Coromandel - Cathedral Cove - Hahei Hot Water Beach - Auckland 10th day in New Zealand

02/02/2014 Cathedral Cove and Auckland

Since it's Sunday, my alarm doesn't go off until 8:00 am, but I'm already awake before 7:00 am. The sun is shining through all the windows in my little house and there is still a general Sunday calm in tents, caravans, and cabins around me. The cicadas are giving their best, I chat a bit with home, make myself a coffee (of course, there's another quart of milk in the fridge) and sit in the sun on my veranda, not wanting to leave. But there's nothing I can do. I have to go to Auckland today because the cruise starts tomorrow. But first, I want to go to Cathedral Cove, which is nearby.

I drive again towards Hahei Beach (not Hot Water Beach) and there is even something like a gas station here.

It consists of two gas pumps that are outdoors, and you have to pay at the village store 30 meters away before you can pump. Right next to it, you can have breakfast outside or book kayak tours. Unfortunately, there's no room for me at the breakfast table.

It's clear that refueling here is like going to a pharmacy, and I pay $2.41 per liter, the most expensive fuel of my life, and for $30, I only get 12 liters. At least the tank is now full enough for me to get to Thames, which is towards Auckland and about 65 km away. The road to Cathedral Cove is behind the village store and an ice cream parlor, up the hill to the left. There are no bad houses up here. And many backpackers who make the village store and ice cream parlor rich. After three rounds around the small parking lot above the cliff coast, I find a parking spot and I'm immediately impressed by the view.

Amazing panoramic view of islands, cliff coast, and the bluest sea! It's reminiscent of the Caribbean, if the temperatures weren't so pleasant. With 25 or 26 degrees of dry warmth and a light breeze, it's very comfortable, even though it's already 11 am. I head towards Cathedral Cove, which means walking downhill on a trail. After losing sight of the coast, the water, and the many islands, but stumbling constantly over stones and roots, I've had enough and turn around. Considering the caravan heading down, it will be more crowded there than in the parking lot. And then you have to stumble uphill for an hour.

Below the viewing area is a beautiful lawn where I sit for an hour. This is probably the first free hour on this vacation. I don't have big plans for today and finally have time, and what place could be more beautiful than this one with this magnificent view? I lie in the grass and watch the seagulls, take some photos and eat my apple from the village store, which is my breakfast and lunch.

At around 1:00 pm, I finally get on my yellow toy car, which has not only 158,000 km on the clock but also lacks the radio antenna (so you can't receive anything except at three intersections in larger towns) and the fuel cap cover. Not to mention the bent hubcap on the front left and the massive rust on the wheels, and the torn seat cushion and stains on the upholstery. The real pest is the fuel consumption of this small car.

Before I go to Auckland, I stop at Hahei Hot Water Beach. I'm lucky that low tide was around 3:00 pm because that's the time (2 hours before and after) to dig a hole in a specific spot on the beach and lie in the warm water there.

You can borrow shovels everywhere, my holiday park from last night even provided them for free, with a deposit. There's a lot going on in the designated area. Large rocks and sulfur-yellow colored stones are scattered on the beach, and many people are in their holes. Some have dug a slightly larger hole with their best friends and brought their drinks. This beach is completely flooded at high tide, so this spectacle is only possible at low tide. Every now and then, one of the big waves reaches the holes and washes the people from the top with cool water while they are warmed from below.

I walk through a stream of warm water that is so hot that I jump into the surf to cool my feet. The surf is strong here and, apart from a very narrow section of the beach, swimming is prohibited. Some surfers and daring swimmers are out, but other than playing in the waves, there's not much swimming going on.

I drive briefly to Hahei Beach, walk a few meters on the beach, dip my feet in the Pacific, and since swimming is also not allowed here, I continue on my way.

