I'm On a Boat!

So, after leaving the Coromandel Peninsula, we made the 4 1/2 hour drive up to Northland! Before we got there, we took a quick pit stop at some famous public toilets called the Hundertwasser toilets. They are NZ toilets designed by a German guy using all eco-friendly materials. Pretty cool. 

Our next stop was the Bay of Islands where we had an overnight cruise on the Rock houseboat! We managed to get 50% off coupons on GrabOne, which was good, as this was something that I had wanted to do since I saw a brochure for it when we first got to New Zealand. We made it to the quaint coastal town of Paihia just in time to park the car and wait on the wharf for our cruise to depart. The staff of the cruise was really nice--Ben, Mink, Skipper, and two Irish girls who were just deckhands for the cruise. We had to take a few shuttles to the boat, which was anchored in the harbor. It had originally been a passenger and car ferry, but when the new owners bought it about 10 years ago, they built it up into a houseboat.

The downstairs had a nice bar running along the middle, with a pool table piano, and guitar in the back, a few seating areas, and they even had a fireplace! Upstairs were the cabins--we shared ours with an older couple and two other young German boys. The cabins were small but cozy. 

Once everyone was on board and settled we were off! The first activity of the night was a shooting contest. In the past they used a small rifle, but now they just use a paintball gun. They tie a wooden duck, attached to about a 10--foot rope, off the back of the boat. You get three tries and whoever hits it/gets the most hits wins! John hit the wooden duck once! 

For the guys though, they had a "playoff" for a few guys who hit it twice. The male winner was a guy from England and the female winner was a girl from West Virginia (go figure). We were able to relax for a while as the sun set, which was very beautiful right over the water. 

Once it was almost sundown it was time to start fishing! Snapper is what we were after, as they feed in the dark near the bottom of the bay, but they had to be a certain size (27 cm minimum) in order to keep and eat them. John and I caught one! Unfortunately, it was too small and we had to throw it back. No one else caught a big one either, which meant no fresh fish for dinner--but the rest of the dinner was really good! It was buffet style and we all sat along a long table than ran down the side of the boat.

After dinner it was time for night kayaking! We had to go in four groups as they didn't have enough kayaks for everyone at once. John and I were in the 3rd group, so I took the 45 gap we had to hop in the only shower on board. They turned off the generator at midnight, so in order to get a hot shower it was best to take one right after dinner. It was a very quick shower, as they ask you to keep it under 2 minutes. Pretty soon, it was our turn to kayak! One of the crew, Ben, led us out to an area out of the moonlight, under the shadow of a tall hill. In the darkness you could wave your paddle or hand in the water and see the phosphorescence. It was really cool--they were green and glittered as you moved through the water. One of the people on the ship, a German kid named Erik, was on his 9th beer and was just absolutely amazed by the glowing in the water! He then decided it would be a good idea to play bumper boats with the kayaks and was ramming into everyone. After he suddenly ran into mine, I kindly asked him to stop as I did not want to fall into the water. Luckily he did, or I would have snapped at him if he'd done it again. It was a chilly but fun experience and after that it was back to the boat to enjoy the warm fire!

There was a trio of Indian guys on the cruise who turned out to be the life of the party. They were really nice and after everyone returned from kayaking they organized a game of charades. John decided to play, but I was sleepy as it was about 11:00 at this point, so it was bedtime for me! Luckily, for the overnight bit they anchored in a very flat and clam area of water out in the bay, so I couldn't feel the boat rock as I went to sleep that night.  John joined me soon after that--his team having won charades.

The next day it was up pretty early to get ready for the day and have some breakfast. 

The itinerary for that day was to dock at one of the beaches, where we could enjoy some beach walks, snorkeling, and kayaking. John did all three! 

Before we stopped, one of the crew members gave us some history about some of the islands. On one of them, some super rich American guy who helped bring satellite TV to New Zealand had a nice compound in one of the coves. Apparently, during the summer you can see some pretty fancy yachts parked there.

