the coromandel — BLOG

Posts tagged the coromandel

THE CATHEDRAL AND THE GORGE

I’ve added a few more photos here, to the one’s included in my last video. I had a lot more but it would’ve been too many to upload. Sorry.

In case you haven’t seen the last video or it’s your first time here, these photos are from the fifth day of a small trip around the North Island of New Zealand.

Today we wake up in Cooks Bay and visit Cathedral Cove in Hahei, the hot springs in Hot Water Beach and finish the day with stroll through Karangahake Gorge. The pics start in Cooks Beach on an overcast morning. My attention was taken by a wild mushroom, which was OK because I was having difficulties finding compositions for a photo. After breakfast we made our way to Hahei Beach where the forty-five minute walk to Cathedral Cove starts. I think it took me well over an hour to get there with all the photo stops I made. A beautiful walk with great water views. By the time I got back, it was past lunch time so we headed straight for Hot Water Beach for lunch at Hotties and to check out the hot springs on the beach. Though quite an amazing phenomenon, the hot springs area is quite small. We didn’t get to dip our toes in but that’s because we didn’t want to hustle for a spot. I found the boulders on the south end of the beach very interesting thus spent most of my time there. Karangahake Gorge was our last visit for the day. An amazing place, well worth the visit. A wonderful walk along old rail tracks and tunnels with gorgeous views down valleys and rivers. Multiple tracks available depending on the time you have. That night we stayed at the Paeroa RV Center, not too far from the gorge, in the town of Paeroa.

As mentioned in the last video post, our next stop is Rotorua where we spend two nights. See you then. Goodnight.

p.s. can’t forget to thank Alain for letting me use some of his photos and video clips.

NEW ZEALAND: NORTH ISLAND

The Cathedral and The Gorge

day 5

I want to apologies for the time it took to get this video out. I’ve been having difficulties colour correcting the videos and am still not happy with the outcome. I thought I’d better stop fussing about and just get it out.

So here we are, day 5 of our little trip around the Northern Island of New Zealand. Again, picking up from the last video , today we do a small hike to Cathedral Cove, visit the Hot Water Beach and explore the Karangahake Gorge.

As with every morning, I got up early to explore the surroundings. Cooks Beach in this case. It was an overcast morning but warm nonetheless. It was sooo quiet and calm as I walked along the river to the beach. Even there it was surprisingly tranquil. Not a soul to be seen.

Though it was a beautiful area, I had great difficulty finding a composition. So I snapped a couple of photos just to document the area. I did find a wild mushroom, which took all of my attention. I must have taken half a dozen shots of it. Trying out macro photography. I quite like the photos.

After breakfast we headed to Hahei Beach where the track to Cathedral Cove starts. An easy walk that anyone can do. A couple of small, steep hills but take your time and you’ll be just fine. The breathtaking views make it worth the effort. The first thing you see as you arrive at Cathedral Cove is the Smiling Sphinx Rock, seemingly floating in the water not far from the beach. Then you notice the hole in the cliff and wonder how it’s possible. At low tide you can make your way through it,to the other side, where the Te Hoho Rock sits, just like the Sphinx, in the middle of the water. The late morning and the amount of tourists, including us, didn’t make for beautiful photos. Quite happy with what I took but I’ll have to come back here to get the shots I was looking for.

By the time I got back to the campervan, where my friends were waiting in hunger, it was already past lunch time. We took off for Hot Water Beach for lunch and the hot springs, of course. Lunch was delicious and so was the local beer at Hotties. The hot springs though, we never got to try. Though the beach is, I don’t know, a kilometre long, the hot springs’ area is tiny. There were sooo many people there in a frenzy digging up holes everywhere that the wonder of it all had quickly disappeared. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a must do but maybe in a period of the year where there may be less people. What did amaze me though, were the large boulders on the southern end of the beach. That was beautiful.

Once over our disappointment of the hot springs, we made our way to the Karangahake Gorge. There are a handful of tracks ranging from an hour walk to eight hours. I can’t remember if we did the Rail Tunnel Loop or the Windows Walk Loop but, either way, it was absolutely amazing. A wonderful walk through tunnels with beautiful views down the valley and the Waitawheta River. It’s a pity we didn’t have more time, I would’ve loved to do the four hour track.

It was late afternoon and we needed to find a spot for the night. We chose the Paeroa RV Center because it was close and had powered sites and most importantly, a laundrette.

