Laura and I have been wanting to explore the Coromandel Peninsula for several months, but never seem to find the time. So with Laura only two weeks from departure, and a ‘sick’ day looming in my calendar, we couldn’t pass the opportunity.
Friday morning found us on the first road north, destination Hahai. The plan was to arrive on the coast with enough time to hike to Cathedral Cove, spend the night at the cheapest accommodation possible, then have an early morning low tide at Hot Water Beach.
We breezed into town just after one; both of our heads spinning from the winding road that led us up and over the Kamai Mountain Range. The Coromandel is a popular destination for Kiwi’s on summer break, but with fall closing in, the only bustle around town was a flock of sea gulls looking for an easy meal.
We packed our lunch in our day pack and hit the trail. Since we started from the south end of town we had a slightly longer hike ahead of us than if we had used the car park at the north end. The trail marker read ‘one hour and a half’, but after having walked for three minutes on the beach, it read only ‘one hour and ten minutes’. That was the shortest twenty minute hike Laura and I have ever done!
The walk was breathtaking. It wound around the coast, dipping to the ocean where the topography would allow, otherwise a few hundred feet above the crashing waves. At one point a male pheasant crossed our path, but I was too slow to shoot catch him in my shutter….that wouldn’t have been the case if I were instead holding my Mossberg.
After walking through some stunning forests and a short side track to Gemstone bay we descended to Mare’s Leg Bay. The beach was white, in harmony with the rock faces around us, and powdery on our feet, the ocean was shades of translucent blue. The archway to Cathedral cove was much larger than we had imagined from pictures we had seen. After a light lunch, in a cloud of sea gulls, Laura became quite an expert of rocketing her sandals at the closest group, but none got the satisfaction of anything good. I did however manage to coax a few into gulping down some spicy chili peppers that we discarded. I’m glad we left before they did their damage, but it was nothing in comparison to what my poor balancing skills would do later.
We were attempting a timed photo in order for the camera to capture us both in the archway when the camera toppled from it’s perch to meet it’s demise in the sand below. This is the last picture that it would ever take. I think it went out on a good note.
After we returned to our car, we calculated that we had just enough time to check into the Fern Bird Backpackers and find the hot spots on Hot Water Beach before the sun set. We scurried around, and made it in plenty of time. We carried our shovels and flashlights down the beach to a group of six tourists. They had obviously found a warm spot, but before we got to them we felt our feet burning!!! Right at the water’s edge, the sand was so hot, you couldn’t stand on it too long. Apparently water was heated below the surface and forced upwards. As the tide gradually decreased we dug in the sand to form a pool of sorts, but the tide kept crashing over our sand barrier and filled it in much quicker than we could dig it out. In total we maybe got 10 minutes of quality time soaking in the hot water before the tide turned against us and we gave up. Cool phenomenon, but not as relaxing as we had hoped for. In the end we settled for a warm shower and a piecemeal dinner back at the hostel.
….We woke up slowly on Saturday and contemplated the day ahead of us. We decided to see the rest of the Peninsula and hit the road. Our drive along the coast led us past some interesting and breathtaking country. Kiwifruit orchards flew past us and eventually yielded to the native vegetation of the mountains. Laura expertly maneuvered our Honda around hairpin curves and up frighteningly steep slopes. When we arrived in the town of Coromandel, we were both ready to stretch our legs and grab a bowl of latte at the local coffee shop. After a short walk down the main drag we began our journey home. The flat Waikato countryside was a huge contrast to the mountains of the weekend, but was nonetheless welcome to us. Our arrival home gave us a sense of accomplishment and a reason to start looking for another camera.
