Kia ora (hello in Maori)! Brekkie was included today and we ate with the 2 guys from the U.S. They are interesting fellows.

We left for the stunning Coromandel Peninsula at 8:00 am. It just into the Pacific east of Auckland and forms the eastern edge of the Hauraki Gulf. Along the way Auto entertained us with Maori legends and briefed us on all the things that can go wrong - earthquakes and tsunamis!!! He assures us g Adventures are constantly watching the weather and tracking us and if there is a problem we'll get to safer ground quickly. How reassuring is that ?! I'm not sure if he sensed our uneasiness but he quickly changed subjects and told us NZ is separated from Australia by the Tasman Sea and South America by the Pacific Ocean. He's full of information about pretty much everything to do with NZ.

He also told us we have to learn a Maori song for tomorrow when we are staying in a Maori village - a marae. So we listened to it and then he played some other songs that came out of NZ. Remember OMC's song in the 80's "every time I look around... It's in my face...How bizarre"? Well that singer is a native NZer. We listened to some other music from NZ. It has a reggae/ Lion King feel to it. I quite enjoyed it. Crowded House is a NZ /Aus band. Who knew (except Todd probably :) ??).

The sun actually came out mid morning and we can now see how beautiful the NZ countryside is. There must be dozens of different shades of green, my favourite colour. Sweet! We are driving through cow country (cow! I thought NZ was all about sheep). Apparently sheep don't like this area (Hauraki Gulf area) as its too flat. They like the South Island where there are hills and dales. We've seen lots of "exotic" cows along the way. Lol

I spoke too soon. It's raining again. Apparently, you can experience all 4 seasons in a day. I think we will. We stopped for a pee break and to get munchies and lunch to eat later and the scenery is now what I pictured it would be - STUNNING!! Hilly with winding roads and beautiful breathtaking vistas.

We stopped to stretch our legs and take another toilet break in Tairua (meaning twin peaks), a little town on a river. Legend says if you climb these peaks you will return within 7 years. One of the peaks, Paku, was a volcanic island 7 million years ago. At one time it was a fortified Maori village (pa) before being invaded in the 17th century. We, also, had several stops along the way for stretching and seeing sights. One place was at a lookout to see the Alderman islands. It was misty but if you look closely you can see them in the picture. We also stopped at the Twin Kauri Scenic forest reserve where Auto showed us a weapon (poi) of the Maori. It was basically 2 round balls on about 2 - 3 feet of rope. He swung them around like a pro. He says it's all in the wrist action. We'll try it at some point.

We got to our hotel and were given a fantastic cabin - all wood beams and 2 bedrooms with a living room, kitchen and big bathroom. All of a sudden the 2 Irish girls come in. They're using the other bedroom. Awkward! Well, anyone who knows Vic knows this would not be acceptable. So we ended up switching with the Scot, Greg, who had bonded with the twins (fooled me - they don't look alike at all). Greg asked Vic why in the world he would want to switch rooms. Lmao. Greg was quite happy about the whole arrangement. So now we have a regular motel like room. It's all good though. It's big and nice enough. The funny thing is that the rest of the group thought Vic & I had a fight when they saw me leaving our cabin with my luggage. (It may happen yet. Lol). We had lunch and then went to do a 2 1/2 hour, 4 km walk uphill through the bush to Cathedral Cove and then back again to Hahei beach. It's called cathedral because there is a huge cathedral-shaped cavern that cuts through the white sand beach at low tide. I can't describe how breathtaking the scenery is here. There is turquoise water, islands, rock formations, caverns and caves. …and HOT guys.

The Coromandel is one of many scenic regions of New Zealand.   There is a popular phrase "Mine Today, Gone Tomorrow!" which reflects the strong feelings of the locals that the region's greatest asset is not its abundant mineral wealth but it natural attractions.  This area once yielded abundant treasures, and you can see colonial buildings and old gold-mine shafts everywhere. Now people come for outdoor adventure, including diving, fishing, boating, swimming, camping, tramping and fossicking for gemstones. Or you can just park yourself on one of the beautiful beaches.

Then it was off to Cathedral Cove, which is notable for it's majestic rock formations, which we hiked 2 1/2 km to get to. As I predicted I spent most of the day chatting with Tony & Jeff , the 2 guys from the U.S. It was tough going physically but the way back was worse as it was mostly uphill. This site also boasts having the most photographed rock in the world (or at least in NZ!). The second film of the "Narnia" series was filmed on this beach and featured this rock.

It was a full day. We went to Hot Water Beach where we dug into the sand at low tide and HOT, steamy water oozes up to the surface. And I mean hot. Our skin was red from the heat. We dug down so the hot water filled the hole then sat in it and let all our tight muscles loosen up. You couldn't stay in it in certain areas it was so hot. Some people brought eggs to hard boil in the water for a snack! You could see the steam rising from the sand everywhere. It was like being in an outdoor steam bath. It was almost as good as my calf massage in Australia. I've been hobbling about and this brief natural jacuzzi really helped out. It all ended, however, when a huge wave came up and washed all our man made bathtubs away. Despite the rude ending we all loved it. It was a welcome treat after the demanding walk to Cathedral Cove. When we got back to the cabin and showered the floor looked like a beach. There was sand in every crevice in our bodies but it was totally worth it. 

We had our second group dinner and it was lovely. It seems like my first impressions were not entirely accurate. The group is quite nice but are not really party people (at least not yet). I'll work on that. There's lots of interesting conversations but it's too intense sometimes - not what I want to talk about on vacation - politics, work.....

We are going to a marae (Maori gathering place) tomorrow. Auto is teaching us Maori words for this event. I have mixed feelings about it. We are staying in a Maori village in long houses where the women sleep in one area and the men in another. I'm not sure what to expect as Auto is keeping it under wraps. I know that one of the guys has to make a speech (in Maori) and then the rest of us have to sing a couple of Maori songs and perform actions to them in front of 100+ people. Hope they don't have to pay! That's what's on the agenda for tomorrow.

Here's some Maori words we've "learned": Haere Mai = welcome; Aotearoa = New Zealand (which they refer to as "land of the long white cloud); waka = transport; ika = fish; ragatira = chief; whanau = family; wahine = female; Tane = male ; hongi= greeting; Marae = Maori gathering place; waka = bus.; kai = food; wai = water; hangi = food cooked in ground; te aroha = the mountain; Waiata = song; also, wh sound = f so whakatani is pronounce fackatani.