Coromandel Peninsula

April 28th
We drove up the coast north of Thames and took the 309 road. There are lots of things to do and see on this road.  We see and do a few.  First we stop at Waiau Falls near the road.

Then we hike to the Kauri trees.  Very few of these ancient trees survive.  This species traces back to the dinosaurs.  They grew in mixed forests of fern trees, rata, toatoa, etc. They are a huge and slow growing tree. Their immense size made them irresistible to early loggers.  Somehow these few trees, about 13, were missed.  They were found and were going to be harvested during World War Two, but a conservation group organized and saved them.  There is another small grove north of Auckland.  The biggest kauri was harvested before it could be saved.  These are youngsters only about 600 years old.

the tree hugger

We head to the beach and hike to some lovely cliff beaches.  I hike as far as Stingray Beach.  William heads on to Cathedral Cove.

Stingray Beach

Cathedral Cove

The cathedral

It is low tide, so we head to Hot Water Beach.  This is an area where hot water bubbles out of the sand and is accessible at low tide.  People rent shovels and dig holes. trying to regulate the heat. Directly over the hot spots, the water is hot enough to cook with.

What a lot of people!

warm water

a bubbling hot spot

This is as far north as we will have time to go in new Zealand.  Tomorrow we will spend in Auckland, probably at the Auckland Museum. Tomorrow night we fly out of Auckland just before midnight.  Eleven hours to Singapore, six and one half hours to Seoul, then eleven hours to San Francisco.  We will arrive Tuesday the 30th just after noon. Remember we cross back over the International Dateline, back over the equator, for a 19 hour time difference. Soon we will be home hugging our family.