We still had to endure some unfavorable weather while touring the Coromandel Peninsula, but it wasn’t all bad. And, looking the photos I am quite happy at how they turned out. Who ever thought clouds could be so photogenic?
Walking along the 20 minute trail to Cathedral Cove.Cathedral Cove. Stunning in any kind of weather.Cathedral CoveDominique straddling a rock along Cathedral Cove.Same rock, different angle. Same straddling girl, different direction.The author, knowing that someone is taking a picture of him, trying to look natural,Te Hoho Rock, one of the many rock stacks found along Cathedral Cove.A cathedral-like cave along Cathedral Cove.Walking back from Cathedral Cove, I found the fog-like clouds through the forest very mysterious, so I took a picture for further analysis.
Not to out-do Cathedral Cove, another famous highlight of the Coromandel Penisula was the aptly named Hot Water Beach. As the name suggests, a fissure along the beach brings up very hot steamy water from deep within the earth. Although the water was very hot, it became cooler as it trickled down towards the shore and mixed with the ocean. So the technique was to find the perfect sweet spot where the temperature was ideal and make your own hot tub.
The famous Hot Water Beach, just south of Hahei.Dominique is grimacing not because the water was cold, but because it was hot.Further south along East coast of the Coromandel Penisula, we climbed Mount Paku Lookout. The weather was weird here, in that the thin rain clouds were just hovering above us, letting in shafts of sunlight and blue sky in random areas. This picture does not do a good job of portraying the weather conditions I just described.Sunrise on Hahei beach, just a 30 second walk from where we camped.In the morning we experienced a true sunny day in what seemed like ages. We thought taking pictures at this rocky outcrop along the Northern coast of the Coromandel Penisula would be a good place to celebrate.Just after this picture was taken a bus pulled up with a bunch of French youths who crowded the scene. Timing is everything.A typical scene one would experience while driving through New Zealand.Climbing the steps to see the famous Square Kauri Tree. Notice the fern that looks like a Palm tree.The Square Kauri Tree. This is the 15th largest Kauri on the Coromandel Peninsula. Wikipedia says that the 1,200 year old tree was spared from the 19th century loggers because it had a unique square shape. Big Trees are awesome!We took a hike along Karangahake Gorge, and although the weather was miserable (it was pouring rain), we came across an old rail tunnel that was about a kilometer long.It got so dark inside the tunnel that we actually saw glowworms in the center. It was our first encounter with these star-studded creatures.After the rail tunnel we took a (very wet) trail that had some nice scenery.One of the many suspension pedestrian bridges found along the Karangahake Gorge.Not far from the Karangahake Gorge you can find Owharoa Falls, a small yet beautiful waterfall that we had all to ourselves.
