26 of January: wake up early, say goodbye to my kiwi family and be ready (especially in the mind) for the LONG (400 and more km) towards coromandel peninsula.
It's quiet sad think that I'll never see this family again, but this is part of the game: get a lot of experiences, have fun, meet people and move in another place..
Anyway at 9.30 I'm ready to go... I'll avoid the particulars of the journey (nothing special, just a lot of different landscapes and a bloody traffic around Auckland)... At 6pm I get my hostel (actually it's an holiday park , so a type of campsite but with some rooms, bathroom and kitchen).
It's located in a very small town but it's close all the places that I want to visit.
First day: cathedral cove + cooper beach
Cathedral cove it's a must to see in nz... It's a big cave on the beach that as u can imagine seems like a cathedral and it links two beaches.. To arrive there is like a track of 1h but once there the spot is amazing. Pretty magic and surreal!
I decide to go for a swim in that part of the ocean... The water is so pure and clear.... But f***ing frozen!!!
In the afternoon I spent a couple of hours at cooper beach in Mercury bay... A long white sand beach with a nice sea... Honestly I thought it was better , but definitely a good place to relax!
Day 2: hot water beach + lonely bay
After checking the hours of the tide, around 11am I go to the "hot water beach"... And after a couple of minutes I understand the reason of the name!! At the beach there is a point where under the sand the water is very very vey hot (it could reach 60 degree!!!). This fact is due to some volcanic activity under that place. The good point is that with the low tide u can dig your own hole building a hot pool!
And obviously I did it! As I said u have to pay attention cos the water could be very hot... But luckily I found a place whit a good mix between hot and cold water.
Absolutely a weird experience! To try one time in your life!
Then I went to lonely bay that is a small beach protecting from both the sides by some big rocks... As the name suggest u there are not so much people but it's a good place if u want the peace!
Maybe the only "issue" of this travel was the hostel... I mean it was very clean and and warm ... But not so much young guys !
It doesn't matter... I'm sure that during my next stage I'll meet a lot of nice people!
Mt manganui I'm coming!!
Cheers, ste