Day 16 - Digging at all costs

29.11.16

The alarm clock wakes us up at 7 o'clock. We get ready to visit the famous Cathedral Cove (CC) and Hot Water Beach (HWB). When we reach the CC exit parking lot, we put on our hiking shoes and saddle up our backpacks because, according to the information, there is a 40-minute hike to the CC ahead of us. We start walking and are somewhat surprised to find a paved pedestrian highway leading to the Cove - no hiking involved at all. We could have even gone in flip-flops... Oh well. The CC is impressive, but not overwhelmingly so.

What amazes us even more is the amount of people there and the numerous kayaks. We count at least 20 kayaks, and more are on their way?! Those who have booked a guided kayak tour even get a cappuccino brewed by their kayak leader... We settle for water from our bottle :-)

We disappear again and continue driving to the HWB - another tourist attraction in Coromandel. Here, hot springs emerge. If you dig a hole in the sand (in the right place!), up to 60°C hot water comes out. We also try our luck and - after 20 attempts - we still only find cold water.

With others, we then convince ourselves that there really are hot springs and then we leave again (the parking meter is running out because everything costs money). That was nothing.

We continue driving and prefer to find our own beach. In Tairua, we find Ocean Beach - fantastic and completely empty. We have a picnic first and then want to take a dip in the Pacific. And again: it's cold water and sooooooo cold (approximately 18°C). But we stick with it, sometimes you have to wash yourself too.

Finally, we set out to get close to Matamata (a filming location for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit).

Conclusion: Today, we were looking for natural spectacles and hot springs, but found many tourists and refreshing cold water - in all respects a 'Cold Water Beach - Day'. As a reward for the day, we have homemade fajitas and vanilla cream :-)

PS: We are introducing a new category, the 'Photo of the Day'.