Coromandel

ޝާއިޢުކޮށްފައިވެއެވެ: 22.10.2016

******** THE GREAT TOUR BEGINS!! ********

Meanwhile, we have made our van cozy: with a carpet, 'wardrobe' (laundry bags on the left) and a solar-powered, colorful string of lights, it has become more comfortable.


Here is our little one next to some of the many monster vans in New Zealand.

And where are we going first?

Since we are already on the Coromandel Peninsula, where we had woofed in Thames, we are exploring this area first.


Unfortunately, the first few days were a bit gray, but the landscape still looks promising. In the distance, you can always see the sea somewhere.



You don't really get far on the winding roads during the day, and that's fine with us. We want to take our time.

Our first great campsite is right on a bay (by the way, everything is free - IF you have a self-contained van! :))

This is where we sleep:


Anette is very proud of these pictures she took of the sunset here:





But appearances can be deceiving!

Because the clouds are not reflected in a huge, mirror-smooth lake, but only in a puddle!

This is what it looks like when you take the photo from the puddle:

(By the way, this is one of three French people we met at the campsite. We would spend 2 fun days with them.)



Pfff.. Puddle... unbelievable, isn't it?


The 'French people' (sounds racist, but that's what we call them now) gave us all sorts of tips for our future travels, as they had already reached the end of their year in New Zealand and would start their Asia trip in 3 days. What a pity!



******** CATHEDRAL COVE ********

Day 2 with the French people: we continued along the Coromandel coast towards the south. Here is the famous Cathedral Cove.


And the 'Cathedral' Cove is rightly so. A bay with hollowed-out sandstone formations that resemble a cathedral:

Cathedral Cove looks heavenly in sunshine. Unfortunately, gray in gray here..

Cathedral Cove looks heavenly in sunshine. Unfortunately, gray in gray here..





Right nearby, (self-contained!) cars were allowed to park overnight in the parking lot. The French people and us got up at 6 a.m. to admire the sunrise from the viewing platform:



******** LET'S CONTINUE ********

Always following the French people. :)


On the way, they noticed a small sales box with homemade jam. The price was written on the jars and the money was put into a donation box. This happens here quite often for eggs, jam, etc.


The husband of the jam maker happened to come by to bring new jars. We were given a kiwi jam as a gift :D


In a parking lot in Whangamata (a little further south), we stopped to make a pancake lunch together. This is where the jam came into play.

(It was very windy, hence the antisocial parking position)


Camille, Cyril, and Pierre.

and sous-chef Ânnes flipping the pancakes professionally.

Frisbeeeee
Frisbeeeee
After the meal, everyone had to digest by playing Frisbee. (Except Anette, the lazy one who used 'taking photos' as an excuse.)


The losing team had to jump into the (cold!!!!) sea, that was the deal. And Hannes was on the losing team. But in the end, everyone jumped into the sea (except the camerawoman, of course...)


******** CONTINUING ALONE: SOUTHERN COROMANDEL ********


Since the French people had to part ways with us due to their approaching departure, we continued alone. Here is another beautiful, free parking lot right on the beach in Waihi Beach:



Here we saw a full moon rising directly over the sea!

Moonrise


Praise the moon, the rising lord!





And then it was time for bed... Here you actually fall asleep early and wake up early.


******** WAIHI - NEW ZEALAND'S HEART OF GOLD *********


The landscape on the left and right of the road alternates between green hills with sheep or cows, and dense forests with giant ferns.


And then we were in Waihi. It is a small town that owes its existence to gold mining, which is still practiced today!


Right next to the town, a hole opens up - a huge open pit mine: Recently, there was a huge landslide here, which fortunately happened at night and did not cost any lives.



The town of Waihi lives from gold, and this process is shown to tourists on tours. The gold extraction takes place behind the doors of large halls, from which a lot of noise can be heard. Our guide explained everything to us from the outside, we were not allowed inside the facility with millions of dollars worth of gold in silver, of course. But our guide handed Hannes a large piece of silver and a mini gold bar to hold - just for a photo:



Not far from Waihi, you can also experience the historical part of the gold rush in the mountains on well-maintained hiking trails. Tourists also come here to hike on their own, including old, damp mine shafts!



Here, you hike along the old paths of the gold miners..


And even through the old mine shafts and tunnels!

If you fit inside...






We were surprised that you were allowed to walk into such long mine shafts all alone. Very adventurous!

The shiny stuff on the walls is some kind of mold judging by the smell:




Here in Waihi, there is also the longest straight tunnel we have ever seen. Unfortunately, there are no tracks inside anymore. We were definitely surprised that you can see the exit from the beginning, but it still takes a while to reach it!



This was our southernmost destination for this season. Now we are returning to the originally planned route: heading north - and therefore towards the sun!! To do that, we will drive through the traffic-unfriendly Auckland again - nose to the grindstone. :)

See you soon!!!
HanNZette.

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