Perfection somewhat disrupted by weather
The Discover the World representative showed a good understanding of New Zealand and matched my specific requirements to what is available.
It is unfortunate that the weather was very bad, with a record amount of rainfall for April and storms with high winds which prevented boat trips. The date of the trip was due to my own time constraints, but without those I hope a different month would have been suggested.
Staying at Awaroa Ledge was delightful. Unfortunately of my 4 days there the boats were unable to put to sea for 2, so preventing walking sections of the coast path. Also when the Autumn timetable was introduced it was hard to walk most sections because the northbound boats were at the end of the sequence (so late starts) & the southbound followed them quickly (early finishes), so choosing a section for a linear walk was difficult. I recommend restricting use of Awaroa to summer boat timetable only.
The other long stay of my trip was Coromandel and I would love to go back there. Again the weather restricted my activities, but I can see there would be much pleasure in visiting many beaches, enjoying walks, and using the boats to reach places inaccessible by land - again all boats were harbour bound for the week I was there due to weather conditions.
Being a single traveller I found a friendly reception where the accommodation was small, but felt lonely in the 2 large hotels of the trip. Having said that I found New Zealanders very friendly and welcoming.