This trip is getting really exciting! Two days ago we drove south, crossed Auckland but didn’t stop there but continued south. We drove many hours and as it was pretty late we decided to camp free, which means just to park the motorhome somewhere – no camping and no “batich”. It is not easy to find a good spot for overnight stay, because many places are marked as “no staying overnight”; parking in car parks or just on the street didn’t feel appropriate, however eventually we were able to find a nice place to stay. Should I mention that it was just 15 meters away from the ocean?! (you can actually see a photo of Ophir in shorts, because Amit was betting her that she would not dare going out with shorts. A silly bet – of course he lost).
The next morning we drove the most beautiful road ever. Amit decleared that this is what he imagined when he thought about NZ. Indeed it was beautiful and impressive. We reached the city of Coromandel. On the map the city seems like a big one, but we already have a notion about the sizes of towns in NZ. There are very few big cities. The rest are very small towns. In 5 minutes you cross them. However, Coromandel is a sweet and lovely one. It was Sunday so maybe that explains why it looked sleepy and empty.
We kept driving and arrived in the afternoon to Hahei beach. That was last night. We had a relaxed evening and night. However this morning we woke up pretty early – 6:30, and took a 1½ hours walk via the beach to Cathedral Cove. I personally haven’t seen any of the Narnia movies, but few scenes from the second movie were filmed at this location. You can see in the pictures. The trail to get there was not an easy one for the kids – lots of uphill and downhill, but it was worth it (the kids said!). The view was just amazing as well as the cove itself.
We walked back to the camping, and this time drove to the hot water beach. Now, this is surely one of the highlights of this trip (and if this is not going to turn out as one of the highlights then we’re in good situation :-)).
The kids planned to write about our visit in Auckland Museum and all the explanations about the volcanic activities in NZ. They didn’t because they are kids. But I will ask Ido to write some notes about it in the end of this post.
Anyways, from what we knew about the place before we got there is that you should get there at the low tide, preferable with a shovel, you dig yourself a hole on the beach, and warm water starts coming out of the ground. You just lie in it enjoying life. Well, I was pretty suspicious about it. Especially because we’re still walking around with 3 layers of clothing. Even when the sun is out it is pretty chilled. So how can I lie with just a swimsuit on the beach? Even if the water in the hole is indeed warm?! Thus my plan was to play the “feeble woman” – Amit & kids will do that, I’d watch them and then decide if I join them, or just stand there for them with the towels on my hand ready to hand it when they need it…
We reached the place; we rented a shovel, we were all digging and lying in this hand made pools. The water was sometimes burning!!! I actually burned my foot walking on one of the streams between the holes that people like us dug. It is an elusive sight especially because of the steam coming out of the sand. I think I said enough about it, but indeed it was really really exciting. You can see in the pictures.
The next morning we drove the most beautiful road ever. Amit decleared that this is what he imagined when he thought about NZ. Indeed it was beautiful and impressive. We reached the city of Coromandel. On the map the city seems like a big one, but we already have a notion about the sizes of towns in NZ. There are very few big cities. The rest are very small towns. In 5 minutes you cross them. However, Coromandel is a sweet and lovely one. It was Sunday so maybe that explains why it looked sleepy and empty.
We kept driving and arrived in the afternoon to Hahei beach. That was last night. We had a relaxed evening and night. However this morning we woke up pretty early – 6:30, and took a 1½ hours walk via the beach to Cathedral Cove. I personally haven’t seen any of the Narnia movies, but few scenes from the second movie were filmed at this location. You can see in the pictures. The trail to get there was not an easy one for the kids – lots of uphill and downhill, but it was worth it (the kids said!). The view was just amazing as well as the cove itself.
We walked back to the camping, and this time drove to the hot water beach. Now, this is surely one of the highlights of this trip (and if this is not going to turn out as one of the highlights then we’re in good situation :-)).
The kids planned to write about our visit in Auckland Museum and all the explanations about the volcanic activities in NZ. They didn’t because they are kids. But I will ask Ido to write some notes about it in the end of this post.
Anyways, from what we knew about the place before we got there is that you should get there at the low tide, preferable with a shovel, you dig yourself a hole on the beach, and warm water starts coming out of the ground. You just lie in it enjoying life. Well, I was pretty suspicious about it. Especially because we’re still walking around with 3 layers of clothing. Even when the sun is out it is pretty chilled. So how can I lie with just a swimsuit on the beach? Even if the water in the hole is indeed warm?! Thus my plan was to play the “feeble woman” – Amit & kids will do that, I’d watch them and then decide if I join them, or just stand there for them with the towels on my hand ready to hand it when they need it…
We reached the place; we rented a shovel, we were all digging and lying in this hand made pools. The water was sometimes burning!!! I actually burned my foot walking on one of the streams between the holes that people like us dug. It is an elusive sight especially because of the steam coming out of the sand. I think I said enough about it, but indeed it was really really exciting. You can see in the pictures.
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