Coromandel Peninsula, NZ

“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”

Roger Miller

I finally got to experience rain in New Zealand, and when it rains, it pours. It rained for about three days straight on my way out of Auckland, so my activities were limited. I had heard great things about the Coromandel Peninsula so that’s where I was headed. 

On the map, everything seems so near in this country, but that is not the case, and I ended up driving for longer and later than I expected. I had to be in a hostel in a town called Whitianga to check in by 7pm, and Google Maps informed me that the quickest way to get there was to cut through the peninsula (rather than going around on the coastal route).

I drove in that direction, and was starting to get tired so I stopped by a cafe halfway through. The host asked me if I was aware that there was 20 km (12.4 mi) of curvy dirt path ahead of me, where mostly locals drive and go in the middle of the road rather than on their side. I had not been aware. It was getting late and this was not what I wanted to hear. I drank a cup of tea, gathered myself, and decided do drive back towards the coast and take the long route to avoid the dangerous road. I’m glad I ended up doing that because the views over the town of Coromandel were marvellous. There were little islands everywhere amid the mountainous roads.

I made it to my hostel on time, and I had a pleasant evening that night. I actually joined in the social gathering this time, and befriended other people staying in the hostel. There was a group of Germans that were traveling around and one of them was WWOOFing, something that I had read about before I started this trip. It stands for “World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms,” where you help families with work around their farms, and in exchange you get housing and food for free. It’s a great way to travel on a budget and meet the locals. 

Cathedral Cove

I didn’t want the rain to deter my traveling, so I set off the next day to do some sight seeing. Firstly, I drove to Cook’s Beach and watched the rain drizzling for a while. There were even some people paddleboarding, and lots of others enjoying the beach. I guess nobody gets stopped by the rain here. Most of my pictures from this part of the trip are from my phone, as I did not want to risk damaging my camera. 

As I was driving away from the beach, I saw a sign for wine tasting and pizza at a winery and that sounded delightful to me, so I decided to treat myself for Christmas Eve. I’ve really been loving Pinot Gris wine, it’s basically all I drink in New Zealand. It’s a sweeter white wine, but not as sweet as Moscato. It’s the best! 

After pizza, I drove to see Cathedral Cove. There was no parking allowed at the actual entrance to the park so I had to park farther away and take a shuttle. I debated walking (75 minutes to the entrance) and not paying for the shuttle but I’m really glad I did not do that. It was a steep hill just to get to the park entrance, and the rain did not help. I was decked out in my rain gear – rain pants, boots, jacket, and my backpack was protected by my rain cover. Despite my preparation, I still got drenched. 

The walk to Cathedral Cove was harder than I expected; lots of hills and it took about 45 minutes. It was gorgeous once once I finally got there and the waves were raging from the rain. I imagine this place is wonderful when it’s not raining, to soak on the beach and swim.

I was dressed way too warmly for the walk and ended up taking my hood off and letting my head get soaked. It was kind of freeing though, especially once I got to a lookout point and just stood there under the rain peering off into the distance.  

Hot Water Beach

Not far from Cathedral Cove was a place called Hot Water Beach. This wasn’t even on my itinerary originally, but the host at the hostel told me that it’s like a hot spring on the beach, and you can only access it at low tide. I was intrigued and didn’t quite understand how this would work so I had to check it out.

Upon arrival, I saw lots of people in the water at the beach so I walked over there. The water felt cold so I wasn’t sure what was supposed to be happening. But over in the distance I noticed flags and a group of people so I wandered in that direction. On my way, I saw people holding shovels.

The crowd is where the magic was happening. There were people sitting in holes on the beach that they dug out. So that’s what the shovels were for! During low tide, there is a patch of thermal water bubbling under the surface of the sand. I found an abandoned hole and stood in it and it was hot! If you dug your feet deeper, it was even more scalding! I was so amazed, I had never seen a hot spring on a beach before. 

After a while, I walked back to my car and got a cup of tea. Once I was ready to head out, I peered out onto the beach once more and the tide had come in. The beach hot spring was no more. It was so cool. 

That night I drove to a town called Thames where I would spend the next two nights. I decided to treat myself to a cozy and quiet place for Christmas and it was what I needed. My host was very welcoming and let me use her kitchen so on Christmas Day I prepared a feast for myself when she left that evening. I made friends with her kitties as well. After she came back, we enjoyed some drinks and watched part of a movie together. It was nice to have a day off from traveling and relaxing!

-Anastasia