Entering Narnia

So, the next stop on my whistle-stop tour of the north island was the Coromandel peninsula, on the northern coast of the island but east of Auckland this time. We ‘camped’ (due to a storm that was making national news, I actually upgraded to a cabin that night, and consequently slept right through this massive storm!) in Hahei, but the real reason for going there was to see Cathedral Cove, which is pretty impressive even in cloud and drizzle, but looks as far as I can tell from the pictures absolutely stunning in the sunshine. It also isn’t necessary to use your imagination to see it in the sunshine – for those who have seen Prince Caspian, Cathedral Cove is where Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy reemerge into Narnia.

We weren’t quite that lucky with the weather, but it was still great fun to kayak around there – the kayaking was a little trickier than usual, but that just added to the fun! We still got to kayak through caves and around all the same spots, not to mention over the sting rays as we pulled into the beach. We also still got treated to some delicious hot chocolates and caffucinos that the guides made while we explored the cove!

We also ‘camped’ right next to Hot Water Beach, which believe it or not is exactly what its name suggests – the car park next to it can be completely empty on a fine sunny afternoon, and yet fill up to overflow on a cold, windy, rainy evening – it all depends on the tide times. Two hours either side of low tide, at the spot on the beach where the currents go off in different directions, it is possible to dig holes through which hot – boiling hot if you dig too far – water bubbles up, and hey presto, you have your own, free, spa! The only issue is it doesn’t come with a temperature control button, so you end up having to shift when it gets too hot…

The next day we carried on south towards Rotorua, stopping at another lovely beach further down the Coromandel Coast, and then in Paeroa, which is home (as anyone in New Zealand will know) to L&P. L&P )or Lemon & Paeroa, in full) is ‘World Famous in New Zealand’ and definitely a drink I will miss when I leave – its a nicer version of lemonade. New Zealand also has a bizarre tendancy to built statues of giant items in many of its smaller towns – so far I’ve come across a giant doughnut, a giant fish, a giant pear, a giant carrot, a giant gumboot, several others I’ve forgotten, many more I’ve heard mentioned, and, of course, Paeroa has – what else?! – a giant L&P bottle.