Once we got to our little island (can't remember the name), I walked up to the top with a larger group. It was a pretty sight from the very top and you had a 360 view of the Bay of Islands.

After that John decided to go snorkeling, but I opted against it as the water was very cold! I just hung out at the beach for the rest of the time enjoying the tranquility. John and the other guys who went snorkeling also went looking for Kina, or sea urchin. Apparently their eggs are quite a delicacy. They stayed out in the water for over an hour before I saw John make his way back to shore with their big bag of Kina. His skin was blue and he was shivering when he got out!

But, they had brought back a lot of Kina. Soon it was time to board back onto the ship and make the voyage back to Paihia. 

One the way back, one of the other crew members, Mink, showed everyone how to open and eat the Sea Urchin eggs. Here is the video for your viewing pleasure.

After a wonderful 23 hour cruise, we arrived safely back in Paihia. It was a really great trip and an experience we were very glad to have. 

We had great weather and a great time exploring the beautiful Bay of Islands!

The Pinnacles

Our last stop in the Coromandel was another tramping expedition recommended to us by John's cousin Alice. In comparison to our Waikaremoana experience, this tramp was much better and much more enjoyable! It was only 3 hours one way, which was within our new self-imposed limit, though we made it up in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Before we left the parking lot we ran into another American guy who was waiting at the bottom for his friend, as they had made the tramp the day before. His name was Marcus, from Ohio, and he was a really nice guy. He was a real outdoorsy, mountaineering type, and he gave us some nice suggestions for the South Island where he had spent a lot of his time. We ended up running into his friend who we was waiting for on our walk up. His friend noticed my UNC shirt and told me he used to work at Duke! Nice guy as well (and he wasn't a true Dookie so I won't hold that against him :) ) Anywho, the tramp was much easier this time around. We left at a good hour with plenty of sunlight left and the weather was sunny but cool, which was perfect. The beginning and end portions of the tramp are relatively flat with some nice forest and ridge walking. The middle part of the tramp is a long man-made rock step trail. It was a good hike up, and we went up a lot of steps, but it still wasn't too bad. The steps were carved out from rock years ago when the area was used for logging. They carved out steps so it would be easier to get packhorses up and down. Here are some pictures of the tramp up:

 John is still amazed by the 30-foot fern trees. :)

Also along the trail were several swing bridges to cross. Some were longer than others, and while they could be a bit unnerving, it was still fun!

We got to the top with plenty of sunlight to go (around 3 p.m.) and made our way to the Pinnacles Hut. I had read online that this was the "Hilton" of DOC huts, some of which are serviced (like this one) and have a few extras, while some are just a wooden shed with beds and maybe a sink. This was probably the nicest, biggest hut we will ever stay in. It was nicer than some of the hostels! It was huge, with a big deck, a small set of stairs leading to the main landing where there were two huge bunk rooms. John and I were the only people to be staying there that night--which was nice as it meant no snorers, but I was a bit nervous about being up there all alone. No worries! There is a permanent warden (well, wardens, as they rotate every week or so) who has their own hut nearby and looks after the hut year-round. The warden when we were there was Frouk, a very nice lady who showed us around the place.

 It had these overlapping panels on the front part of the landing, just before the doors to the bunk rooms to keep the wind from blowing through and making it cold, there were solar powered lights that came on at night, the toilets had toilet paper! (something you never see), there was an outdoor shower and sink area, the kitchen was nice and big, with a big island in the middle and four separate burners, cooking utensils, eating utensils, dish soap, rags, and best of all a wood burning stove! The place kept wood and coals stocked for the stove, as well as matches. Once you got the fire going you could add the coals and the place heated right up! Also, there were several sinks around the room and once the stove got nice and hot it would heat the pipes for the sinks closest to it and you would get warm water from them! Seriously, for a tramping hut, this place was AWESOME, and John and I had it all to ourselves. 

