Our first stop in the Coromandel Peninsula was Waimo Beach. The weather was OK when we got there, so we had time to wander along the beach, but then the next day, things got worse and the heavy rain drove us further up the peninsula where the forecast was meant to be better. We stopped in Hahei Beach, near to Hot Water Beach. The weather wasn't much better, but the following days forecast was optimistic (we felt like we were beginning to chase the sun). Next morning we got up and did the 90 minute trek to Cathedral Cove which is a secluded beach and absolutely beautiful. It was voted as one of the Top 10 Beaches in The World by The Guardian and we could see why! The weather began to improve so we decided to get a little bit of colour back in our cheeks! This time neither of us burnt, suprisingly.

Later in the afternoon we went to hot water beach where the beach has hot water underneath the sand. So along with around 70 other tourists, we hired a shovel and of course Ben began digging to make Lisa her own little hot pool of water in the beach whilst Lisa was sunbathing! (The hot water is caused by the volcanic ground underneath the beach) We struggled to strike gold, as we were a little late and all the best "hot spots" had been taken. We kept asking ourselves why there was a little space in the middle of everybody else, that no-one would ever dig or sit in. As curious cats do, we dived in and soon realised that the water was scolding hot and retreated like the French! Eventually we got ourselves a nice little spot and laid in the hot water for the rest of the afternoon, perfect! Coromandel was a short trip which we enjoyed but would have enjoyed a lot more if the weather had been a little better!!