New Zealand Day 15 (14 April 2018)

Take 2!  Hopefully this time I won’t delete the post before I publish it. 🤨

We started out this morning in Rotorua. It rained all last night, and the sky started crying that it was our last day in New Zealand. I feel ya sky, I feel ya. 

As we set out, when it wasn’t raining, there was beautiful mist covering the earth.  There were some ares where it looked like the fog was sneaking in a kiss to the earth, and would disappear just as quickly as it came. 

We made our way up to the Coromandel Peninsula. It really is impressive how different all the areas have been!  

We headed towards Hot Water Beach.  As we pulled in, the heavens decided just a little sprinkling was not adequate, and it became a deluge!  The loud booming thunder and sparks of lightning rounded out our weather when we first pulled up. There are several people clustered under the covered bathroom area in hopes of staying semi-dry. 

At Hot Water Beach, the thing to do is rent a shovel for $10, and you dig your own hot tub!  There is natural hot water a few meters below the beach. So, it’s recommended that two hours either side of low tide is the best time to dig your own hot tub! 

Since it was fairly stormy when we first parked, we decided against putting on our swim suits and heading over to the main beach. You had to wade through hip deep water to get to it, so it made the decision easy to stay where we were. 

It stopped raining long enough for us to enjoy the experience!  It was such an interesting combination of black volcanic rock and golden sandy beaches.  

If the sun had been shining, the beautiful light green color of the water would’ve shone through a little brighter! As we were waking around, you had to pay attention to where you stepped, because the sand liked to try and swallow your feet.  There were shoe washing stations just up on the boardwalk, so it was just the right amount of time, and we finished it with clean feet too!

After we played on the beach, we went and asked the coffee shop directions to Cathedral Cove. The people in New Zealand are amazingly friendly. She gave us directions, and Alex bought an ‘Afghan cookie.’  The worker said it was a true kiwi cookie. It had a chocolate base and was made with cornflakes inside and was a substantial, hearty cookie. Well, it was crunchy, but it took a little effort to swallow. Alex broke the cookie in fourths, and all of us felt like that was enough to be full. 😏

We walked across the street to an artist gallery. It was pretty unique and had great pieces of art.  We also found the jewelry!  I think it’s a fantastic souvenir, and it packs easily. 

After the gallery, we headed over to Cathedral Cove, right when the storm picked up again. However, by the time we had eaten our packed lunch, the storm had passed through. You can park in a free parking lot and either walk to the entrance (30 minutes uphill) or spend the best $5 New Zealand dollars of your life for a round trip shuttle ticket. It was a tough decision, but we decided to take the shuttle. 

I had read that it was a 45 minute walk down to the cove, and you should bring water. The coffee shop lady told us they were some stairs at the end. After sharing that information with Mom, Dad, and Alex, we set out on the paved trail. 

The views were incredible!  Let me tell you, you really work for the gorgeous view at the cove. Not only do you go downhill, but the middle part is all uphill. It feels like you’re hiking through volcano fields, but it is beautiful.

Right when you’re almost on the beach, there are almost 150 stairs to climb down. 😯. When we started the hike, the rain had all but stopped. So, we passed a few people coming out. When we got down to the cove, there were only eight people on the beach, including the four of us!  Had it been sunny, we would’ve been able to better appreciate the color of the water, but the trade off was a very calm and quiet experience with nature. 

At high tide, you have to swim through the cove. We arrived at the perfect time, and were able to walk through it. There was even a waterfall on one side of the beach!

Alex said it felt like you were walking on to a movie set, and I think she was right!  

The sunlight even danced through the waves and off the rocks for a few minutes. It was glorious!  

As we were leaving, there were people pouring onto the beach. They waited for the rain to stop before making the trek. Our timing was perfect, as there were at least 50 people on the beach, and a steady stream of people continuing down the pathways. Hiking out was as rigorous as hiking in, but just as beautiful. Mom and Dad were good sports about hiking it with Alex and me. They were surprised they could complete it. My Fitbit said we climbed 57 flights of stairs, but look at those views!

Within a few minutes of the shuttle bringing us back to our car, the heavens opened up like it was squeezing a sponge full of water on us. We were pretty blessed to have the weather cooperate as much as possible for 100% chance of rain all day. 😊

 New Zealand has so many different shades of green. It kind of feels like you’re looking at the world through green tinted glasses. There are so many different kinds of trees, shrubs, and grasses that it seemed like a rainbow of shades of green. 

It felt like today was an exclamation point on an amazingly glorious trip!  It really has been a trip of a lifetime. I feel like I could live in any of the countries we visited, with a few creature comforts, like air conditioning. I have loved sharing these experiences with some of my loved ones. I definitely feel like I could fit in this corner of the world. 💕