My map of reconnection

I've reconnected with the Coromandel over the last few years through this map development process and love the place so much. There's incredible diversity and natural beauty packed into such a small space. The more I explore, the more I discover, the more I am inspired and the more I fall in love with the Coro. Each visit adds new details to my mental map and plants the seeds for future exploration – and for this map print, which has become one of my favourite pieces.

Two coasts, one spine, there’s something in the water

I grew up in Northland, the volcanic peaks and kauri forests feel very homely, but new and exciting. Partly what makes the Coromandel so compelling to me is the mountainous spine of the Coromandel Range that creates so many different worlds in such a small geographical area. The west coast facing the Hauraki Gulf… calm, sheltered, muddy feet and dreamy sunsets. The Pacific east coast, surf beaches, sandy sandwiches and sunrises. The spine also creates the water flow, fresh flowing rivers of quartz laden rocks, an amazing environment for native bush and biodiversity. I've tried to capture the feelings of these contrasting coastlines, the dividing range between them, and the flowing rivers in the map's design.

She’s a gem of a peninsula

Coromandel quartz crystals, amethyst, japser, chalcedony, carnelian, obsidian, gold… The Coromandel literally still has treasure hiding in plain sight, and beyond the crytals the hills full of native bush and birds call to me… Don’t even get me started on the rivers, waterfalls and swimming holes. It's something I've never experienced anywhere else. Cool fresh water running over quartz-rich rocks, waterfalls cascading through ferns, ancient kauri, birdsong echoing in and haunting the dawn…

Beach Communities and Bach Stories

Then there are the people and the beach towns stitched along the coastline like a string of summer memories.

Whangamata and the legendary bar. Pauanui and Tairua facing each other across the harbour. Hahei tucked beside Cathedral Cove, Cooks Beach stretching long and golden. Whitianga sprawling around its harbour, boats be a bobbing, kids fishing off wharves. Winding north, Kuaotunu keeping it low-key and pizza and ice cream friendly, Golfing around Matarangi, Whangapoua and the hike over to New Chums.

These aren't just dots on a map – they're where Uncle Merv smoked a million kahawai at the bach, where you waxed up the Bob Davies surfboard, learned to surf, where your grandparents bought their slice of paradise for a song in '68. Multi-generational summer rituals. The same families coming back year after year, the stories layering like tide lines, fishing tales shifting like the dunes.

When I draw these communities in the map, I’m not marking locations, I ‘m trying to honour the decades of sunburns, sandy floors, weather events and jandal blowouts, the new years eves and new years mornings, the golden times that make the Coromandel feel like home, even if you only visit but once a year.

That ‘Island’ Feel

The Coromandel reminds me both of my Northland home and my time on 'the Barrier', but connected to the mainland. It has an island feel – surrounded by water, a place apart. The vibe's different. The pace is different. Artists, sea changers, families with deep roots, surfers, dreamers. People who value connection to land, sea, each other. It's this unique character I wanted to capture when creating this print.

Why This Map

Creating this map is about connecting dots… my grandparents' and parents stories, my own explorations, the geological features, the human history, the wildlife, the pohutukawa flowering crimson, the shorebirds, the mussel farms, the gemstone hunting, the swimming holes, the surf breaks. It's all connected. That's what I love about map-making… you begin to see how everything relates.

Where This Map Belongs

I see this map hanging in holiday homes, reminding you of where you are. And on city home walls, to remind you where you'd rather be, an aid to help plan your next escape. For people with layered Coromandel stories of their own, and for people just starting to write theirs.

Available as an unframed print ready to frame and hang. Or as a quality framed print ready to bang on the wall. The perfect gift for anyone with Coromandel connections – or anyone who needs reminding that golden times are just a drive away.

For me? It's another chapter in my ongoing journey as a map-maker – trying to capture not just geography, but feeling. Not just locations, but love of place, yeah golden times, indeed.

The thing is with the 'mandel... it's not if... it's when.

Once it gets you, you're got.

This is my Coromandel journey as a map-maker.

- Aaron / API, BB MAPS NZ

[Shop the BB Map of the Coro Unframed Print →]
[Shop the BB Map of the Coro Framed Print →]

About This Print

• Hand-drawn map of the Coromandel Peninsula

• Unframed art print on quality paper

• For bach walls or home offices

• The perfect gift

• Drawn, crafted, printed, framed in New Zealand