Mid-Sem Tour, Day I - Coromandel
On the 27th of August, 2 brave girls embarked on a journey down from Auckland to their final destination of Mt Ruapehu.
From Auckland, Yeefang and I took the Inter-city bus to Whitianga, Coromandel. We arrived at 'on the beach’ backpackers ard 12ish and checked ourselves in. Our original plan was to walk to the Hot Water Beach (the cheapest option) but we realized that it’s too far! So, our hosts (i.e. the owners of the backpackers) suggested that we take a bike out (the 2nd cheapest option, at $10). I was all gamed and ready for it. Yeefang was as well but when we got onto the bikes, wore our helmets and were raring to go, Yeefang realized that she forgot how to ride a bike. She only biked a few times in Singapore before. She told me that she cycled in Pulau Ubin so I tot that she shld be pretty fine on a bike. It was quite a disappointment for both of us because we were so excited abt cycling to the beach. In the end, we had to go for the Purangi Tour which cost us $35 each. I think it was a blessing because we managed to cover more places on the tour.
Our first stop on the tour was the Hot Water Beach. Our timing was perfect, we arrived when it was low tide. It’s only possible to dig a pool during low tide. There was alr one group digging for and found the hot water. Silly us, in our rush to move out of the backpackers, we absent-mindedly forgot to bring our spades!! So, at the beach, we had to resort to using our hands to dig. However, we cld not find the hot water. So, we decided to use the other gp’s hot water pool, just to get a feel of how hot the water is. Hee.. We are such cheater bugs.. The water was very warm and unpredictable. Sometimes, it’ll get so hot that u’ll be hopping ard and running to the sea to gain some relief from the scalding water.
I wanted to dig my own hot pool so I borrowed a spade from a lady at the beach. We dug a nice pool and finally got some result. The water in it was mildly warm. At this point, a lot of people started filing in. They were standing in both our pool and the 1st gp’s pool. While there, they helped to expand our pool. Our pool also merged with the 1st gp’s pool to form a big massive hot water pool. It was so cool. Unfortunately, we could only linger at the beach for an hour. I wish I could stay there for the whole day. The water felt especially good in the cold winter. It was also great entertainment to see ppl occasionally hopping around the hot patches. Darn..
From Auckland, Yeefang and I took the Inter-city bus to Whitianga, Coromandel. We arrived at 'on the beach’ backpackers ard 12ish and checked ourselves in. Our original plan was to walk to the Hot Water Beach (the cheapest option) but we realized that it’s too far! So, our hosts (i.e. the owners of the backpackers) suggested that we take a bike out (the 2nd cheapest option, at $10). I was all gamed and ready for it. Yeefang was as well but when we got onto the bikes, wore our helmets and were raring to go, Yeefang realized that she forgot how to ride a bike. She only biked a few times in Singapore before. She told me that she cycled in Pulau Ubin so I tot that she shld be pretty fine on a bike. It was quite a disappointment for both of us because we were so excited abt cycling to the beach. In the end, we had to go for the Purangi Tour which cost us $35 each. I think it was a blessing because we managed to cover more places on the tour.
Our first stop on the tour was the Hot Water Beach. Our timing was perfect, we arrived when it was low tide. It’s only possible to dig a pool during low tide. There was alr one group digging for and found the hot water. Silly us, in our rush to move out of the backpackers, we absent-mindedly forgot to bring our spades!! So, at the beach, we had to resort to using our hands to dig. However, we cld not find the hot water. So, we decided to use the other gp’s hot water pool, just to get a feel of how hot the water is. Hee.. We are such cheater bugs.. The water was very warm and unpredictable. Sometimes, it’ll get so hot that u’ll be hopping ard and running to the sea to gain some relief from the scalding water.
I wanted to dig my own hot pool so I borrowed a spade from a lady at the beach. We dug a nice pool and finally got some result. The water in it was mildly warm. At this point, a lot of people started filing in. They were standing in both our pool and the 1st gp’s pool. While there, they helped to expand our pool. Our pool also merged with the 1st gp’s pool to form a big massive hot water pool. It was so cool. Unfortunately, we could only linger at the beach for an hour. I wish I could stay there for the whole day. The water felt especially good in the cold winter. It was also great entertainment to see ppl occasionally hopping around the hot patches. Darn..
Pool construction in progress.
Completed pool
Us, just before parting with our beloved hot pool.
Our next stop that day was Cathedral Cove. It took us an hour of trekking to reach it. The beautiful beach was well worth the walk. Then, we headed to a winery owned by our guide, Bob. It had a quaint feel to it, not like the commercialized ones. The winery had very uniquely flavoured wines, like Feijoa, Plum, raspberry and choc mint. Bob has a wine bar (called The Wine Cellar) in Auckland as well, so, I guess we will be paying that place a visit soon! At the winery, we got to pluck our own kiwis!! Finally, we went to Shakespeare’s Cliff which overlooked Cook’s Bay, the place where Captain Cook landed.
Cathedral Cove
Yeefang and I were really impressed by our backpackers. We had the whole place to ourselves, a kitchen, a bathroom, living area with TV and even a porch with a sea view!! It was so perfect and only at $25 per person. Unfortunately, it was our best accommodation on this trip and unfortunately, we got the best first, causing us to have raised expectations and causing bitter disappointment later.
Dinner at our nice cosy place.
posted by Carol @ 10:52 PM
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