I didn't actually take this picture, as I forgot to get a picture of the hut, but I got this from online to show how big it was!

After being shown our bunk room and putting all our stuff down (and setting up our beds in which we could double up the mattresses as we were the only ones) we set off for the 40 min hike up, and I do mean UP, to the actual Pinnacles. The Pinnacles were formed from ancient volcanoes. The magma inside eventually cooled and formed a plug on the inside of the volcano. Eventually the outside parts of the volcano eroded away over millions of years and the pinnacles are what is left. 

The path to the top of the Pinnacles was a well groomed, but very steep path, with mostly stairs and ladders, with a bit of climbing. It was a long way up.

But once you reached the top the view was absolutely beautiful. You could get a 360 view of the entire peninsula. You could see all the way to the East Coast and down into the Kauaeranga Valley. 

John and I spent a fair amount of time up there, hoping to catch the sunset. After a while, though, it got too windy and cold so we made our way down and caught the sunset on the descent. 

However, before leaving, John carved our initials into a rock at the very top as a little memento (as there was a lot of rock graffiti). 

That night I took advantage of the facilities and made myself a little shower. There were some rather large pots in the kitchen so I filled one about 3/4 full and heated it up on the burners for a while. Then I took it outside to the shower area, mixed in some of the cool water from the shower, and voila! A pretty decent, warm shower. John then made us a yummy meal and we enjoyed the warmth from the stove (and the warm water so we could wash our faces). Despite the large size of the bunk rooms, we stayed pretty warm that night in our sleeping bags. At the Black Jack lodge there was a shelf of items either left by previous guests or donated, and one was a really nice sleeping bag--the kind that could be stuffed back into a small pouch--so John decided take it and it served him well!

The next morning we were early risers (6:30 a.m.) as we had to make it down and make the 4 1/2 hour drive up to the Bay of Islands for a boat cruise! However, on the advice of the warden, we took the 10 minute walk back towards the Pinnacles onto a small ridge where you got a beautiful view of the sunrise over the ocean. It was a great way to start the morning!

After that, we made the relatively easy hike down as it was mostly descent. We were told it takes about 2-2.5 hours to make it down. We made it down in 1 hour 45 minutes! Once we got back down I took another make-shift shower with the water left in my camel back (much colder this time) in the deserted parking lot and changed into clean clothes for our boat cruise in the Bay of Islands. It was a very nice end to our Coromandel experience, but we were excited to head up to Northland!

Coromandel

After leaving Rotorua, we made a quick stop in the small costal town of Whakatane. There's not much to do there, but from there you can take a tour to White Island, an active marine volcano! Unfortunately, we went during a week of patchy bad weather, and our trip was cancelled due to gusty winds. We're hoping to try again when we head back up to the North Island at the beginning of Spring. We made a quick stop in Ohope beach, a 10 km long beach along the East Coast, right at the end of the Bay of Plenty, which is very popular during the summer. It was rather empty when we were there. 

Next, it was off to the Coromandel Peninsula!

Our first stop was at the south end of the Coromandel in a little town called Paeroa. It's famous for the birthplace of a popular (and tasty!) New Zealand soft drink called Lemon and Paeroa, or more commonly, L&P. It's so delicious and addictive! I love the stuff. It's a nice mix between ginger ale, mineral water, and iced tea with lemon (John says a dry lemonade). The secret ingredient is mineral water from a spring located just on the edge of town. The (very small) town is quite proud of it's claim to fame, as there are L&P flags on every power line pole in town and almost all the buildings have the logo on them. We stopped at the little touristy cafe where there is a gift shop and, more importantly, L&P ice cream! I had to try some, so we got some to-go in little taster-size cups. It was very tasty and worth the pit-stop. 

