to buy. Half the experience is about remembering & gettting that jolt of memory from a delicate tea-cup, a ragged old teddy-bear, or an ottoman that looks like the one in your nana's house that you used to sit on when you were of an age where you could fit all your body parts, perched on top of it ever so delicately. The inventory at the two largest shops (Arkwrights & The Depot, both on Belmont) are so large you can see where one era ends & where another one begins. All the delicate English stuff segueing into boxes of neatly piled 70s LPs (Godspell, Neil Sedaka, Stevie Nicks) is a coss-section of my life that brings both nostalgia & a chuckle. Prices shock & work both ways; $50 for a first edition UK copy of Harry Potter (cheap!) or $120 for a teddy-bear of unknown provenance (highway robbery!). I could have browsed the whole morning until I felt the hubby's hand on my arm. Time for something else, but I finally got this ticked off my list.