Here are some random photos from a day trip out to Waiheke Island, just a 30min ferry ride from Auckland...
Coromandel Peninsula
A super popular holiday destination for kiwis and most of our visitor's favorite spot on the North island, only about an hour from Auckland and an amazingly gorgeous scenic drive. The beaches reminded us of Thailand and the hot springs on the beach are among the coolest things we have seen/done here in this crazy land...
"Hot Water Beach is book-ended by tufts of pohutukawa trees. In between, white sands hide an underground river of hot water that flows from the Earth’s interior to surface in this picturesque location. Hot pools can be dug out of the sand at low tide near the rocks and in places where steam can be seen rising from the open sea at high tide. Volcanic activity is no longer prevalent on the Coromandel Peninsula—the hot mineral pools are a legacy of an exciting geothermal past." www.tourism.net.nz
And so we attempted to dig our spa with a rented spade. We were soon to find out that this "river" runs in very specific locations already sought out by others. And the tide was not fully out so this also limited the amount of space for hot pools to be dug. But we followed the crowds like lil NZ sheep and dug our feet into the steaming, bubbling sand to find that it burned like a mofo! Literally boiling water, you could not stand there for long (you can see the bubbling in the picture below).
Those who had the proper digging "system" and retaining wall to block the crashing waves enjoyed a natural hot tub. We were wet and cold after being ambushed by the waves and decided that our hard work was in vain, and so decided to carry on and that our experience with Hot Water beach was as good as it gets with low tide being in complete darkness. Yet another fascinating spot in enigamtic NZ, so we checked it off our list of "must-do's" and went back to Auckland after a long but beautiful day.
1 comment:
Heh there girls, I fianlly got a chance to check out your blog and wow, you girls have been busy!! No one has commented either which sucks for you two as I know how much effort it takes to keep yus lazy asses informed. The pics are awesome and appreciated very much. I am thinking NZ should be added to my wish list but I am getting up in years and it looks like it could be a place for the younger set!!! Life here is good, it is finally starting to seem like spring but I have not been golfing yet!! That's OK, only the eager boys (like your Dad Jodi) have been out I guess! The weather is around 15 these days with showers today but it is getting green and cleaner around here. The RAH remains the same with construction everywhere! My work is good but I have been working a lot so its time to slow down now before the summer holiday rush! I work with some girls whose work ethic is like that of an old 90 year old and they are all younger than me so that bugs me but whatever, you see that shit everywhere. Are you guys still working over there? Keep the blog going as it rocks!!! Talk to you soon, and look after each other! BYE! Love Lor
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