That’s it for day 5. I hope you enjoyed it. I know it’s not easy with the jumpy footage. I hope to see you on the next video where I receive my Masters in Milking, dip our feet in hot water, race downhill and visit a Maori village. Goodnight.

p.s. special thanks to Alain for the use of some of his photos and videos.

MUSIC

Kokiri from Waiora Celtic Connections

Te Hokinga Mai (Whanau) from Delma Rae

New Zealand Instrumental #2 / Port Charles Porch by Elizabeth Wise

THE 309 ROAD - THE COROMANDEL - NEW ZEALAND

FROM WARKWORTH THROUGH THE 309 ROAD TO COOKS BAY

Here are the photos from the last video. I’ve added a few extras that weren’t used in the video.

To recap the video and these photos, we stayed overnight at the Sheepworld Caravan & Camping Park in Warkworth (New Zealand) then traveled across The Coromandel via The 309 Road to Cooks Bay.

Though we didn’t stay very long at the Sheepworld Caravan & Camping Park, after walking around the place, I became very fond of it. The rustic country look. The Crash Start in the middle of the backyard. The volleyball net with stuff growing off it. The red sheep. Cow50 who posed for a photo but then wanted to eat my tripod. And beautiful, little, white flowers. Oh and the view of the mountains from the carpark was amazing too.

Our first stop of the day was Auckland to sort out some problems we had with the camper-van. We didn’t record any of that part of the trip. I regret it a little but can’t do anything about it now.

From Auckland we headed south-east to The Coromandel towards Preece Point. From there onto The 309 Road where we stumbled upon Stuart & The Pigs (without Stuart) and stopped at Waiau Waterfall. I really like this waterfall because the area is small, it’s completely surrounded by forest and there’s a small waterhole. Lovely little spot.

Our day ended in Cooks Bay where we parked our camper-van on a free site just behind the Purangi Regional Reserve, along the Oyster River (I think that’s the river’s name but am not sure). Only took a couple of late afternoon shots then we just sat back and relaxed. It was the end of a long day of driving.

Next post is a video where we visit a cathedral and a gorge. Hope to see you then. Ciao.

p.s. can not forget to thank Alain for his contribution to this set of photos as well.

NEW ZEALAND: NORTH ISLAND

The 309 Road

day 4

This video is short but fast paced. We drove quite a bit that day so I took a few time-lapses. I hope you don’t get too queazy.

Day 4 of our trip around the North Island of New Zealand, took us from Warkworth to Cooks Beach on the east side of The Coromandel. With, of course, a quick stop back at the camper-van hire place in Auckland. We were having two or three problems with our camper-van.

On the last video, we ended the day at the Sheepworld Caravan & Camping Park in Warkworth. I didn’t get the chance to wander around the place the night before so I thought I’d do that this morning. Apart from the common lounge you would have seen on the last video, there was also a large dining and kitchen area as well. Outdoors and country style looking. Rustic and beautiful. I found the Crash Start stranded out the back. Unusual place to have a boat. I saw red sheep. Yes, red sheep. And I don’t mean a red spot on their bottoms but the whole sheep painted red. And I almost had my tripod eaten by Cow50. The weird and wonderful Sheepworld.

Anyway, it was time to head to Auckland to solve our camper-van problems. From the three problems we had, one was legitimate (heater problem), one was our misunderstanding (can’t use power socket without being plugged to a powered-site) and one was our misuse (not plugging the powered-site cable properly). Well, didn’t we feel stupid for a moment there.

Onwards with the trip. We made our way to Preece Point and I must say, the scenic road of the east coast of The Coromandel is just magnificent. It’s so beautiful that we all forgot to record it. Darn it! From Preece Point we turn onto the very winding The 309 Road to cross over the mountains to Cooks Beach. Many view points along this road. We stopped at one that was at the entrance to the Ohana Farms. A while later, we stumbled upon Stuart & the Pigs. Well, just the pigs. They were crossing the road to head over to their… car yard?! Then we stopped at a place we all wanted to visit, the Waiau Waterfalls. Small falls but with the waterhole at it’s base and the surrounding forest, it really is worth a visit. We didn’t stop again until we reach Cooks Beach where we stayed the night. A free campsite on the south end of the beach behind the Purangi Regional Reserve. I think it’s along the outlet of the Oyster River but don’t quote me on that.

That’s it for day 4 my friends. I hope you come back for day 5 where we visit a cathedral and a gorge. Goodnight.

p.s. Once again, a huge thank you to Alain for his clips and photos.

SONG

P-Money feat. Vince Harder