Kauri Grove and Waiau Falls

Sue, me and Yuka at the Cat's Pyjamas

We left Whitianga on Tuesday and said our goodbyes to Sue and the Cat's Pyjamas (the cats are in the background!). Yuka and I decided to go back to Auckland through The Kauri Grove. This meant that we would cross the peninsula from the east to the west and then go down the west coast on our way back to Auckland.

The access to the Kauri Grove (an ancient and indigenous tree found, I believe, only in New Zealand) is a bit rough; they are slowly paving it, so mind the dust.

Kauri Grove

When we got there, we only had to walk a little ways until we could see the gigantic trees. This little grove is all that is left of the primary kauri forest that used to be in this area. There was a huge logging company in the area for a really long time and the wood was used for the making of ships and furniture and such. No one really knows how this little area was spared, but during the 2nd World War, the government wanted to cut down this area for logging and met with intense resistance from the locals. The locals won and we can now enjoy the cool shade of the grove and watch in awe, how majestic these trees really are.

I don't even span half of the front of this tree!

When you see this sign, what do you think of? I'll show you what I thought of! See below!

After the little show, we hopped back into the car and then stopped again when we got to the Waiau Falls. Tiny little waterfall, but very peaceful and freezing cold (but refreshing 'cause I only put my feet in; I'm getting smarter!

Waiau Falls

Goodbye the Coromandel!

Cathedral Cove

I'm so behind! So much has happened since I was in the Coromandel, but let's go step by step.

The Coromandel is known as one of the nicest beach areas in the North Island, most particularly, a place called Cathedral Cove and you can understand the name just by looking at the pictures. It truly is a beautiful place.

I waited a while before going there. Wanting to avoid the weekend crowds, I decided to go on a Monday with Yuka. I had been in the Coromandel for a week and would be leaving on the Tuesday. But because this is the life that is mine, every day of the week was beautiful and it is only when I decided to go to Cathedral Cove that it was cloudy and dark. So the colors are not quite as bright as they must be in other conditions, but you'll get a taste for the natural beauty of the area.

You cannot drive right up to the different coves, but must walk along a well-maintained path. Cathedral Cove is the furthest along the path, taking about 30 minutes to get there. Along the way is Gemstone Bay, which is where the bulk of the snorkeling is done. We had rented snorkeling gear and an underwater camera with the intention of seeing some beautiful sea-life. We decided to start with Cathedral Cove, though, and then walk back towards the other bays on the way to the car.

Along the path to Cathedral Cove

Spider's Castle

Love the quails' lovely little hats!

Cathedral Cove beach

Ditto

Koru (Unfurling fern)


Koru close-up
Cathedral Cove

These beaches remind me of some of the beaches in Haiti, when looking at the clarity of the water. Granted the water's much colder, but you guys can pretend it's warm.

We went snorkeling at Cathedral Cove but I didn't see any living things in the water! So we decided to go to Stingray Bay. I wanted to take some pictures of some stingray up close!

Stingray Bay

Stingray Bay

I saw a snapper in the water, but that was it! It was getting really dark and the water was really choppy, murky and cold! So we didn't stay there long. We decided to go to our last stop, Gemstone Bay.

Gemstone Bay

But by the time we got there, we had lost our courage to go into the water, what with the temperature of the air, the water and the murkiness of the water. So we headed back to the car, a bit disappointed by the lack of sealife, but happy that we had still gotten a chance to go there to begin with.

I do recommend going to the Coromandel when in the North Island. It's gorgeous country. But make sure you leave space open for the occasional cloudy day. Stay a day or two longer, if you have to, so that you can see this area in the best of conditions.

Snorkeling gear cost $20/day and the underwater camera $25/day. Not a bad deal, overall!

On our way back to the car, along the path, I did get a nice surprise. I had been looking for this for a while and was stoked to see it along the way. View video below.

Goin' Fishin'!!!

Jake posing with Snapper

I had the unique (for me) opportunity to go fishing in Whitianga. Mark, an avid recreational fisherman from Auckland, took me and a couple other people out to the bay just 100 meters from the Cat's Pyjamas during low tide on Monday.

We had decided to have a barbecue that night anyway and thought that we could add fish to the menu.

Bbq for a night of decadent eating

I had originally decided not to fish, but instead do the recording and picture-taking, but Mark easily convinced me to take a stab at it and within 10 minutes, I caught my first fish!

Video of the fish I caught!

Beeming 'bout my Snapper!

Oh my god, I was so excited! It was a snapper. I was ecstatic. About 20 minutes later, Katie also caught a snapper...

Katie kissing her snapper

...and we headed back to the Cat's Pyjamas, having gotten cold out there. Mark stayed out a bit longer and came back with two more.

Kissy-kiss with the fish

He then filleted them, with Sue's son Jake looking on and cooked half of the fish crumbed and half with salt and pepper. It was one of the most delicious fish dishes I've ever had. Hmmm...I wonder why???

Below is a video of the filleting. If you have the "guts" to watch it, I think it's pretty cool.

New Chum's Beach

A few days ago I went with a few people from the Cat's Pyjamas (a great hostel with a fabulous hostess, Sue) to New Chum's beach (called it New Combs beach in the video, sorry 'bout that). I had heard wonderful things about it being one of the nicest beaches ever, so I wanted to check it out. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we set out. From one really nice beach (whose name I've forgotten), we walked along the rocks and up into the bush for 20- 30 minutes until we emerged in a pearl of a place, completely inaccessible by car, where few people lounged around.

What a gorgeous and lazy day. We fooled around a little and thought it would be fun to do a little video (love my camera and its gadgets!) for the "audience".

First beach from which we walked to New Chum's

Lovely tree bits hanging


View as we walked to New Chum's

View along the trail

New Chum's Beach

Waiting for the perfect moment...

And here it is!

A panoramic view of this Gem

Hot Water Beach

Today is Sunday. I'm going fishing this afternoon. Should be interesting! I arrived in the Coromandel, touted as one of the most beautiful spots in the North Island, on Tuesday and decided to stay here for a week in order to see things at my own pace.

Hot Water Beach

I met up with a couple cool cats from Canada and we went to Hot Water Beach together. Hot water beach is called this because there is a geothermal hot spot beneath the sand on the beach and if you dig into the sand, hot water will come bubbling up and you can make yourself a little pool and lay in it. What's funny is that the beach itself is really nice and big, but everyone is stuffed on one little piece of land about 10 meters long, all digging and sitting. It's quite funny actually. Didn't feel the need to do so, but did do a bit of spying and laughing.

Waders...

Stefane beginning to dig

Below some vids on the process and whether we were able to find the hot water!

The digging process...gotta love having others do things while you watch along!

Wanted to see the boys' pain tolerance!

Let's see if I can beat the boys!

Prognosis of Hot Water Beach

I really burned my feet! It was crazy. You can imagine that we DID NOT sit in that pool! We opted to stand on the shore, the scalding water burning our feet and the relief felt whenever the waves came up and lapped around us. I think people must be masochists to lay in those pools. Or maybe we just hit a ridiculously hot patch...