Time Out in Thames
by Michelle Berridge - August 3rd, 2009. Filed under: Culture, Eating and Drinking, North Island.If you’re heading for the beachside holiday resorts of The Coromandel region – Whitianga or Whangamata – set aside some time to explore Thames along the way. The main centre of the region, Thames is just a ten-minute detour from the main route between Auckland and The Coromandel’s east coast, and you’ll pass right through it if you’re travelling to Coromandel Town.
Perfect for a lunch-time pit-stop, Thames offers an abundance of cafés along its bustling main street; the Billy Goat Café at 444 Pollen Street is a popular choice. Keep an eye out for local gourmet food products such as ostrich meat and pates from the Piako Ostrich Farm, Matatoki cheeses and Coromandel mussels. After lunch, cruise the many local craft studios and art galleries, or head up into the Kauaeranga Valley behind the town (twenty minutes’ drive) to walk off your indulgence on a choice of hiking trails through native forest.
It’s hard to imagine as you wander the streets of this peaceful town, but in the last years of the 19th Century, Thames was the most populous centre in New Zealand. Following the first major discovery of gold in the area in 1867, the population boomed. At the height of the gold rush years from 1868 to 1871, the population reached 17,000 – there were three theatres and 100 hotels to accommodate the hordes of visitors. Traces of this illustrious past remain today in the lovely old wooden buildings dotted through the town. Discover the town’s gold-mining history in greater depth with a visit to the Thames School of Mines and Mineralogical Museum. Thames Goldmine tours are available during the summer months.
Whether you stop over for an extended lunch break or take a few days to explore, it’s well worth including Thames on your Coromandel itinerary.
