This gorgeous region is the best place for Christmas – but it’s not easy to get to.
If winter’s dark days have you down, there’s a sunny region where the holidays are less chestnuts roasting and more sausages grilling – but there’s a catch.
In the southern hemisphere, summer is well on its way and if a Christmas on the beach excites you then there’s no better place for it than the Coromandel in New Zealand. However, if you want to celebrate in style then you’re looking down the barrel of a 22-hour flight at a minimum.
The flight may be long, but take it from me – a Christmas in New Zealand is truly unbeatable. I spent 25 Christmasses in Aotearoa (the te reo Māori word for New Zealand) and I have nothing but fond memories.
One of my favourite places to visit is the Coromandel which is famous for its long white sanded beaches, crystal clear oceans and lush forests. You can marvel at New Zealand’s native Christmas trees, the pohutakawa, which frequently frame the golden sand beaches with their wizened trunks and scarlet red flowers whose blooms signal the start of summer.
Christmas in New Zealand falls over the school holidays, so the whole country slips into relaxation mode. Kids and adults alike wander barefoot from the beach to the corner shop to pick up ice creams. As Christmas Day falls, the BBQs are fired up, sweetcorn and meat are plopped on to grill, and dizzying arrays of summer salads are plonked on trestle tables for people to load up their plates.
If you want to spend your Christmas in the Coromandel then there are plenty of beaches to choose from. A personal favourite of mine is Hahei, which is a magical stretch of beach with stunning azure sea – sometimes you will be lucky enough to see dolphins. One of my favourite childhood memories is sprinting into the gentle waves and swimming out to be amongst a friendly pod of dolphins which had visited the bay.
There’s a campground at the beach which offers basic amenities as well as cabins and the region is surrounded by plenty of other jaw-droppingly beautiful spots.
If you want to explore New Zealand over Christmas, then return flights are currently available for £1,132.
My top tip would be to take at least three weeks; there’s a lot to see in Aotearoa, and since it is on the other side of the world, the jet lag can be a killer, so take a few more days than you think you need to recover.
To explore the Coromandel, I would recommend flying in to Auckland International Airport and then hiring a car so you can explore under your own steam. Keep your wits about you driving in New Zealand – they do drive on the same side of the road, but drivers in Auckland, particularly, have a reputation for playing a little fast and loose with the rules.
As well as this, some of the more rural roads in New Zealand can be slightly challenging; think gravel roads and hairpin turns on the sides of mountains. However, in my opinion a summer road trip through New Zealand’s north island is a once-in a lifetime experience that I have been blessed with multiple times.