The Thames Coast with its sunsets and pōhutukawa lined coastal highway, is one of the world’s great road trip destinations. Freedom Camping in Thames is a great way to experience the real New Zealand, but there are some rules. Whether in a van or campervan, below is where you can park up for the night in the Thames area. Rhodes Park By the sports field on the way into Thames, [...]
Snuggled in at the back of the Depot, past the buzz of the Melbourne Cafe, and the inviting plant coolness of the Plantery is a distillery and tasting room for a Thames gin with jaw-dropping accolades. Is it possible that this boutique Thames distillery makes the world’s best classic gin? The judges at the World Gin Awards 2022 certainly thought so, when they awarded that title to Awildian’s Class Gin. [...]
Five generations - one Thames hardware store. Read Bros Hardware has been around since 1867, looking after the ever-changing hardware needs of Thames and the Coromandel. Back in 1867, they serviced mainly gold miners, looking to buy sawn timber, pit props, & railway sleepers. Now Read Bros has just about one of everything - their inventory contains more than 14,000 different items, including hardware, farming equipment, camping and marine supplies, [...]
It's confirmed. After Wings & Wheels 2024, if it wasn't already an iconic Thames event, it is now. The fifth iteration of the event has firmly claimed a spot on the Thames calendar - although because of the sheer amount of organisation required to pull off such a multi-faceted event, it's likely to be biannual, rather than annual. Congratulations go out to all the organisers, including the Thames Business Association, [...]
Did you know you can go trout fishing in Thames? We explored the Hikutaia River this long weekend – and yes we took our fishing rods (and licenses)! Hikutaia is south of Thames on State Highway 26 and is the southern border of the Thames Ward. The Hikutaia River flows west from the Coromandel Ranges and into the Waihou River. The Māori translation of Hikutaia is 1. Tail (hiku) of [...]
What's your favourite Thames op-shop? Secondhand shop? Antique shop? Market? We've gone through the plethora of quirky and interesting shops and markets selling secondhand goods in the Thames Ward, from Hikutaia in the south to Waikawau in the North and picked our eleven favourites so you can easily go on the hunt for treasures next time you're in the area. If you're smart, you can create a circuit as most [...]
So you’re in Hamilton or Auckland and you fancy getting out into the forest or onto the trail to explore something… interesting. We’ve done the hard work for you, and selected five walks or bike tracks within a 90-minute drive of Hamilton or Auckland - and sometimes even closer. And yes, these are all local Thames walks. We’ve picked some tracks you’ve likely never heard of, some that are close [...]
In the dynamic world of business, innovation is the key to staying ahead - even when it can feel unfamiliar or threatening - and innovating requires education and up-skilling. This is something that the Economic Development Lead at TCDC, Mitchell King is passionate about providing for the Thames Coromandel. He initiated the recent ChatGPT Workshops out of the desire to find ways to support and activate innovation within the TCDC [...]
It's the festive season, and every year, the TBA supports the Santa Parade, which starts with the Santa Dash and ends with Whānau Day. This year, we're also running an Advent Adventure. Below you'll find everything you need to attend the events or to register as a participant. Advent Adventure • December 1 - 25 Christmas is just around the corner, and to bring some festive cheer to the Thames [...]
Christmas is just around the corner, and to bring some festive cheer to the Thames community, the Thames Business Association is running an Advent Adventure. Shoppers are invited to visit the business/es of the day, take a photo of the window display, and either share on their social media, tagging the business and TBA - make sure your post audience is set to Public so we can see it! You [...]
