Coromandel Peninsula

Day 164

"Home is behind
The world ahead
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadow, to the edge of night"

Two weeks is almost up in Kiwiland. I have now barely scratched the surface of this beautiful country and I have this feeling like I'm rushing forward. I just don't understand people who say New Zealand is possible to explore in 10 days, yea right...

Last entry was written in Paihia waiting for bus to Whangarei. Well, didn't get to see much of Whangarei since my hostel was located 5km outside in small suburb called Whangarei Falls, named after big waterfall there. Place didn't hold my interest too much since only reason for my stopover there was divetrip to Poor Knights Islands. Oh boy it was so worth it!

Poor Knights islands was one of the first marine reservers in entire New Zealand and because of it, marine life is very preserved and rich there, amazingly rich if you ask me. I never thought subtropical waters had that much life, fish and color in them. It was just stunning, absolutely stunning to see it. Again, I kicked ass with air consumption :) On my both dives I was last to surface with divemaster(=guide) in our guided group. Amazing dives, so far easily best dives I have done in my short diving career.

Next day I was off from Whangarei and headed towards Coromandel Peninsula. Again, the transport system here just SUCKED! After 2 bus changes and 7 hours I finally reached Whitianga, very pretty township in heart of Coromandel Peninsula.

Coromandel turned out to be pleasant surprise where I could have spent 3 days instead of just 2. On the day I arrived it rained like crazy. Hostel was called On The Beach but even though it was within 50m from beach, I couldnt see the beach cause of the rain! Well, thankfully there were lot of nice peeps staying so we played Trivial Pursuit...which of course I won :DDDD Here is pic of the hostel.

Second day I rented bicycle and went to see the famous Hot Water Beach 20km away(yes, 20km with rented bicycle one way!). Special thing about the beach is that there are underground hot springs on the beach and you can dig a hole during low tide and have your own private hot spa. Oh well, place was pretty, no question about that.

...but as I got closer I noticed apparently I wasn't the only one there to dig a hole :(

Ok, so I set to work and started digging...which I did for hour until I started getting blisters on my hands and water in my precious hole wasn't getting any warmer. At that point I gave up, got on my bike and went to see another popular sight nearby, Cathedral Cove.

If Hot Water Beach was disappointment, then Cathedral Cove made up for it. That place was gorgeous even from distance.

After 45min walk through bushes I finally arrived at the sight and was just stunned. Place was amazing. Final entrance to this Cove was through huge cave which made it even more amazing.

Beach around the Cove was amazing as well.

Just amazing location, again. New Zealand seems to have these little natural surprises around each and every corner.

So today I arrived to Bay Of Plenty and its westernmost city of Tauranga after another 5h bus trip and 2 changes. My first impression is...really nice town! Finally a really nice and pleasant town. But more about Tauranga and Bay of Plenty on next entry ;)

Finally some thoughts about New Zealand so far.

New Zealand is beautiful country, there is no denying on that. It just might be the most picturesque country in entire world, yet for some reason I feel something is missing. Wherever I turn my head there is this amazing landscape which just drops your jaw but still for some reason I don't feel anything more, something is missing. I know now what it is, excitment aka danger.

See, in Australia when you started bushwalk there were these warning posts: "Be ware of Redbacks, Funnelwebs, Taipans, Brown snakes, Adders, Tigersnakes, occasional Cassowarys and don't walk too close to riveredge cause there might be Saltwater Crocodiles." Heh, after Oz this country feels like a bloody Disneyland. Tramping here is just ok, you know that you will get amazing landscapes, sceneries and natural wonders...but thats it, its just too easy. I loved bushwalks in Australia so much more because you had to be wary of wildlife, it was always possible to encounter deadly snake or spider and that always made walks much more fun and exciting...atleast for me.

Thats it for now, hopefully on next entry I can tell about the ultimate dive experience in world. It's still not confirmed if it will happen but I'm trying my best.