Ah - New Zealand (Aotearoa in Maori, often translated "land of the long white cloud") - what an amazing place! On our third day we went to the Coromandel Peninsula, across the bay to the east of Auckland. Since the ferry we had planned on taking was cancelled due to the weather, we took a bus. Brandon and Renee had both highly recommended hiking up Castle Rock, where amazing views were to be had. Unfortunately, with all the rain, the hike was dangerous and we wouldn't have been able to see anything with all the clouds. So... we decided to take a tour to Hot Water Beach.
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| A beautiful bay on the way |
Hot Water Beach is amazing! Because of the volcanic activity in the area, you can dig a hole in the sand, just a few feet from the ocean, and warm water will fill it. The locals love to come in winter to dig their own hot tubs. But beware, the water can be scalding hot, so you have to be careful where you dig!
After the beach, we went for a hike to Cathedral Cove. I love this picture - it was so pretty!
Then on to Mercury Bay, where we went to a site commemorating Captain James Cook's observation of the Transit of Mercury in 1769. Afterwards, he circumnavigated and charted all of New Zealand.
And we ended our tour with a night walk through a giant Kauri tree forest. They are massive trees that grow very straight with little or no knots. They were used by the Maori to build boats and later the young trees were used by Europeans for masts and spars.
And I'll end this day's post with a sunset photo that we took just before seeing the Kauri trees:
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