Well, we've just pulled into Auckland, and a whole lot has happened since our last update. After writing in Raglan, we rented a surf board from our backpackers (kiwi for hostel) and headed for the beach. Nina got comfy and kept into her book and I somehow stretched on a really really tight wetsuit. Miraculously, no pictures were taken. The waves were WAY bigger than anything I've been on in Jacksonville, and I did get a pretty thorough workout (pummeling), but after not surfing for three years or so I still managed to stand on every wave I caught (only 4) and have a great time. The next few days brought a fair amount of rain, so we used the time to drive out to the Coromandel.
First we drove to Whangamata. "Wh-" sounds like our "Ph-" sound in America, so the town's pronounced "Fangamata." There was a huge windstorm there, but on a positive note our entire hostel was dead empty, so we felt like we had ourselves a regular presidential suite. After spending some time on the beach there we headed to Hahai, home of Hot Water Beach and my favorite part of the trip. We pitched the tent right next to the beach in the town of Hahai and drove to the start of a short walk to Cathedral Cove. The track curled past two other beautiful small bays, and then ended at the biggest natural cavern/tunnel I've ever been in. The terrain is a peculiar stacking of dirt, soft limestone, and very hard rock, so the ocean has eaten incredible patterns and huge shapes out of the landscape-just look at the photos. We woke up early the next day to drive south and beat the beach crowd. Thermal springs send VERY hot water onto and under the beach down there, so if you dig a hole in the right spot you've got your own natural hot tub. In some places the sand was so hot that it burned our feet. After an hour or two there, I went up to rent another surfboard. Lonely Planet said that this was one of the most dangerous surf beaches in New Zealand, so I had to give it a try. Actually, the surf shop said it was the calmest day they'd ever had (look at the tiny wave in the photo, where I was caught in a wetsuit) and there hadn't been any riptide all week. The Ninster had rented herself a little boogie board, but once she tried the surfboard, I realized that I wouldn't have an easy time getting it back. So we got a second surfboard and within 15 minutes Nina was up and riding waves....super impressive.
From the beach we drove to Coleville and stayed on a farm for the night. This was our homebase to see Fletcher Bay and Stony Bay on the northern tip of the Coromadel. Then our adventure took us south to Coromandel Town where we took a walk through one of New Zealand's kauri tree groves. These trees tower out of the forest and Nina can't reach her arms all the way around one (me neither, for that matter). The next day we drove all the way up to the Bay of Islands and found a cheap bed and breakfast. For the first time this whole trip we had a private bathroom. What a highlite! We drove into Paihai for the afternoon and just spent the day looking out over the countless number of islands off the coast. After being treated to a great breakfast this morning, we hopped into the car and drove to the bottom of 90 Mile Beach. When we got there I learned not only that the beach is actually a road, but the speed limit is twice that of the pavement road you take to get there. Crazy. I guess a bunch of cars have gotten stuck and eaten by the tide over the years here too. After that we packed it up came into Auckland, our official last stop of the amazing trip. We're sad to see it end, but excited for what's coming up back in America. Who knows........maybe one last blog entry after a big exciting day tomorrow. Til then
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