Today started off with a quick breakfast and coffee from the bakery across the street from our hotel. We then hopped in the car, and drove for 2.5 hours north to a little town called Hahei. Along the way, we crossed 2 small mountain passes, with very curvy and narrow roads. The driving was much easier and more natural. In Hahei, there were 2 things we wanted to see.
Hot Water Beach is a nice cove that has a hot geothermal spring underneath it. When the tide goes out, you can dig into the sand and the hot water fills up the hole. Instant hot-tub. It's a neat thing. When we got there in the morning there were very few people around. But soon they started piling in with shovels. Apparently finding the hot spring is a hit-or-miss kind of thing, and when somebody found one, everybody would pitch in and dig it out. The holes would get pretty big, and then a giant wave would dump in over the wall, and the entire crowd would let out a collective AAAAAAHHHH.... Standing in the holes digging, if you hit a good hot spot, it would be too hot to stand directly over the spot. As I was lifting shovels full of wet sand out, I could see a little steam rising off of the freshly dug sand.
It was pretty crowded. It was fun for a little while, but then we wandered off to quieter parts of the beach and took a few photos.
Then Katie returned our rented shovel (or hired spade, as the folks here would say) and got back in the car and drove to seek out Cathedral Cove. We stopped and ate at a little cafe in Hahei where they had the most excellent chocolate cake.
Cathedral cove is found at the end of about an hour long walk that climbs from the beach and goes along giant limestone cliffs that tower above turquoise blue water. When the trail goes inland, the plants are tropical in nature, big palms and ferns all over the place.
At the end of the trail you descend steps down from the cliff to a beach. Then to get to Cathedral cove, you must cross through a 150 foot long, 90 foot high arch that has been carved through the cliff face. The other side of this "Cathedral" is right at shoreline and at high tide, you have to wade through the surf to get to the protected beach on the other side.
It was really a spectacular beach.
On the way back to Hahei, we stopped at Stingray Bay, which is another limestone cliff lined cove.
And we saw a group of these birds, We're not really sure what kind it is, maybe some type of partridge ? Anybody know? ...Bueller ...Bueller ?
Then we got in the car, and Katie decided she needed to drive, so I handed her the keys and she drove almost half the way back to Tauranga, and did a much better job than I did my first turn behind the wheel down here...
2 comments:
Maybe I've identified the bird. Was its call "a loud 3-syllable call: 'chi-ca-go' or 'where are you?'" lol - just quoting what I found.
I think it's a California Quail. You can find info about it by searching here: http://www.whatbird.co.nz/index.php
Quote:
English Name: California Quail
Scientific Name: Callipepla californica
Family: Game Birds and Allies
Size: Blackbird-Pigeon
Abundance: Common
Origin: North Americal introduction
Keep having fun!
I'm enjoying your narrative and photos. Some of the folks at the Hot Springs looked like they needed to be digging for some cooler water, as they were fairly pink.
I'm glad Katie got her turn to drive. After reading your account of the wrongness of being right, I was thinking it would be harder to be the front seat passenger in that situation. After all, you're sitting where the driver's seat should be...but there are no controls.
Have fun exploring, and keep the pictures coming.
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