We had a great breakfast at the Cafeteria of a chocolate shop just around the corner from our hotel. We were smart and kept out of the chocolate shop itself.
We waved hi to Auckland on our way to the Coromandel Peninsula. If we have any time in Auckland it will have to be squeezed into the last couple of days before we drop the car off but we’ll think about that later.
So we are getting really suspicious that NZ roads have been primarily designed by the designer of the Disneyworld Big Thunder Mountain ride. We occasionally get a straight run of roadway but it really is rare. Mostly we are dealing with crazy winding narrow roads that scale up one side of a mountain and then down the other. Feels like maybe NZ just doesn’t want to piss any mountains off so there are no tunnels and no blasting through the side to get a nice straight road to go through. Tom has done most of the driving and I do believe that he was looking rather green after I did the drive up to Cape Reinga. I totally get it – being a passenger here is also not for the faint of heart!
While we’re on the topic of roads, we have seen very few cyclists thank god. NZ built the Great Rides rail trails for a reason. Cycling on these roads can only be done by those that are very, very fit and also very, very oblivious to danger. I am so glad that we are not doing that.
We made it to Hahei in about 3 hours and set off on the walk to Cathedral Cove.
It’s a 40 minute walk and is actually paved the whole way with stairs used for the final descent to the beach. Paved does not mean easy. Very up and down the whole way; definitely a workout. We took one side path to a bay. This will give you an idea of the stairs. Just a partial shot
And here is what we found at the bottom of the stairs
The beach at the cove is very nice. I opted to not walk under the cove given the numerous falling rock warnings.
The path to the cove went through some heavily forested areas and also some open fields, many of which were covered in gorse bushes. I had only heard of gorse bushes in Winnie the Pooh (where he occasionally fell into a gorse bush and had to pull out a lot of prickers). In New Zealand gorse bushes are considered an invasive species, and they are basically impossible to remove. They are beneficial for pollen for bees and they can grow in places where few other plants can grow, but apparently once they start growing there is little that can be done to permanently remove them.
We also saw these plants along the trail. We have seen them in other places, but not so many in one spot. They look a lot like ostrich feathers.
We made a quick stop at hot water beach just down the road but did not pull out our spade to dig for the hot water. Instead, we found a nice cafe for a long black and a shared sausage roll!
Our lodging for the next 2 nights is at the Refinery in Paeroa (pear-oh-ah). We were a tad puzzled when we arrived
but soon found this delightful little cottage in the back
with a very nice welcoming gift
We walked down the street and had the best meal that we’ve had so far in NZ. Fish of the day (Gurnard) with seasonal vegetables. Vegetables! Everything cooked to perfection!
