Hahei Heaven

Square kauri

Shakespeare's beach ?

Lovely Hahei beach

Griz doing his Tarzan routine

Hahei Heaven
Our decision to spend a week at Hahei Beach in the Coramandel penninsula was a good one. As soon as we turned off the main road to the winding country road, through farms, rolling hills and rugged scenery, we knew we were in for a treat. The beach is spectacular: pink sand, cliffs , offshore islands and rolling surf (which proved to be a bit of a challenge for swimming- I got a taste of somersaulting under water more than once.) We have enjoyed morning walks on the cliffs surrounding the village, views of the countryside, and the spectacular beach. It is popular but not extremely crowded,even on their anniversay day weekend ( like our Labour day weekend at home- the end of summer fling.)
We took several day trips. One was to see the kauri forests and the famous square kauri- a 1200 year old massive tree that was spared the loggers' saw because of its unusual shape. We visited neighboring beaches, one called Shakespeare's cliff because of the unusual rock formation that looks like a profile of the bard (see if you can see the resemblance). We have been quite happy in our little bach: Grizzlo preparing the coffee with care, dining alfresco or just chilling out. Tomorrow we plan to visit Coramandel town- another adventure.

Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach (Bust?)

Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach (Bust?)
It was wonderful to wake up in our own home (for the next week), have coffee on the porch, listening to the bellbirds and watching the view of the pa (Maori fort site). Our first walk was a coastline trail to the magnificent Cathedral Cove. We had great coastline views, saw huge tree ferns and pockets of pastureland, complete with grazing cows. Cathedral Cove has huge limestone archways and rock formations. The swimming was a bit exciting with waves that could give us a great ride or turn us upside down in a face plant if we weren't careful.
The brief drive to Hot Water Beach was extremely scenic, a combination of rustic pastures and spectacular ocean views. Grizzlo was so excited to go to the hot water pools. There are volcanic springs under the sand and at low tide you can dig a hole and have your own jacuzzi.
Unfortunately , half the tourists to New Zealand had the same idea, so it was impossible to find an unoccupied spot. Crowd jacuzzis are not our thing. The surf there was spectacular, so we settled for watching the fearless surfers do their thing. The surf was much too dangerous for the average swimmer. So, view 10, jacuzzi 0.

Katikati cont'd