My drive towards Auckland first takes me south on Highway 25. I make a short stop at the twin Kauri trees and drive on after 2 minutes. Kauri trees are indigenous creatures of New Zealand. These trees are mighty, up to 50 meters high and are characterized by a leafy crown on a thick and tall trunk. The oldest Kauri tree in New Zealand is said to be over 2,000 years old. Unfortunately, they have become rare and sighting Kauri trees is something beautiful, sublime, and valuable.

I already know the landscape. I drive through the Coromandel Forest Park with many tall trees, hills, and plenty of curves until I have to turn west somewhere to get on Highway 2. These highways here are country roads that have passing lanes every 5-8 km. Due to the many curves, I can only go at a maximum of 50-60 km/h and even though Auckland is only 170 km away from Hahei, the combination of low speed and Sunday traffic returning to Auckland and its surroundings is upon me. Auckland has the size of Paris, even though only 300,000 people live here.

On the way to Auckland, I decide to quickly visit another place called Birkenhead. Renowned for its European architecture from 100 years ago and the beautiful view of Auckland and the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Before that, I grab an ice cream cone. "Real fruit ice cream" means taking ice cream from a large manufacturer and pressing frozen fruits together with a special press to make a kind of firmer soft-serve ice cream. Tastes good.

Auckland - View of the Harbour Bridge and Skyline from Birkenhead

Birkenhead has a few nice old wooden houses, but the view of Auckland is the real highlight after crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

My next point is the hotel, which is actually an apartment. It was the cheapest at $142 in the city center and has the great advantage that I can walk to the ship tomorrow. Even with luggage.

Auckland has several hills and is surrounded by plenty of water on both sides. So the location is really great, which surely has a good quality of life. In the city, there are some small volcanoes, of course inactive, all covered with vegetation. But even in the maze of the city center, there are plenty of streets going up and down. Thanks to GPS, I eventually find the very inconspicuous building around 8:00 pm. I use the intercom to get in, my key is waiting for me in a compartment. I transfer all my stuff from the car to the apartment, which is very nice. Only the view in the back is not so great, although the lights of the surrounding high-rises look nice in the dark. However, there's a house with a ventilation system below me that smells strongly of Asian food, at least until the 2nd floor below me. My apartment has a balcony, but it's not really usable. There's also no chair for it, and the constant noise from the ventilation system and several air conditioners is annoying.

Now I have to find a gas station to refuel the car one last time before returning it. I drive around a bit until I find one and refuel the crappy car for $84. What a fuel-guzzler for a car smaller than a Polo and about the same size as the Suzuki Swift I had on the South Island, which didn't consume nearly as much but could easily handle the mountains at over 60 km/h. With this car, I caused traffic jams more than once when going uphill. Now I just need to find the car return location, which should be only 2 km away.

I know that it's already closed, but it's idiotic that they have locked their yard - where should I park the car? I park it in the driveway, it protrudes onto the sidewalk a bit and completely blocks the entrance to the parking lot. Whatever - I throw the key into the dropbox and I'm glad to be rid of this piece of junk.

I feel relieved from the car and I'm also happy that for now, after more than 3,500 km in New Zealand in less than 9 days, I don't have to drive anymore. I chose the routes myself to see as much as possible and I'm also happy that I did that and saw so much incredible beauty, and the driving, apart from the thousands of curves, went really well.

I walk towards the hotel/waterfront and find a restaurant in the general hustle and bustle of the marina with a decent Chicken Curry on special for $13.50 plus a beer, and I'm back at the hotel by 10:00 pm. Since the apartment has a washing machine with a dryer, I start a load of laundry. Unfortunately, the dryer doesn't work, so I hang several t-shirts and two pants on doorknobs and the balcony door. Then I spend some time on the internet, backup pictures on my tablet, and by midnight, I'm in the wide, comfortable bed.

Driving distance: 250 km

Total driving distance North Island from 31.1-2.2.2014: Over 1,000 km

Total driving distance North + South Island over 3,500 km in 10 days