While we are in New Zealand to experience normal life here for a few months, we are also taking the opportunity to see some different things. Though we already are aware that there is so much to see that we’ll simply have to come back, especially to the South Island, to be the proper tourist.

Digging for hot water

At Easter we went to the Coromandel peninsula to stay for four nights at Whitianga. On our way there, we, of course, stopped off at the famous Hot Water beach. It said online that the best time to be there would be 2 hours before low tide, so that was a perfect timing with us arriving from Auckland. So, when we arrived, we could already see a crowd of people standing around one specific part of the beach, with the rest of the beach stretching empty for quite a few hundred meters more. What could it be they are looking for? 😉 So we joined them with our spade, and Linus started digging. But it turns out the hot water does not bubble up at all the places, so we joined some others in the already made craters, and ended up with a sandy hot pool of our own when a family left (there are only so many hours you can sit in hot water). That was nice – it was even hot enough for Linus! We also discovered more hot spots in the water itself (so hot it actually could burn your toes if you dug them down), where the occasional stingray floated past.

Green lipped mussels, Pavlova and kauri

The next day was my birthday, and I took the opportunity to soak in The Lost Spring (with poolside service and an Indian head massage) and we had a nice birthday dinner where I tried the New Zealand green lipped mussels. I also managed to find the national dish ‘Pavlova’ with whipped cream and strawberries as birthday cake – not as good as the one Jessie made for me when I celebrated my birthday 15 years ago in New Zealand, but still (and don’t let Australians tell you it’s their national dish!). I also saw the famous Cathedral Cove as well as the amazing coastline and some fish from a glass bottom boat (where the captain’s daughter dove up a sea urchin), and we took a long and quite arduous walk to the Shakespeare Cliff Lookout. Beautiful surroundings! On our way back we drove the north route, via Coromandel, and took a short walk to see a 1200 year old kauri tree (it’s the second longest living tree in the world!). These native trees have been suffering from some pathogen for which there is no cure, so we had to go through a shoe sanitizing station to make sure nothing untoward would be brought into the area. And then we drove back to Auckland along the peninsula coast – another twisty drive that the kids did not enjoy quite as much as I did… Great views!