Boiling on the beach!
Trip Start
Jun 11, 2008
1
135
349
Trip End
May 14, 2009
Hahei,
North Island,
New Zealand
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Stray bus was there bag on time. We were in a 24 seater bus, but there were only 11 of us on this 1st leg of travel to Hahei.
Our first stop was at Mount Eden which gave you fantastic views over the whole of Auckland. It was a sunny & clear day and we got great views of the whole of Auckland from up here. We could see One Tree Hill which is now actually just "Hill", as the tree is no longer there. We could also see the reconstruction of Eden Park Rugby ground, in preparation for the Rugby World Cup. As it was clear, we also got a good view of all the volcanic islands around Auckland. Oh, and Mt Eden that we were stood on, is also a volcano. We stood on the edge of the crater, but it is quite green as it has been many years since the last eruption - maybe one is due! From the volcano that is, not from my backside.......although........!
Next stop was at Hot Water Beach. Guess why it's called that? Can you guess? Yep, that's right, there's hot water here. Now I don't mean there is someone sat on the beach continuously boiling a load of kettles, no, this water is under the sand. Basically, when the tide is out, you can dig holes in the sand and make yourself a hot bath. It was quite windy on the beach which made it a bit chilly for bathing, so we just paddled. The water was absolutely scalding - we couldn't believe. I looked like blummin' Michael Flatterly when I jumped in one of the pools. It really is hot water! It burnt your feet so much that it looks like you had red socks on!!
After melting our feet, we continued on to Hahei Holiday Park for our overnight stay. We took a walk along Hahei beach which was completely deserted - it was beautiful. We then did a one hour walk up to Cathedral Cove. This is a really nice walk along the edge of the cliffs. There are quite a few ups and downs, but it's generally a pretty light walk. You get some magnificent views from the pathway. Cathedral Cove itself is a really tranquil and unspoilt place. You could easily just lose yourself here for the day. Again, the beach was almost empty, which made it better.
We took the one hour walk back to the park in Hahei. We had a 5 bed dorm here which we shared with two girls from South Africa (Sandri & Jennifer) and Liz from Holland. Yes, they put me in a room with 4 women for the night! Are they mad?!! Danger Zone!
The holiday park was OK though. It was very much like a caravan park in England, with toilet blocks, laundry blocks, tv room, kitchen block etc. It was all we needed. The internet was a rip-off though - NZ$8 per hour!!
In the evening we all chipped in for a Barbie. No, not the little plastic doll, that wouldn't make sense would it?! This was a BBQ. It was really good as we got steak, sausage and hash browns. The right touch. And for dessert we all had home-made apple crumble with custard and ice cream! Lorna thought she was in heaven.
After dinner, we all sat round having a beer and a chat. Also in the dorms were a couple more English, a couple of Scottish girls, a few Germans and a couple from Finland. Very international.
Oh and by the way, that was my first beer in ELEVEN DAYS!!! Lovely jubberly.