We then drove up the east coast of the Coromandel, over some pretty curvy roads, before settling in the little costal town of Whitianga for the night. It was a very windy evening, but luckily we had great weather the next day! Our first full day in Coromandel we wanted to hit the highlights. We headed a bit South, to the little town of Hahei, to do a little walk to the famous Cathedral Cove and make a visit to Hot Water Beach to enjoy the hot pools at low tide! The walk to Cathedral Cove was very nice with some gorgeous views and we made pit stops at the little bays in between.

First was Gemstone Bay:

And the second was Stingray Bay--very picturesque little cove where, if you were lucky, you could spot some stingrays in the water. Unfortunately, there were no stingrays that day, but it was a still a beautiful sight to behold:

The last stop was Cathedral Cove, famous for it's rock archway between two very beautiful beaches. 

The archway was recently roped off due to a few rock slips on the side wall--but that didn't deter John as he quickly snuck across to snap a few photos of the actual Cathedral Cove side. 

After enjoying the beautiful beach and sunshine, it was a small hike back and then off to the next destination: Hot Water Beach! At low tide (and you have to visit during low tide), visitors dig holes in the sand within very precise areas and the water exposed underneath is quite hot (thanks to geothermal activity)! By the time we got there, plenty of holes had already been dug, so we occupied an empty one and enjoyed the nice, hot water! Indeed, in some spots it was almost too hot to stand. Some people were able to mix the hot water from the sand and the cool water from the ocean, which I imagine was the best bet. Still, it was really cool!

That night we stayed in a cute little backpackers called Black Jack Lodge in the very small costal town of Kuaotunu in between Whitianga and Coromandel Town on the Northeastern part of the Peninsula. It was recommended to us by John's great Aunt and Uncle, who stayed there on a previous trip to NZ a few years ago. Indeed, it was situated in a beautiful spot, the owners Carl and Carol were very nice, and it was a very nice little place! Felt more like a B&B but at hostel prices.

 They were about to close in two weeks as they work at a ski field in Wanaka over the winter, thus we were the only guests and they let us have a bit nicer room for the same price as the one we booked--really nice! We enjoyed the peace and quiet, and I was able to get into some reading again (with my Kindle which now has a spiffy cover thanks to John's mom Stephanie--thank you, Stephanie!)

The next day we headed back into Whitianga as the weather wasn't fantastic and John wanted to do some bone carving at a little arts and crafts studio in town. The place was run by a German guy who was really nice and very into carving--and he gave John a two hour lesson and John was able to carve a Maori fish hook of his own design. The guy had a showcase of some really neat carvings, made from a mixture of bone, wood, sheep horns, paua, and seashell. A well-spent morning that I documented (in between reading chapters of my book to pass the time):

That afternoon we decided to venture over to Coromandel Town on the west coast.  On the way there we decided to stop for a short walk to a little spot called Opera point at the end of a beach reserve:

Turns out Coromandel was quite a sleepy town with not much to do. Most of the interesting tours and attractions had already ended for the day (we got there around 3:30 p.m.) However, there were some nice walks about 30 minutes down the road, including one that went to a grove of Kauri trees, a well-known tree in Northland that are some of the biggest in NZ but have been predominately wiped out due to logging and gum digging. Thus, they are now being fiercely conserved and, hopefully, re-flourished. It was a nice walk and a good way to pass the time.

 Once we got back to Coromandel Town it was almost sunset, and so we parked our car on the wharf to watch the sun go down over the inlet between the Coromandel Peninsula and Auckland ( on the other side). Turned out to be quite a beautiful sunset and worth the wait:

We ended the evening at a little restaurant in Coromandel Town called Pepper Tree. As it was quite a chilly night, we were able to grab a table right in front of the small, wood-burning fire place. It was a cozy and delicious meal!

Overall we really enjoyed the north end of the Coromandel--plenty of beautiful, non-crowded or almost deserted beaches, little towns with cute shops and restaurants, beautiful scenery and weather, and a peace and quiet that would be very easy to get used to. However, our journey would not have been complete without completing one of the more popular tramps on the peninsula: The Pinnacles!