We have absolutely loved our time on the Coromandel Peninsula as the weather has been perfect for us, so warm! The coastline along the penninsula offers some amazing scenery, bays, islands, forestry and plenty of activities for all. Our first stop was the fantastic beach of Whangamata with the coromandel forest park and tairua forest bordering the township. It is this beach that offers some of the best surfing breaks in New Zealand along the 6km stretch. The beach was gorgeous and the deep coloured rainbow in the distance made for a great photo opportunity. We spent a while here walking along the beach around the back of the bay, soaking up the rays and completely mellowing out.

From here we headed to Opoutere where our escape booklet had advised us of a great campsite with discount, however the muppets forgot to mention that they are shut half of the year during out of peak season therefore wasting our time,nevermind hey! So we headed a little further up the coast and found ourselves a picnic area to camp up at for the night, finishing the day of with some bangers and mash and some chinese rumi. the next morning we were up bright and early, headed for Sailors grave (better than it sounds), a beautiful beach cove which again offers great surf and would be a great little beach swimming spot in the summer, we're going to have to come back here!

We were only here for a short while and then worked our way up the coast line to one of the main reasons for coming up the peninsula, Cathedral Cove one of the must visit sites up in Hahei. A half hour walk rewarded us with unforgettable white sand beaches linked by a natural rock arch. The beaches were seriously like out of a holiay brochure, so secluded - it ws just Chris and I!! There was a natural stream plunging off the cliff, large rock formations in the turquoise sea and of course the infamous cathedral cove, passing through the cliff wall to another amazing beach. From this side you could get the picture perfect postcard of Cathedral Cove and further along the beach there was some old trees (looked a little like a bonsai tree) with huge routes coming off the cliff face offering some nice shade and a relaxed ambience. opposite this was a huge eroded rock face standing tall in the water, its incredible what water can achieve over time. After some paddling and relaxation on the beach Chris decided to take a wash in the fresh water stream plunging off the cliff, it looked so refreshing and like something out of an advert advertising fresh spring water or something hahaha!!

On the way back up to the lookout we headed to two other tiny bays, Gemstone bay, which has a great snorkelling trail and perfect clear waters.. and Stingray bay, a beautiful sandy little cove where I decided to venture out and do a little tree climbing haha.

Since alot of people that we have met seemed to rave on about the 'hot water beach', we decided it would be rude not to go.. and what an experience it was!!! For two hours either side of low tide, you can dig in the sand for hot spring water and make your own spa pool. So, we waited until 3.30pm, by which time the tide was going out.. with our spades at the ready we headed with our swimming togs on to the beach. We got there just in time before the rush of the crowds and found a good spot to dig. Once you start digging you can almost instantly feel the heat of the springs below. Two other couples who came later on joined us to dig out a super big pool.. and what a cracking one it was!!! After about 30 minutes digging, and many attempts rebuilding what we had just done (because the waves smashed up against it so it kept on crumbling!!) we were rewarded with an amazingly hot spa pool.. it was such great fun. On one part of our pool it was unbareably hot, you could actually see the bubbles on another patch of sand right near us - ridiculously hot!! Chris had blisters on his hands from the digging, and almost blisters on his feet from the heat - it was well worth it though, he did me proud!!haha. We got there just in time before the crouds piled in. Unfortunately for many others it was only a small space of sand that you could dig that was thermal, and our group, as well as a few others had already occupied the spots!! People came along by the bus load and were watching on at us all bathing, we felt bad and let some come in our pool to test it out!! It was a really fun atmosphere, everyone working together - even the oldies had a go! haha. After a short trip to the Thames the following day we headed out for the long drive past Auckland to Matakana.