This afternoon Pauline, a girl Lisa met through Facebook, hired a car and we all went to Coromandel island to see Cathedral Cove and the hot water spring beach. It was about a two and a half hour drive and the roads weren't overly busy so we made it there in good time. Once we got there, we stopped off for lunch at a burger van and I had Kumara (sweet potato) fries and they were honestly the most delicious fries I have ever eaten!
Cathedral Cove is about a 35 minute walk from the village, but what we did not realised is how steep and winding the track is. In just under 30 degree heat, the walk was a killer.... but so worth it! We didn't get to stay there long, as we had to get to the other beach for low tide but we did explore the cave and managed to squeeze in a few photos before we left!
Cathedral Cove is about a 35 minute walk from the village, but what we did not realised is how steep and winding the track is. In just under 30 degree heat, the walk was a killer.... but so worth it! We didn't get to stay there long, as we had to get to the other beach for low tide but we did explore the cave and managed to squeeze in a few photos before we left!
After the sweaty hike back to the car, it was about a ten minute drive to get to the hot water beach. This place is famous for the hot volcanic rocks that heat up an underground river up to 60 degrees, and people come to dig there own hot tubs. Honestly, it's one of those things you can only believe when you feel it yourself, but the water gets burning hot a small it trickles out of the sand. It is now my new favourite beach!
Unfortunately, the weather turned and got pretty cold and rainy so we decided to make a move back to Auckland.
The following day, Emma and I met Sam, a guy on our Contiki tour, and went to Waiheke Island, about half an hour away from Auckland on the ferry. We made our way to the end of the island is thinking we would make our way back to the ferry from there. The weather was still pretty miserable and Waiheke had really been hyped up to us - most of the people we met in the hostels had been there and said it was one of the most beautiful places they had seen. But the beach we went to initially could've been any beach in England!
We then made our way up to the vineyards for some wine tasting, which was pretty awesome, and in the hour we were there the sun came out... finally!
On our way back to the ferry, we stopped off at Palm Beach... and I am so glad we did! It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to!
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