The reason we went to Whitianga was because of the famous Hot Water Beach which is just down the road from it. On arriving the day before we were told that we had basically missed it tide wise, so we waited until the day after. We were told the best time would be after one o'clock, so that meant we had the morning to do more exploring. We set off for Cathedral Cove which is another coastal walk with beautiful rock formations and bays.
We found it quite easily but the very small car park was chockablock with camper vans, so a bit of manoeuvring was needed to get a space. We are driving around in a little blue car, which is really nice, very fuel efficient and easy to park. We have mainly stayed at motels so far, but have camping gear in the boot of the car incase we need it. We have actually been carrying around our tents since July and only used them on the Inca trail for three days, so I want to get more use out of them, so fingers crossed we get good enough weather for camping. We bought a cheap tent out of a shop called The Warehouse, so we are all prepared, I even bought pillows. Well, I like my comfort when I'm roughing it!
Anyway, back to the walk, even early in the morning a lot of tourists were already there making their way along the trail. The path went past a couple of small bays, we went down to one called Stingray Bay, only two other couples had gone down this side route , with most people just heading for Cathedral Cove. It was well worth the effort to go down there as, as the name says, there were stingrays swimming in the bay which were easily seen in the beautiful clear water. It was amazing to see so many gracefully gliding alongside each other.
Stingray Bay, it looks really dark and cold but it wasn't, we just had our t-shirts on.
Now, going down to the bay was easy lots of steps but that of course means a lot of steps back up, hard work. I kept telling myself that I had managed to do the Inca trail, and this was nothing compared to that but I struggled. I actually think I have put weight on since arriving in New Zealand, I don't know if it is because it is western style food or what, more snacks across here too. There is also more food that I recognise, sometimes in Asia, I would wonder what something was and avoid.
This is Cathedral Cove, there is a lovely little beach which you can get to through this amazing arch, as you can see the cliffs are quite white in this area and there is a lovely golden beach. On the way we walked through woodland which had a lot of finches darting about, we have loved seeing the goldfinches which we get in our garden at home. We have also seen a lot of yellowhammers and siskins. There is a lovely little gull here, which we think is called a Redbill, beautiful red beak and feet.
Just like the temples in Siem Reap I am drawn to the trees, I just love seeing them.
Our next stop was Hot Water Beach, there is an area on this beach which is on top of hot springs, so when the tide goes out you can dig a hole in the sand and hot water settles in the bottom, which you can then sit in. Well, there are loads of tourists all at the one spot, clutching shovels all trying to dig a hole, big enough to sit in. Added to this clamour is the waves which now and again come back far enough to undo all the work you have done and the heat of the water in the sand which I found too hot. My toes are still red nearly a week later from being scalded, I had a few crazy dance moves going on, trying to escape it.
All the tourists in one area, the test of the beach was empty.
After trying for ages to dig a hole which kept being washed away by the waves, we landed lucky as another couple abandoned their spot and asked if we wanted it. We were straight in there but to be honest, the water was too hot for me to sit in it comfortably I basically sat on a ledge of sand, David did that too but did put his feet in. After a short while, we sort of looked at each other, and you could tell we were both thinking, right we have had the experience, let's go.
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