Coromandel has a bit of a foodie reputation..and although it was a Sunday morning the Coromandel smokehouse was open. We went in and bought a large herby smoked fillet of Kahawai..a fish caught in New Zealand waters...and some smoked tuna. This made the basis for a really tasty meal later on.
We failed to keep an enterprising cat from getting in the smokehouse...as soon as I opened the door it shot in!
Before eating our tasty smoked fish we needed to work up an appetite. Cathedral Cove was the destination and reaching it involved a walk....The starting point was Hahei on the east coast of the Coromandel. Cathedral Cove is only accessible by boat or on foot. Taking the latter option our walk dropped down into a valley, undulated through forest and pastureland before finally dropping down to a beautiful beach with pounding surf. A few paces further and the rock arch came into view. It was simply stunning and a great place to have a Sunday lunch.
The return journey involved a stiff climb back from the beach but we detoured through a poriri grove...part of the forest cloaking the hillsides. Despite it having been a warm but overcast day we'd enjoyed the walk and the views of dozens of limestone islands just out to sea.
What was needed after a good walk was a nice hot soak....but that would have to wait until morning. Our campsite for the night was at a place called Hot Water Beach. For about 2 hours either side of low tide its possible to dig a hole in the sand on a specific part of the beach and create your own hot tub. Geo thermal activity brings hot water to the surface. So, armed with a spade, at 7.30 the next morning, we set off to start the day in a hot tub of our own making. It was a beautiful warm sunny morning and I set Mrs B. to work digging. The resulting hot tub was very hot...so much so that it wasn't possible to sit in it for long...without risking parboiling bits of me! Fortunately a large wave came in and reduced any risk of overcooking.
After an invigorating start to the day we upped sticks and started to make our way south. Our route reached the Karangahake Gorge and we decided to stop and do an impromptu walk. Not really sure where to go and without a map we walked across an old railway bridge crossing a river and entered an old railway tunnel. It was quite gloomy but there was intermittent lighting so we walked on and on...and when we reappeared into the daylight we read an information board that told us the tunnel was just over 1 kilometre long. A real feat of engineering and a physical reminder of the gold mining and cyanide processing factories and industry that had once dominated this now dramatic wilderness area. Crossing another bridge we followed the river downstream watching it run its course over rapids as the water boiled and surged between rocks.
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| Either a very long tunnel or the Mines of Moria.... |
After another picnic lunch we continued to Paeroa...an otherwise ordinary small town apart from its 'fame' (in New Zealand) for its fizzy drink, L&P (Lemon and Paeroa) commemorated by a giant bottle. An obligatory photo was taken.
We reached journey's end for the day - Matamata - another ordinary town that was transformed by the Lord of the Rings films. The Hobbiton film set is just outside the town, which cashes in with a Hobbit hole themed information centre and all manner of Tolkien related ephemera. I spotted a hobbit sushi bar!
Our campsite for the evening was located just outside Matamata. It was called Opal Springs, had the feel of a 1960s holiday park...but had 3 hot spring pools. We ended the day as we had started..in hot water!
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