{"id":2833,"date":"2018-01-11T01:49:49","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T01:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svslowflight.com\/?p=2833"},"modified":"2018-01-15T02:12:50","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T02:12:50","slug":"coromandel-road-trip-hot-water-beach-cathedral-cove-and-glamping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svslowflight.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/11\/coromandel-road-trip-hot-water-beach-cathedral-cove-and-glamping\/","title":{"rendered":"Coromandel Road Trip – Hot Water Beach, Cathedral Cove, and Glamping!"},"content":{"rendered":"

So many places to see and so little time!\u00a0 Jake, Alice (Jake’s sister), and Lisa picked us up and we headed out….\u00a0Trevor and I had really no idea where we all were headed but we didn’t really care!<\/p>\n

Day 1: Whangamata –> Colenso Cafe –> Whenuakite, Coromandel forest lookout –> Hot water beach\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Coromandel area is just south of Auckland and north of the Bay of Plenty. There are so many hikes, beaches, little islands to explore…. Alice and Jake planned the whole trip and we were just along for the ride and loved it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Colenso Cafe –\u00a0<\/strong>Alice knew of this amazing cafe which had a massive garden\/orchard where we had a small bite to eat.\u00a0 It was just off highway 25 with a tiny sign…if you blinked you would miss it!<\/p>\n

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Blink!!!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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I haven’t see an artichoke for I don’t know how long…let alone growing in a garden : )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This is a Loquat tree…I guess not in season right now but somehow this cafe still had fruit on it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Jake picked one for us to taste…peeled off the thin layer of skin and just bite into it…it was WONDERFUL! A blend between an apricot and a cantaloupe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Chicken and leek pie with a plum sauce…and a glass of champagne. I asked the very nice lady at the counter for a “split” of champagne. She handed me a bottle of juice…. I guess “split” means “bottled juice” here in New Zealand…I She told me I should of asked for was a “tiny bubble” of champagne…fitting but who knew?!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whenuakite Coromandel Forest lookout –<\/strong> Just a quick stop to stretch the legs and breathtaking views!<\/p>\n

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New Zealanders take their Kiwis very seriously….. we see signs about how to protect them lots of places.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Just a quick bush walk….<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The lookout with the Alderman Islands in the background. We sailed around the ALderman Islands to get to Whangamata so it was cool to see them from this perspective…and during the day!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hot water beach Holiday park –<\/strong>\u00a0There are probably thousands of “holiday parks” across both North and South islands of New Zealand.\u00a0 These holiday parks resemble a KOA camping ground in the US but MUCH nicer.\u00a0 There are tent sites, standard cabins, <\/span>deluxe\u00a0cabins, RV hookups, and even little yurts with cots in them…all types of <\/span>accommodations\u00a0for every type of “camper”.\u00a0 Some of these holiday parks even have a fully <\/span>equipped\u00a0communal kitchen, laundry facilities, and showers are FREE! We had grabbed dinner items at the store for a huge platter of cheese, meats, veggies, and dips…. our favorite!<\/span><\/p>\n

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A row of cabins at the holiday park we stayed at… I was so blown away how cute and well maintained they were. As you may expect…you need reservations for these, sometimes months in advance!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Lisa and Jake’s Deluxe cabin…it had a TV!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Trevor setting up our new tent right across the way from Lisa and Jake’s cabin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ta Da!!!! Unfortunately we had to move our humble abode as this site was taken…no biggie…we just pulled up the stakes and lifted the entire tarp up and walked to another site.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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These were all the rage and all the COOL kids were on them…so Jake rented one for an hour ….. it was hilarious!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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We all took turns cycling around the holiday park…Trevor here chasing birds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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That smile warms my heart!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Hot water beach is known for the naturally heated mineral water from a below thermal river that runs to the Pacific ocean. At ow tide you can dig a hole in the sand and create your own “spa”. We brought our own shovel (to rent one was like $20\/day) and ventured to the beach to check this unique experience….however…there were literally about a hundred people where you can dig and it was hard to get a spot….it was a MAD HOUSE! So we just took a dip in the ocean instead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Day 2 – Hot Water beach –> Hahei C<\/span>athedral\u00a0Cove–> Kuaotunu\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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We left the Hot Water beach holiday park by 10am for a huge day of exploring!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coroglen<\/strong> – Random stop for a dip in freshwater<\/p>\n

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We were just driving along and saw some people swimming in this water hole under a bridge….why not take a dip?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Jake and Alice both had never stopped here so it was cool to stop somewhere they had not been before. The water was fresh and looked like you could drift down it…. there was even a rope swing on the other side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Drying off after a nice dip…our hair and skin felt as soft as butter when we got out…it must be magic water!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hahei –<\/strong> Cathedral cove is on the list for most…. it’s in all the visitor guides so we expected it to be busy (literally bus loads of people got off at one time) but wanted to check it out anyways.\u00a0 The hike was about 30-40 minutes one way and mostly “paved”.\u00a0 After, we had lunch at the Hahei beach cafe.<\/p>\n

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Again…so many walks and hikes it’s amazing…. It’s almost overwhelming to choose which way to go (lol)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Trevor and Jake (behind Trevor) at the start of and top of the hike…the sun here is super intense due to the lack of Ozone layer so lots of sunscreen that contains lots of zinc!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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On the hike, Jake showed me the “Silver Fern” plant, the iconic emblem of New Zealand… the Silver fern is the tree fern but when it’s young the underside of the fern is “silver”.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Trevor behind a tree living on a rock…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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And we arrived!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Jake at the natural rock in Cathedral cove named Te Hoho Rock. This rock and cove was the place where parts of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis song “Can’t hold us” was filmed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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I had to watch the music video of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis “Can’t hold us” again…. here is a clip of the music video at Cathedral cove with Te Hoho rock in the background… the sense of Macklemore in the cave are pretty cool too!\u00a0 I couldn’t help it…see music video below if it will post : )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n